The age-herald., 1901-06-08
Birminqham's Victory.

Birmingham's Victory.
 Birmingham, 2; Little Rock, 1.
 . Thus ended one of the greatest games of base ball ever played on a Southern diamond.
 The game between Birmingham and Little Rock yesterday afternoon was pitchers battle, with honors about evenly divided until the last inning. when Popp' | the visiting slab artist, was sent on an
 excursion into the air, where he fingered while the locals sHHtched victory from what seemed certain defeat. The visitors apparently had the game won until the very last minute, and several hundred sof the fans who had sat through the hour and twenty-five minutes of exciting play, were leaving the stands and gaining want age ground from which they could catch the first car to town. Two men were gone and one was on first base when the ex- cursion started and with few intermis- sions for cooling off and the exchange of pitchers, ten minutes were consumed in handing a victory to the locals.
 Popp, who had pitched masterly game for eight innings and who is said to be as PACONo in the last time up and presented Bir- mingham with a nice gift in the way of victory and fattened percentage in the league standing. The first man up was an easy out, but Mills worked Popp for base on balls and then Wilhelm popped up one to short that Lowney carefully look ed after Moss was given base on balls and then Poop hit both Veitch and Leidy, forcing in one run and tying the score. He had pitched two balls to Gettinger, both of which Umpire Ebright said were bad. when Captain Lynch motioned him to the bench and called on Smiling George Blackburn to take his place. Blackburn, his face beaming with delight as he contemplated the easy thing he thoughnhe had In Gettinger, toed the rub Der and sent one of his lightning curves across the plate. Three balls, called out the umpire, and for once Blackburn for got to smile Another ball and Gettinger took his base, forcing Moss across the home plate with the winning run.
 During all this exciting inning the crowd that had sat perched upon the bleachers roasting In the hot sun and
 urging Mills and his men to go in and
 win, could stand 1t no longer. By ones
 and twos, and finally en masse, the occu-
 pants of the bleachers left their seats and crowded into the open space along the
 left foul line, and on out into the left field. A hundred or more persons near the carriage gate, forgetting themselves,
 crossed over into left field. and time had to be called until they could be gotten out of the way of the left fielder.
 All this time pandemonium reigned. The umpires voice was drowned and even the catcher was unable to hear the de- cisions he rendered. With the increased
 volume of noisy roofing. Popp ascended | higher into the air, and never came down until Lynch ordered him to the bench. Wilhelm pitched a steady game 1 throughout allowing but two bases on l balls and not hitting a single batter. One | of the men he sent to first, however,
 scored the only run the visitors made.
 The game abounded In sensational play | ing. Moss, Mills Veitch Wilhelm, Mar l tin, Lowney, Hutton and, in fact. yearly | every player on each team made one or
 more phenominal plays.
 For five innings neither team scored but l the locals lost two or three opportuni-
 ties to put man across the home plate. l They had a man nthird in the first in- | ming and one on second but the hit that l was needed to score him failed to ma l tearilize. Again in the fourth inning they 1 had a man on third and one on second and again failed to score. This was re- l peated in the seventh.
 | The visitors never had but one man | further around than second base. and | only two or three reached that station. The locals went to bat first and Moss l got his base on balls. Veitch went out | on a fly to center and Leidy waited and walked. Moss was thrown out trying to steal third and Gettinger was safe at l first on Martins error. LaRocque retir- 1 ed the side on fly to center.
 In the second, fifth, sixth and eighth Innings they were retired in one two. three order. Tn the third Wilhelm walked | and reached second on Lowney's failure to handle Moss grounder. and to third on veitch's bunt. Moss being forced at sec
 ond Leidy died at first, Gettinger took his base on balls and was forced at sec- ond by LaRocque's grounder between first and second. In the seventh. after Mills
 and Wilhelm had been retired, Moss walk