The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-04-11
THE NEWS OF THE
 SPORTING WORLD Msd by
OAassd by 'sq~irs DrewA-)

coat It looked a cinch and Mike Man sell wan uuarreling over the color with Ed Swartwood when they climbed on the train. They never got the coats-'hey did not win game. than that which Louisville handed out to Us right there. Won der Ahe telegraphsd from St. Louis that he would give a sso Louisville team if they beat us four straight. Henry Plank, owner of the Lou isvilles, sent smiling Guy Hecker m against us that day and the man wno IS did pitch bali the first game. He made. us look like bad money. end just as they finished us word rippled over the wire that Pratt's braves had been slaughtered at St. Louis. This looked bad ana ! pc gan to open ugly telegrams from Phiia- delphia. The next day was one to make angels weep. The year before we had let Bucky' Weaver so because l thought ne was no good. Plank took him up ana snot him out against us this day lie was wonder. l lay on the grass and wept as saw him shoot ball in about as big as a marble. Our boys could do nothing and those fellows kept on piling up runs, Weaver certainly got even that day He moved us down like chaff. In the mean time. word came from St. Louis that the Alleghenies had fallen again.
 When saw We were gone. rushed up to Plank and shouted loud enough to De heard all over the stand
 - will give you $1.00c in cash to put man we can hit in there tomorrow.
 This, coupled with the fact that Tn the eighth inning, with men on second and third and two runs needed to win the game I had rushed out to Rowan at bat and promised him $500 for a hit which would score both men. set the people thinking I was crazy. l was al- most crazy. I was goaded to madness. thinking myself a hoodoo. and l thought we were losing the pennant because ] had come from Philadelphia. Late that evenng Plank got another message rom make 1t an overcoat too
 The next day was one to try my soul: In desperation I ran in Jumping Jack Jones, and he wGs superb. Up to the leaned back in my chair and smiled. Here was where I got back at the smart people in Philadelphia who had been roasting me by telegraph Guy HeSker had been put in again by Louisville, and he was doing well. In the seventh something happened. They got a few runs. and when the ninth was over there we were tied up to g. and the bulletin saying St. Louis has again beaten Pratt's gang.
 of ever man felt like suicide, l did. Life held no charm for me now sat on the bench and gritted my tee. as Jones went in and shut the scamps out. This looked better. but when our first two poppeN out I went into the dumps again. Then came Harry Stovey. fleet of foot and long of head. He chattered and guyed Hecker until he got base on balls.
 Now came some ball playing. With the first swing of Hecker's arm Stovey was away. It looked like suicide, but he was fast. By one of the longest, prettiest slides I ever saw he got under the sec ond baseman and was safe. It took three policemen to hold me-. me now, for Lon , bumped the first one for boundcr to- ward short. There were two little clouds of dust one at third. the other at first. as both Stovey and Knight were safe. what I have ever maintained. that this run by Knight was the fastest in his- tory. The ball was hit sharp, fielded like lightning. true as steel, but Knight beat 'I don't know what I thought then. I saw Mike Monahan come up smiling and turn to bat left-handed. l tried to scream to him to do something. l think l would have offered him money If I could have spoken. but my tongue clove to the roof of m" mouth. Five thousand people were standing on chairs moaning for pop fly. while I was clinging to Plank in sheer nervousness. There were but two app irently cool men in the lot, Guy 11ecker and Mike Monahan. as they faced each other-both kings Of the dia- mond-in last play for pennant.
 
 some one in the crowd loosened up and yelled. For the third time the big form of Hecker inclined backward and for ward with jerk. A yellow streak waft- cd down toward the plate where Mike stood. The big shortstop reached out and deliberately laid his bat against the swift ball. He did not hit t--he did not swing. He simply bumped it. The ball sailed slowly over the shortstops head just out of reach. and when I saw it 20 l upset Plank. three policemen and everybody else. including Harry Stovey. as he brought up at the plate with the run which won tho pennant. I hugged everybody. including the umpire. I re- fused to let Monahan go. hut dragged him back into the center of the dia- mOnd. and gathering all the boys around mo, made one of the shortest speeches on record, though it was comprehensive. They hold it up against me yet I said: " Get back to the hotel. boys and everybody get drunk on me. Get drunk as -, too.
 They did The old retainers down in Louisville yet cherish memories of that awful night. I was not drinking myself but when I wandered in about 10 o'clock every mothers son of that team was either on the tables or on the counter I never saw prettcr iags in my life"