The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1902-07-01
GIVES YESTERDAYS GAME TO
LIVINGSTON TEAM.
COULD NOT SEE M'HALE
"Mac's" Run From Second on Heels
of r. Freeman Escaped
His Observation.
From Mondays Daily Gazette.

From Mondays Daily Gazette.
Because of an error OF the scorer
who oficiated for Livingston yester
day Billings stands charged with it's
first defeat on the diamond this sea
son. The fact that it was a mistake
and that when the game ended the
best that Livingston could claim was
a tie, does not alter the situation, SO
far as the record goes, and Harker's
men are carried on the roll as losers,
Notwithstanding they did not lose.
The trouble all occurred in the sixth
inning, when the work of the Billings
men45proved too fast for the scorer
and4he lost a man, McHale, who scor-
ed,-but was not observed by the man
with the lead pencil and pad. When
his attention was called to the omis-
sion, later on, he declared that Nc
Hale had not run, but had merely
coached F. Freeman. It happened
like this:
Billings was at the bat. Smalley
got first on balls. Donovan was hit
by the pitcher and took first, advanc-
ing Smalley to- second, both going
ahead a bag on Dryers out from Boy
Ian to Spencer. Kelly hit to Burns,
who threw Smalley out at the plate,
Kelly taking first: F. Freeman hit
to Burns, who threw to Spencer, but
Spencer muffed and Donovan and Kei-
ly scored. McHale made a two-bag-
ger which advanced F. Freeman to
third. S. Freeman hit to center and
both scored. McHale, being the faster
runner of the two, al from second
home and was so close to F. Freeman
that he crossed the plate at almost
the same instant. Somehow the scor-
er had lost track of him and when
claim was made for McHale's score
he could not remember him and made
his bluff of coaching. AS his word
was the one that counted, and he ad-
hered to his decision the umpire gave
the game to Livingston.
While the men from the borean
nook did not win the game, they had
a fair chance of pulling it down, for
in the last half of the ninth, when the
play ended and Billings was declared
and another at bat.
H. F. Mcfarland vas the scorer for,
Billings, and what he does not know
about the game OF keeping cases.
when baseball is being played has not
yet been invented or discovered. His
tally showed a tie and subsequently
his score was corroborated by a ma
jority of those who had been keeping
"tab" in the grandstand. Their cards
showed the same as his, that Billings
had scored four instead of three times
in the sixth inning.
The Livingston scorer, when asked
to give the game in detail, showed
himself to be originator of an original
and unique system of tallying, but
neither he nor anybody else could ex-
plain it nor decipher the marks and
scratches he had made. AS one. of
those who caught a glimpse Of his
card described it, che sort O. Jumped
things and then guessed at the rest
Then the umpire was about as raw
as they make 'em, so far as ability to
judge properly between balls and
strikes is concerned. His redeeming
trait was his utter impartiality and
he handed some hard ones to both
teams, consequently there was not the
usual amount of fault finding and
complaining. He played no favorites
and neither team had the better of
the contest because of his decisions,
eve though they were not as salts
factory to the experts at the game as
they might have been.
Livingston opened a box that con.
tanned a surprise for Billings, but the
results must have been a disappoint,
ment to the men responsible for it
A battery had been imported from
Butte, Burns and Austin, the former
one of Honest John" McCloskey's
hired hands, and it was confidently
expected by the gentlemen from the
zephyry dell that Billings would saw
off its arms tanning the air, but il
didn't do anything of the kind. Nine
hits were made off the rapid fire gun
that faced Harker's men and they
felt quite pleased with their perform
ance. considering the outcome the
other fellows had anticipated.
Altogether it was a nice, clean
gentlemanly game and the men who