The Savannah morning news., 1903-05-17
BLIND BASEBALL CRANK.
His Ears Tell Him How the Game Is
GOing-YeIIs .'DOvvn in Front"

His Ears Tell Him How the Game Is
GOing-YeIIs Down in Front"
From the Minneapolis Journal.
He never saw a game of baseball in
his life. But if there is any other
fan that can yell louder than I cam
says James Judge, aged 81, of 2314 Gin
ton avenue, "if there's anybody that
can lose more bets on the Ghome nine,
just trot EN- out"
The circumstance that Mr.. Judge has
been totally blind for forty years did
not prevent his being more eager than
an office boy to enjoy the first game
of the season at the Minneapolis
grounds last Friday. 1t did not keep
him away from the game on the fol-
lowing Saturday. 'I'n see every game
this year." he says. II seldom allow
my business to interfere when there's
something dom at Nicollet Park or
Minnehaha."
Yet Mr.. Judge has business enough,
business both profitable and important.
He is a master steamfitter, a successful
contra ctor, a mechanical inventor of
pronounced ability. The oldest master
steamfitter in the state, if not in the
country, he boasts that he has always
been a master filter, always a boss,
never journeyman nor a helper.
zone of our Milwaukee steamfitters,
explained Mr.. Judge, introduced me
to the ball players. Then they got to
visiting my shop. We all made llV.
ing with hot air I spose. Anyhow, l
got acquainted there with Bennett, the
great Detroit catcher, and with Ward
that used to do some magic pitching
for the old GAINESVILLE Mutuals. This
was about 1876 and TT. No, hadn't
ever seen a game of ball before l lost
my eyesight. The game was played
little by boys when I was a young fell
low, but l never paid any attention to
it.
But beginning about twenty-eight
points. Soon / was buying season tick
cts and betting money on my friends.
/ had great luck, too. Once | pulled
off seven combinations in pool bets for
seven consecutive days.
Il never had so much fun In my life
as when the Detroit and st. Louis mines
used to put up their hot games in the
old National League at Milwaukee,
Chicago and Detroit, about 1888 and
"a"
81 usually try to get d seat in the
grandstand just about opposite first
base and three or four rows back. l
don't really care whether the woman
before me has big hat, though L
sometimes catch myself bowling Down
in front! Whoever is with me reads
over once the batting list on each side.
After that l can tell whose turn at the
bat it is without looking at the pro-
gramme. And l can generally make
out foul from a fair ball by the way
the ball sounds against the bat. II
can hear the umpire call the balls and
strikes l can follow the game easy
enough, only ! have to have some
body tell me the result of the runs. But
| know pretty near what to expect.
When Wilmot hits the leather, for In
stance, / know he's going to drive II.
! also know that he won't hit it once
in ten times"
This rosy-cheeked smiling defer OF
fate finds Waltonian joy in fishing
Yes, indeed" he says. II can beat a
nickel-plated scale weighing what l
catch, and I can tell the different sorts
OF fish every time by the way they
nibble and pull"
Mr. Judge smokes cigars with great
satisfaction. And he has colored
fine meerschanm. lie learned 10
smoke several years after he lost MS
sight. There is no truth whatever
he declared. I'm the old story that you
have % see the smoke or the blaze 70
enjoy cigar. Might AZ well say that
nobody cares for a kisa In the dark