Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1903-09-19

tho ;nnocents. The Savannah team
was killed the moment it stepped into
| tho diamond and the score rolled up
was fearful.
..Tha willing young catcher. however
did creditable work behind the bat and
when at bat he made some nice hits.
He seemed to conduct himself like a
ball pIayer-a little green yet, perhaps,
but he looked as if he might learn the
game. When 1 returned to Louisville
we we're not doing good work with our
team and l looked them over carefully
for place to break in.
II was always for improvement in
baseball and did not believe in keeping
clutch on the old fellows. Billy
Barnie, then our manager, was for
sticking over to the old-timers. He
seemed to have the idea that baseball
knowledge was tied up in few heads
and that the young fellows must wait
until the older ones died before they
would get a chance.
THE Louisville team was then made
up as follows: Bill Brown, first; Fred
Pfeffer second; Danny Richardson,
short; Jerry Denny, third; Tom Brown.
right; Larry Twitchell, left, and Pete
Browning, center.
Nov, there was a good heavy team
They surely had the age and the expert
ence, but l didn't care for this if they
could only win few games.
"They did not seem to do much at
this, so I insisted on a change. Barnie
was against touching the team and
finally in desperation one day I sent
word to Savannah that | wanted the
young fielder who had caught that
game against Memphis. l asked the
price and was told 5000. | sent the
money and asked that Clarke be sent at
once.
THE day he arrived I had some
trouble. The boys had heard of the
youngster coming, and, tO.tell the truth,
some of them did not like it and were
ready to revolt l gave orders that
Clarke should play left field in place of
Twitchell that day, but when the lad
came to dress he found that there was
not a uniform in the club near his size.
The best he could do was to put on one
of Larry TWtchell'S, and when he came
on the field he did so with a grin. and
he surely made hit. He had to roll
| the pants up at the bottom and also
rolled the sleeves of the blouse up. He
was determined by this time to play if
f., it cost him his life, for he seemed to
| think the cards had been stacked
against him.
| Until they move Louisville across
| the river the game will never be forgot
| ten by the people of the town. Gus
| weighing. too, will always remember it.
'Philadelphia was the attraction then
| and Weighing had up to this time been
| our Jonah. Clark was placed pretty
well up i'm the batting list and when he
came to bat weighing almost took fit.
| Imagine Tommy Leach coming to the
plate wrapped in Hans Wagner's uni
| form and you have a good idea of what
| Clarke looked like that day. The only
thing formidable about him was his
! mustachc.
"Wevhing laughed and made all sorts
of fun about the youngster and the
crowd in the grand stand began to call
| Clarke Pants and shout questions up
to me as to where 1 had picked up this
| child. etc. | said nothing, but waited
| for weighing to pitch the ball.
Clarke never waited. He saw the
first one was good and he took a shot
at it. shan't forget that hit. 1t tore
/
went for a single. Pants stole second
| and from that moment the Louisville
people took him to their hearts. But
| Pants was not through with that days
| work yet.
He made four hits in the game, one
of them fast affair to short, which he
beat out by a step. The fact that
| Twitchell's pants came down to his
ankles did not feaze him the least bit.
He won the game for Louisville, the
first we had won from weighing that
season. and his batting and fielding put
some life in the team, which had been
| dead.
| Down in Louisville yet they refer to
| Fred as Pants because of his first APP
pearance in Larry Twitchells toys.
| Il have made some lucky invest
ments in my time, but | consider that
the 5000 which l paid for Fred Clarke
about my best