The St. Louis Republic., 1904-03-20

cessantly, and the combined pressure of
all these pains produces n headache OF
for lniment. and from one to three days
of misery. After that period OF suffering.
II the player is strong and healthy, he
will have no more aches or pans tll
SDTingtime comes again.
The ball player is up against II, no mat
ter how he tries to act. If he rests all
bering process just described: If he goes
10 the coast and plays ball all the time he
will go stale and lose his strength. In
short, he is mark for aches and pains,
and there is no balm of Gilead for him
Ball playing is great sport, but II has its
drawbacks-just a few-despite its fasci-
nations.
HOW AUSTRALIANS PLAY BALL
II wonder how baseball is progressing
in Australian" asks Jack Hendricks. the
outfielder. Several years ago, as many
fans will remember, team of Austria
Gans came over, toured the country and
had a giddy time They didn't win any
games-not II 1 remember rightly-but
they were good fellows, and everybody
treated them finely.
''The Australians showed germs of fu-
ture greatness, but their general play was
like that of our fathers, before the fine
points of baseball had been developed.
When the ball was hit to them they stood
almost still and covered but little ground.
them and made a number of startling
plckups and one-handed captures, but
they did not voyage up and down for the
AT the bat. they were simply demons.
They used a cricket cut in hitting at the
ball, and the way they stung i was
crime. When one OF the Australians cut
the ball through third or first, it went
like bullet, and in ali their games they
mad made hss to burn Their pitching was
but this of course, seemed more notice
able because of their failure to cover
ground in the field.
I'm a game / played against them. they
We're beaten in an old-fashioned slugging
bee, and in nearly all their games the
to 20 a professional coach could have S
shaped those fellows Tito a team fully as
good as the American Association class,
and I'm wondering if they have improved
their game in these later years, or If they
have given II up and gone to cricket"
THE UMPIRE'S QUALIFICATIONS.
Hank O'Day, the National League UNI
pire, had the following to say of his pro-
fession recently:
AN umpire must be quick and accu-
rate and have all the rules al his fingers
ends. Why, / have known lots of cap
tains of baseball teams, who were not IA
miliar with the rules and as for some of
the spectators they, yell at the umpire
when they don't understand the situation
at all. / have heard spectators cry out
and insist upon II, that a player was not
out when have declared that he was.
Now. II the spectators at a distance of
2CJ yards, think they can umpire a game
correctly. I'd like TO have them try il
that is all. l would like to see how they
would come out Then an umpire must
have tirmness He must not back down
on decision once made. OF course, this
best umpire that ever lived is liable to
make mistake but what l mean is that
he must have character. He must not be
swayed by every whim of the public or a
DlaNgT Then IL ia that
an umpire should not lose his temper. AS
matter of fact, he shouldn't have any
Nttle slurs that are bound to be given
him by a dtsgruntled player, or, going
a little further, he must not be too quick
To notice all the actual abuse.
ITO be sure. there are times when ev-
e-yhody hears an open insult that a man
has TO resent Under these circumstances
order a player from the field promptly.
There is another thing that an umpire
Should strive to do, and that is to forget
all the little unpleasantness that, has oc
CCTred on the field as soon as the game
l. over. find most of the players are will
ing TO do this with me. Now and then
you will meet surly fellows, but the most
OF them are all right / never aiiude
10 a dispute off the field. man, you
know. will often say thing in anger to
You for which he is sorry afterward.
Why, IL l would treasure up all the un-
Pleasant things that have happened on
tie grounds / would have mighty few
know no friends nor enemies on the field
CATCHING WITHOUT A GLOVE.
can YOU imagine such a thing nova
days as a catcher ninging aside his glove
and catching fast Ditching with no pro-
lection to his hands at all?" asked Cap
Anson. recently. That is exactly what
early eighties.
Flint hands were a sight to behold
At Independence he had caught the only
Nolan. never using glove. and his
fingers were like the gnarled and knotted
branches of a scrub oak. Rheumatism in
its worst stages never gave a person such
Z pair of hands How he caught the ball
at all l can't understand.
One winter l had made at Spalding' S
a buckskiu mitt. and after much persua-
sion induced Flint to try it.
Half way through the first inning he
flung it aside.
claws of mine are good enough.
McALEER SUPERSTITIOUS.
y never paid any attention to signs,
omens, dreams and superstitions until
about eight or nine years ago" says Jim
McAleer. The old Cleveland club had
Just returned home from long trip, dur.
ing, which 1 had made but two hits, and
had done no noteworthy fielding. ! was
sitting out in front of the hotel, gloomy
and discouraged, when a little newspaper
friend of mine came along. L poured my
tale of woe into his ears.
,. Ha! he shouted. You come with me.
Mechanically l followed. He led me
about six blocks and suddenly seized me
and whirled me around, facing the
West.
:, Got silver in your pocket? he asked.
r" Then. quick. look over the right
shoulder. He fairly yelled the com
manG.
Il looked and saw brand new moon
hanging just above the horizon. l went
out the next day and drove in four runs
with three as pretty hits as were ever
seen. and wound up the day by a catch
the newspapers talked of for week
Other signs may be of no account but
TO see the moon over your right shoul-
der when you have silver in your pocket
is absolutely good luck
ONE ON TIM KEEFE.
The day that Tim Keefe made a home
run hit over the right-field fence at Bos
ton. on John Clarkson, will never be for
gotten by the players on the two teams,
says Billy Hallman-
.'The event was so unexpected that il
had TO be celebrated in some way. 81
when Keefe went in the box the next in
ming his bat was hustled out behind th'
stand, sawed two-thirds in two and tn,
opening filled up with putty. When ht
came up to bat the next time the boy:
began dancing out on the lines.
Bet he makes another homer, yelled
one.