The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1904-10-06
HIT OF BULL THOMPSON.
Novel Play in Baseball Tried by the
strong Man ~ tha Tiphffhot Lilies.

Novel Play in Baseball Tried by the
! Strong Man Of the Lightfoot Lilies.
so that's Mertes, the man they call
Sandow," observed fat fan, gazing at
the Giants piano-legged left fielder in
the course Of preliminary practice at
| the Polo grounds. well, well, well,
Not but that he's a tolerably husky
Hooking young lad, mind you, but
"Sandow? Why, say, friend, some of
these present day strong guys would
have looked like puny babies alongside
Eof big Bull Thompson, who used to
Icatch for the Lightfoot Lilies back in
the old Jones county days
/ Il can see the Bull just as il he We're
lstanding behind the plate there now.
AS the batter would face the pitcher the
Bull would suddenly straighten up and
tdraw in his breath until he was red in
! the face.
'Then, pop! would go the top button
off his shirt, and while the batter was
rubbing the back of his neck and Won
dering what in Jones county had struck
/ him Dean Braley would shoot the ball
over for as pretty strike as ever split
1.-THE plate. Some chest expansion had
big Bull Thompson. ..-. 3D.
And bat? Why, say, that man used
ito hit SO everlastingly far that if the
people over the state line hadn't been
Jealous Of our nine they'd have made
our opponents take out extradition pa
pers before they'd let 'em field the ball
back.
"But the Bulls smuggling wasn't as
advantageous to the Lilies as you might
suppose. He soon acquired such a repu-
tation with teams throughout that part
lof the country that the instant the
batsman preceding him had been dis
posed of the outfielders would take it on
| the run for the furthermost ruffles on
the outskirts Of the city. In that way,
with a slow pitcher and a good start,
they were just as apt as not to get there
| in time to nab the Bulls hits.
$50 the Bull, who was man of brain
as well as Drawn, tried to vary his her
culean swipes with an occasional well
placed bunt to center field. Such re-
Istraint of muscle, however was little to
| his liking, and he sought for other
means to battle the fielders, who used to
stand waist deep in the horizon await
ing his long ones
| 'tAt last he solved the problem. In
stead of driving the ball out over the
diamond he hit upon the plan of swing
ling his bat down on 1t and driving it on
to the home plate.
| when he did this, the ball, under the
impetus of his mighty blow, would re-
bound from the plate to such a. height
that fefore it came to earth again he'd
have ample time to reach first base and
sometimes even second.
| nThere was a stunt for you! They
couldn't field him out, because the bell
was in the air, and they couldn't hope
to catch him out because it had got
There on first bounce.
/ I'll never as long as live forget the
way he foxed the Ringtail Roarers with
i that stunt. ..-
"A mean drizzling rain that had been
falling all morning made the diamond
soggy and slow when the big game was
called, but the thousands that had driv-
en- in from every corner of the state put
postponement out of the question. ~
1.-THE first time ait bat the Bull let
drive for one of his long ones over CEN
| ter. Old Doc Quackenbush, who was
lumpiring trained his field-glasses on it
and finally diagnosed the runner out
twenty-six seconds after the ball had
left his bat.
I'm the third, with Slugger Burrows
on third, the Bull resorted to his new
trick and basted the ball down against
| the plate with a force that bounced it
/ high enough to enable Slugger to score.
| I'm the fifth a similar plate bounder,
only higher, brought in two runs.
1.-THE Roarers' outfielders were still
playing deep, as there was no telling
when the Bull would take it into his
head to Shift tactics and wallop out one
of his long shots. j. !.