The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-05-14
SOUTHERN LEAGUE.
League Standing.

Revenge, complete and satisfying came to the Montgomery Pretzels yester- light showing on the big black score
 board. Montgomery II, Atlanta, g.
 But the score Is a mere detail What matters the score? The Pretzels had an ancient grudge with one Mir. Hardy of the left hand and they fed it fat Mont gomery owed -gum-chewing MT. Hardy one and yesterday Mir. Hardy got all that was coming to him and little over for lagniappe.
 Why. this hostility to the left handed Hardy? Here's how the feud arose. When the Southern League opened the Montgomery team jauntily journeyed to Atlanta proud in the consciousness that they had hit freely and easily the best and swiftest slabmen that the National and the American League can boast
 We'll. in Atlanta they met this man
 Hardy: The meeting was a painful one.
 With Mir. Hardy in the box the Pretzel patters behaved quite foolishly. The score was something like to 1.
 That night every Pretzel wrote Mir. Hardy's name in a little book and put a black mark against it, vowing if he ever good and hot one. The Red Handed Avengers met Hardy yesterday and a thousand fans saw the final act of the thrilling drama.
 chewing his gum confidently. His finish was in sight, but he did not wot of it. The Avengers were laying in wait for him and they went for him cruelty, mercilessly. A white clad Montgomery player would walk up to the plate with his jaw set grimly. The left handed
 Hardy would pass him up a slanting inshoot. Cracki And the ball would hurtle through the air and when 1t would finally strike the ground the dust and grass would jump in the air like the missile had been shot from a piece of artillery. Mir. Hardy chews gum furi- ously. He hands out another one. A bat swings and the ball flashes through clad player slaps at a weakly and futile ly. Hardy chews gum madly.
 IL was terrible for just three innings. Then Uncle Abner Powell, more in sor- row than in anger. gently leads the stricken Hardy to cool seat in the shade where he chews gum morosely for the balance of the afternoon.
 The gum crwer's place was taken by an elongated person of the name of Vas binder. This man with the harsh name, when he went in the box, was as wild as an untamed March hare. In one inning he gave four men bases on balls and ing was, however, fairly effective. although the locals scored four runs in the five innings he was performing.
 Polchow barring little wildness, which men from the town of Brag and Buster were able to draw but five hits off the assortment of curves and speed that he handed out. With yesterdays game Polchow has pitched three games and won them all a rather good record with a team that has not struck its pace and is near the bottom.
 The score is misleading Polchow was entitled to shut out. He didn't get 1t because Stickney was slow on two fly balls. With men on bases each time Stickney started for two fly balls just a | ''leetle" slow and he got there just | '1eetle' late. But he later made a sen- | sational catch by picking a fly off the | hit that might have been a three-bagger. |
 The locals had their eye on the ball | yesterday at all stages. They batted | fercely, furiously and consistently. Dele- | Schwartz and Stickney attached two | apiece, one of Schwartz's being a two l bagger. Delenhanty and Schwartz play ed the fielding game of the day, both of them shining with the luster of stars.
 It was not all mirth and gladness yes- terday. Out of the afternoons hilarity | there comes the memory of a sad pathetic | picture. It was Uncle Abner in a dinky little sweater and fried-egg cap over by | third base pleading and praying with his hired men to do something and do that something quick. And over by first base stood the angular Mir. Smith, his elon- gated legs and peaked cap suggesting a stork cawing and cawing furiously. There they SIoou tno oDJectS or the SlDeS anu Jeers of a rude populace. It was real pathetic.
 Schwartz electrified the crowd In the first inning by a startling stop that rob bed Atlanta of two runs at the very be- ginning of the game Crozler the first | man up paused for four bad ones and a walk. McCay bunted shrewdly along the third base line. lansing ran up | and snatched the bunt firing it over Man ners's head. The crowd groaned. It looked like two runs. But far beyond Manners a gloved hand shot in the air and speared the ball. It was Schwartz gone over behind the first bag from his second base and he relayed the ball so quickly to Clarke that all scoring was stopped.