The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-08-21
BIRMINGHAM MADE SPLENDID SHOWING Barons Played Great Baseball
 on Western Trip TEAM COMES HOME TODAY 1t Is Rumored That Harry Matthews May Go to Brooklyn Nationals
 Next Season-Baseball
 Gossip.
BY JOHN T. EVANS.

Birmingham is baseball mad. The Bar ons have smashed all southern league records. Fourteen games played away from home, with eleven victories and three lonesome defeats.
 The last tour through the west by the Barons which came to a close with yes- terday afternoons performances in Lit tie Rock was a glorious one. The oldest of fans and rooters in the south cannot recall a time before when a team in this league has taken eleven out of four teen games of baseball away from home.
 Birmingham Is today for the first time in many. many moons in the first divi- sion of the southern league standing, and with large string of games at the grand finale to be played at home there Is great promise of the Barons holding their own, if not bettering conditions.
 The Barons left Little Rock early this morning and will arrive in Birmingham this afternoon about 4 o'clock via the Frisco A reception will be given the boys when they arrive at the union passenger station. It has been suggested that brass band be procured and tallyhoes en- gagged to carry vaughans men to their apartments.
 Every rooter in Birmingham is earnestly requested to be at the passenger station t4.s afternoon, not later than 3:S0 o'clock, to participate in the reception of the Barons
 According to Manager Harry Vaughan Birmingham will carry six pitchers the balance of the season provided that Charlie Frank does not recall Wiley Dun- ham back to Pelicanville, which is not probable. The two Clarks-Glnger and Cowboy, espectively-Plyant. Oscar Streit. Reagan and Durham, make up the sextette.
 Undoubtedly Manager Harry Is laying his lines for a strong team for newt season. In my opinion this Is the reason for the large corps of pitchers that Birmingham is carrying on the pay rolls. Harry is keeping his eyes open, too, for other ma terial for the season of '05, as well as the finish this year.
 Likes Young PyIant.
 Vaughan thinks well of young Pylant. He says that he is promising and in his opinion will be one of the stars next sea- son. The boy was rather wild in the game he pitched against Memphis, at Red Elm rark, last Wednesday afternoon, and l thought that Vaughan would take him out of the box, but he did not. Birming- ham lost the game. 1t being the only one of the series taken by the Memphii. The young pitcher displayed somewhat of a case of stage frigbt. while battling on foreign soil. He was wesl coached. how ever, by every member of the Birming- ham team, and this held him to the ground considerably.
 A freak in baseball occurred in the last game at Memphis. A ball hot from the bat of Cannon went towards Jimmy O'Brien. The tall was several feet above the little third sackers head, but he made a jump for 1t. The ball struck the tip end of his glove and this checked tie speed of it somewhat. Tamsett had run around from short to the rear of third base, and after the ball struck O'Brien's glove Tamsett caught it. The play was a bril- liant one and Tamsett was literally ap- plauded.
 Memphis fans, rooters and sporting ed itors generally figured that the home team would annex three of the games from Birmingham last week. It was a sad day for Whistler's crowd when Bir- ningham took the first game in the tenth inning Farmer Brown who pitched for the local team got sore because he lost to Birmingham and the next morning did the kangaroo act to perfection. And