The Savannah morning news., 1904-07-17
FOOLS BLIND BALL PLAYER
How ROOter Causes LampIess
Lewis to MisjudGe Fly.
From the Chicago Chronicle.

From the Chicago Chronicle.
Poor play on the part of the home
team a few days ago caused a dis
gusted fan" to remark that the boys
were playing like a set of blind men.
Cant say 1 fully agree with you"
said the fat man sitting next to him.
However, 1 never saw but one blind
ball player, so perhaps I'm hardly COM
petent to judge.
You've probably heard Of him if
you pretend to follow the game at all
-Lampless Lewis, the old right fielder
of the Jones County Eye, Ear and
Tongue Infrmary team?
How could he see the ball il he
was blind? He couldn't. I'm coming
to that
He was one of these intellectual
looking little roosters, with a bullying
brow and shoulders so narrow that
you had to look twice before you could
tell which was his right arm and
which was his left. Like many men
who have been deprived of some of
their senses, he seemed to have his re-
naming senses more highly developed
in consequence.
'Lampless Lewis, though stone blind
and somewhat hard of hearing, had the
keenest sense of touch that 1 ever
trained my lockers on. In fact, his
skin was so sensitive to the. slightest
atmospheric disturbances that he could
detect the flight of birds hundreds of
yards off.
so, you see, by moistening his face
slightly between innings in ball game,
on the same principle that you wet
your finger to tell which way the wind
is blowing, it was a comparatively easy
matter for him to judge the most diff
cult flies in the outfield.
Not So Good at the Bat.
"At the bat he wasn't so good
Against a slow pitcher he could feel out
the good ones all right, but whenever
ne stacked up against one of these
real speedy twirIers he was in constant
dread of catching a cold or a stiff neck
or something from the drafts made by
the swift ones.
IF ever he hit that ball, however,
he was quicker'n an infinitesimal re-
cess in whsking round the diamond.
He guaged the direction and dis
tances of the different bases by the
air currents generated with palm leaf
fans which the coaches manipulated
on first and third.
And so practical were the coaches in
this and so unerring was the judgment
Of Lewis that 1 don't remember his
ever having been famed out on bases.
Eyes, sir Lampless Lewis was a
wonder, he was. He'd probably be
feeling his team on to victory to-day
if it hadn't been for the scurvy trick
the Ringtail Roarers played on him
back in the '92 contest.
TN never forget that game as long
as I live. The stands were overflow
ing; it seemed as if every man, wom-
an and child in Jones county was on
hand for the big event.
Twas the last half of the ninth.
The score was 8 to in favor of the
Eye, Ear and Tongue Infirmary. The
Roarers had three men on bases. two
were out and Cy Prest, the hard-hit-
ting captain, was at the bat.
1.-The first ball pitched came sailing
squarely over the plate; Prest swung
his bat and-crack!
All Eyes on Lewis.
LAS the ball scared high over first
base, deep into right field. all eyes were
focused on Lewis. Would his feelings
prove equal to the occasion?
cat first the lines on Lampless' brow
were tangled in bewilderment as he
CROPPED blindly about the field. Then,
as the first appreciate air waves from
the soaring sphere rippled down and
broke upon his sensitive countenance,
his expression became one of conf
dence
THE Roarers groaned. The Infirm-
aries could scarce suppress a cheer.
But just as the ball was descend
ing INTO Lewis outstretched hands
red-faced Roarer rooter drew in
breath and. leaning far over the bleach
err fence. suddenly went-pouffl
Lewis darted madly back and mis-
judged the ball by over ten feet.
when the police had to some extent
quelled the riot that naturally followed
it was found that all the Roarer run
ners had tailed during the confusion.
Lewis never got over 1t. He hasn't
touched a baseball since.
But the baseball instinct is still
strong within him. If you should ever
happen to see little blind man in a
cafe throw his hands madly up in the
air as though to stop liner when they
start the electric fan a-going, why
that's Lewis"
Have you seen him to talk to late
ly?" inquired the fat mans neighbor.
II was wondering If hot air ever af-
fected HIM the same way"
The fat man considered this question
Of reply.