The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-09-24
BY GEORGE WILLIAM DALEY.

go away I'm home, an usin' that as an
excuse for the trimmins that their
teams get. That excuse goes with peO-
pie outside the game, maybe, but any
one that's in it knows that good ball
playin', and more than that, heavy,
hard batting, Will bring the crowd with
YOU any time. no matter how hostile IL
was at the start.
Which brings me to the season that,
after the COrndroppers league cham
peenship had been won by the Alfalfas
for the third consecutive time Josh
HapgOOd took US down Texas way 10
do d little transforming. Wed get
good guarantee money I'm the towns
We visited, for We were we'll known,
and then us players I'D get good bets
down on the side, TO help US pay the
coal bills an rent for the comm win
ter. AS we always won. 1t was cinch
in the way o pickin' up small change.
One day after We had devOured the
local nine at a place called Stafford and
was refreshin' ourselves in the billiard
room o the hotel, Watchin' Pinch Hobbs
trim the manager at cushion carOms,
Josh is handed a telegram I'm a place
called Hammerhurst a burg aWays up
the line. IL says that the famous Hust-
lers o Hammerhurst hereby challenged
our all-star aggregation TO play for a
side bet of $500, winner to take all the
gate receipts, on the next day, and 1t
was signed by a name that made me
jump. II was no other than ElWOOd
Hanks.
AS soon as 1 heard that name 1 took
the bit in my teeth an bore out against
the outer wall. 1 knew him of old. He
was a feler that made a speciality o
leavin his initials in the backstops
around the country with inshOOts, an
had near killed five ketchers. The only
one could hold him, was his brother Ell
mer, a little saWed-Off about five foot
nothin'. ] told the fellers this, AN gave
'em warming but they wanted that $500
awful bad. an jedgn' by the teams
we'd been beatin' il certainly looked
easy. After a talk Josh sent back word
that we'd accept the date and the Wag-
= er.
The next morning on the train We
Weer most i'm sight o. the place when
the conductor comes TO us an says;
BE you these all-star ball players
that's goin' To play the Hustlers this
aftzrnoon?"
We allowed we were.
You're liable to have a ruther warm
reception" says the conductor. They
was gettin the tar an feathers ready
when l come down this mornin,'
Tar an WHAT" says Josh.
Tar an feathers" says the cOnduc-
tor. an we cd see he meant it. That's
what they do to every team that comes
TO Hammerhurst an gets beat, They
tar an feather 'em, an ride 'em out o
town on rails"
'Wen, what if we VIM" says Josh,
Il don't know about that" says the
conductor No team that's ever come
here has eyer won a game yet The en-
pire takes care o that. You look like
nice fellers. an my advice is to stay
right on the train an I'll take YOU
home"
But we wouldn't do that. We never
quit yet. an wouldn't begin now. so We
got of the train an waded through
crowd o toughs that wanted to smash
Us, an sports that wanted TO bet US on
the game, an little boys that slung bur
docks In our hair TO a hotel an got
some grub. And there we got talkin' TO
the p'prietor, an he didn't reassure US
any. When Josh asked if any p'leece
couldn't be got to drive the crowd
away, the old man smiled pityinly, an
says
Young Teller, all the officers O. the
law in this here c'mmunity is on the
hustler ball nine. ElwOOd Hanks, he's
sheriff, hisself, and the man on first
base is the chief o police, an the rest
of 'em are deputy sheriffs or cOnStables
or somepin' The jedge O. the police
court'u prob'ly empire, SO if you git
hauled up for assaultin' the jedge O
play an they take you before the
pleece jedge, why you'll be up against
it,"
BY this time our spirits was pretty
low, and in my minds eye / cd see a
Teller about my build Sprintin over the
lon ,lralr .rrtf
ford. with a crop O feathers grOwnI
out ON him an a howlin' mob close up.
But Jimmy Harrison, our gOOd-lOoker,
he got acquainted with the hotel p'prie-
tors daughter, an before il was time 10
go out an practice she had told him
this story.
This Hustler ball nine has had Ham
merhurst by the hair for three or four
years, and the people are gettin' tired
of IT, but can't do anything, for the
players are all high officials. The only
thing that wins for them is Hanks
pitchin the rest Of 'em aren't much
good. being held on the team by their
respective pulls, and that's made some
people sore too. If you can jump in
and Wallop Hanks pitching this after
noon YOU stand a chance of getting
away with your lives, especially if YOU
return all the money you win from the
general public. They've really got the
tar and feathers-ten buckets of tar
and ten feather beds-Out back of the
school house, and they're yours if you
lose"
Wouldn't that get your nerve?
Wouldn't the Giants feel like playn'
IN Pittsburg against such a PROPOSE
ton? We put up our $500, and some
more money, SOS they wouldn't mob
as on the spot, and then got ready TO
do or die But when / seen ElWOOd
Hanks warmin' up, and him haVin' the
same blindin' speed, l saw that the fell
lers We're WOnderin' how fast the freight
trains ran through Hammerhurst. I
tried TO cheer 'em up. though the words
blame near stuck in my crop. "NOthin'
but a straight BAH" says I. All you
got 10 do is stick your bat out an It'll
go a mile"
Wei, Pinch. who was first up, he
goes to bat first an ElwOOd swings
his big arm around an the next in
slant the ball plunked into his broth
er's mitt. It went over the plate so fast
YOU couldn't see it.
strike" says the empire.
The crowd whoOped and a feller with
a little bundle O. booze in the grand
stand pulls "A gun an fires point blank
at Pinch The bullet dug up the ground
a little ways behind him. Hostile
crowds Whatd the n York papers
say about that?
"Put him of'n the grounds" yelIs
Josh, pointin' at the shooter.
yep" says the empire. Put him
out. Anybody that can't shoot
straighter'n that is dangerous. an
shouldn't be allowed at large Why.
he might hit the ketcher. Put him
out"
Pinch's nerve never failed him. Talk
about Teddy gOin' up san Juan hill
Pinch never turned his head. but just
watched ElWOOd Hanks like a hawk.
o,d this time when the hall came dawn