Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-05-07

out. a man on first and a man on secc nd.
1t was decidedly up to Smith.
A Critical Moment.
Smith was a fair hitter for pitcher
| average .e7O-and he took hold of the stick
with confident air.
The star pitcher of the opposing team
let fly the sphere.
Striker yelled the umpire.
Once more the ball curved Smiths way.
and dropped gracefully as it reached the
plate.
Strike twon' yelled the umpire.
Then the man in the box went wild.
Ball one.' sang out the umpire, and
twice thereafter his refrain was the same.
The bleachers were delirious, when
crack! and a line ball went sailing out In
the direction of the centerfelder-and not
until Smith had smilingiy crossed the
home plate did he learn that Harry Blake
had caught the sphere in his left hand
after heart-breaking sprint after 1t up
steep embankment.
In the meantime a little tragedy had
taken place in the grand stand No sooner
had 1t suddenly dawned on the thousands
of spectators that their team was beaten
than a certain pretty and vivacious young
lady, who had been close observer OF the
game from the start, toppled over in her
seat in dead faint, and certain young
man. who was known to his friends as
bank clerk, rushed CALAMITY to her assist
ance.
For two weeks thereafter this young
lady was in a quandary. At last she
sought out her father and told him the
story. When she had finished the good
man said:
Choose the one you love, daughter.
"Then it's jack" she cried; and that
night she said for once and for all the
one little word that has made MIN happy
ever since.
A year after they were married the
| bank clerk heard how Smith had won his
| bride His only comment was, as ne set
his jaws:
Il wish 1 had known that the day OF
| the game"
But it is scarcely conceivable that he
would have benefited by the knowledge.
Quit Game Because Wife Objected.
| Not infreauently sweetheart's or
wife's objections to the game cause
| star to forsake the diamond for work Iof
| which he Is not fitted in the least degree
| and at which he makes only living al
| best. a.
| Bin LANCE is case in point up 70 nVs
! wears ago Re was one of the best ground
coverers in the profession, ana as ua's
| man had high average. From the oay VI
his wedding his wife kept at him TO leave
| the game, urging him to take the step on
| the grounds of personal safety. Bill rea-
| soned with her. and told her time and again
that he knew Of no other '1o io oo MhiI Make
81 800 in six months. But Mrs. Lange was
| obdurate, and so, when his last season
closed Bill ruefully announced 10 ms inan-
ager that the diamond would never Know
| him again. And it has not though ne mas
| annually been tempted by numerous Halter
| ing offers. Il have given my word TO my
Wife" he says simply, land so long as shc
| feels as she does about the game l shall
not take up the bat.
| Sometimes, after she has kept her hus-
| band off the players bench for while; a
wife will reent, release her spouse from his
| promise and gleefully applaud him as ne
| once more scampers on to the diamond and
| is given rousing welcome by the fans
| Such a lucky man is Howard, who plays
| with the Pittsburgs this season, Dreyfuss
| having traded three players for him with
| the Omaha club of the Western League.
| Howard, McGinnty and Taylor of the
| champion Giants and Bob Wicker of the
Chicago Nationals were formerly team
mates on the Nation, ILL.,, team. Howard
| at the time was only nineteen years of age,
| but even then he had great prowess as
| batsman, which McGinnity fully realized
| later on, after they had separated, when in
| one game Howard got two home runs and
| a three-ba gger off the Iron Man, who leads
| the pitching record
Why Howard Left Diamond for Years
| Shortly after this feat Howard took as
| his wife the daughter of prominent cit
| zen of a central western town. They had
| scarcely settled down after their honey
| moon when Mrs. Howard began pleading
| with her husband to give up the game,
naming reason that she had a strong
dislike for 1t. She was so insistent that
| finally Howard reluctantly severed connec-
| tons with the game, and secured employ
ment selling agricultural implements.
| But he did not give up all hope of return
| ing to the diamond. During the months
| that he was engaged in telling farmers of
| the merits of his particular make of wheat
| drills and mowers he spent his spare time
| endeavoring to get his wife interested in
| base ball. At first it was hard and slow
| work, and had to be accomplished diplo-
matically, but little by little he progressed
| to the point where Mrs. Howard would ac-
company him to the games. Then Howard
| explained every play made, told her about
the players, introduced them to her, and
made her acquainted with the women folk
| of the players who were in the grand stand
At the end of four tedious years his work
OF education bore fruit Mrs Howard came
TO him one day, confessed that she had
| changed her mind about base ball declared
| that she would rather have him on the dia-
mond than an agent for farm implements
and further caused him great joy by append
ing that he couldn't get there quickly enough
to suit her. So 1t came about that in the
season of 1904 Howard led the Western
League in batting his batting eye not hay-
ing been dimmed in the slightest by four
years of disuse.
Influence of Mothers on PLAYERS.