Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-12-29
THE SPORTING NEWS.

Brooklyn in the spring. He is manag- ing q basketball team in Bloomsburg, Pa, and playing the game. Holyoke would like to get Hummell back.
 James Sheckard has suddenly chang ed his mind and has signed a Chicago contract When he was traded by the Brooklyn club he declared that he would never consent to the deal, but the Chicago club lost no time in filling out contract calling for a fat salary which the ball player could not refuse. If Ban Johnson did nothing else for the national game than to raise the standard of the umpires position he did enough" says Ted Sullivan. He is the man who put backbone ill umpires that otherwise would have been driven off the field, but let it be said at the same time that he couldn't put nerve in them if they didn't have it, but to his judgment let it be said that he picks the men that combine the qualities of brave umpire" Sev- eral of Johnson's selections for last season may have been brave enough, but that about lets them out as good lunpires. Taking it through and through, Pulliam had the more compe- tent staff. And still the question as to whether Anson could catch the spit ball sitting in rocking chair is undecided. Grif- fifth and Anse ought to get together on this mooted point next season and see whether the old man could handle Chesbro's moist losses.
 Hans Wagner, Sam Leever, Christy Mathewson. Frank Bowerman, Fred Clarke and Clark Griffith are the nir,- rods of baseball. Griffith disdains to shoot anything smaller than deer for his.
 Put down six and carry two," was a popular song at the recent National league meeting, when the six side, tracked the two and returned Harry Pulliam to the presidency. # Bezrek and Eckersall of the Univer. sity of Chicago football team have re- ceived numerous offers to play profes- sional baseball.
 Connie Mack has a number of play CTS from which to pick Lave Cross's successor at third base. They are Brouthers from Montgomery, Williams from New Orleans, Olding, who play ed a while with the New York Amer jeans last fall; Hanifan from Norwich; Wheeler from St Paul, Riggs from Peoria, to say nothing of young Knight, who played short for the Athletics a part of last season and hammered the ball hard.
 By and by the Anglomaniacs whv are everlastingly harping on the super, iority of English to American sports will advocate abolishing baseball on the ground that it has not made any great hit in England
 Fred Clarke must have great deai of confidence in the ability of young Nealon, to pass up as good player as Howard for the Californian. It is said that Nealon is a better first baseman fhahd dshases butnit. isoHp do oAealop, to. prove that. Chase not only is good, but is the sort of player who will im- prove whole lot.
 Noodles Hahn has a brother who wants to be an umpire in the South ern league. Incidentally, it is funny thing about umpires. In the fall or the year they talk about resigning, but about the first of the year league presidents are overburdened with ap- plications from seekers of arbitrator jobs.
 If Doc Hillebrand, the former Princeton pitcher, would finally sign and play with some big league club he would relieve the country of great suspense.