Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-24

| He has always been an excellent player;
| his habits are the best, and Joined to them
| Is a genial disposition that has made him
| friends all over the country. Lave has al
ways been ready to talk base ball with the
| enthusiasts in the different cities, and al
| though the subject must have been tire
some to him, he would enter into the
discussions with such a spirit that led
his hearers to believe that he enjoyed
the subject Whenever Cross played in
this city he could he found through
out the day and evening at his hotel
| surrounded by crowd of Washington
| friends and he was ever ready with hand
shake and a hearty greeting. This situa-
! ton was practically the same in every city
the Athletics visited and a result the
cham pionS were always sure of warm
welcome from one end of the circuit TO the
other. OF course Connie Mack ranks as one
Of the most popular men In base ball. but
Lave Cross We'd with his manager in max
Ing friends and his worth to the Athletics
cannot be estimated.
As a ball player Cross ranks with the
stars, and although he will round out his
twentieth season of professional ball next
summer, his work last season was as brill
liant that of any of the third basemen
in either the American or National leagues.
Looking back over the records since Cross
began his base ball career in 1856 1t will be
found that his fielding percentages have In
variably been high and in batting his fig
ures have been high for an inelder. AS a
pinch hitter Cross Is conceded to be one
of the best and his timely batting con-
tributed in no small degree to the success
of the Athletics in their successful chase
after two pennants.
Cross Base Ball Career.
Lafayette n Cross was born In Milwau-
kee In 1867. At the age of seventeen he
joined the Sandusky, Ohio, team, but his
first professional enga cement was with AL
toona, Pa, in 1856. The next two years he
caught for the Louisville team and his work
ranked with the best In the country. 1t
was III 1889 that he joined the old Athletics
but he threw his lot with the Brotherhood
against the National League in the follow
ing year and remained in Philadelphia.
The Bro therhood movement having failed
Athletics. From 1892 to 1897 he wore the
uniform of the Philadelphia National
League club. He went to St Louis in 1898
and In 1889 divided his time between the
Ion decided that Cross was just the third
baseman he was looking for and in 1900 he
wild Brooklyn. Then the American
League Nrtad out over the east and Con-
ME Mack lost little time in signing the
genial Lave's name to a contract. From
that time until the close of last season
Cross was Mack right-hand man and had
the honor of carrying two pennants to the
Quaker city.
stahl May Get More Players.
immediately after Manager stahl had
reported to the directors of the club about
the outcome of his conference with Cross
he packed his trunk and took the train for
California. Jake is a great traveller and
makes the tI5p to the Pacific coast solely
for his heaIth--at least, that is what he gave
out to the reporters. He admitted that he
would stop over in North Dakota on his
way out to see Doc Hillebrand, the
Princeton pitcher, and make another en-