The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-02-01
BASEBALL GOSSIP.

Whistler has disposed Of Fritz. the
backstop who was with Memphis for two
years and he will wear a Shreveport uni
form this year.
Shreveport is having trouble in getting
Walter Morris, the fast short who wants
to captain the Beaumont team. lie claims
that he was signed to captain that team,
and is therefore not subject to draft, and
has written to Secretary Farrell seeking
his release from Shreveport
o. X. Swami, in speaking of the spit
ball said: Talking about your spit ball
artist, no pitcher in the country has any
edge on Bob Gilks when it comes to using
this ball. lie hasn't forgotten how to
keep them on the outside or inside cor
ner mixed UP with one of the best slow
balls We, were playing in Birmingham
and our team WAS badly crippled up with
two or three men on the sick list. We
had a double-header to play, So Bob
Giks said he would pitch one of the
games lie pitched the second game,
which lasted ten innings, We shoHd have
won IT In the ninth. we gave I'M at
least two of their runs. OF coulsc. axe eX-
pected to see the old boy driven 10 the
tall timber, but he was there with the
goods and | never saw a prettier pitch
ers battle In my life. Every tally they
made we had handed to them. When the
ninth rolled around the score was tied,
so we had orders to work overtime. Gilks
is quite a favorte in Birmingham ana
was receiving the glad hand from the
grandstand and the bleachers. But our
hard luck was still with us, and Bob
had to lose just the same as us ordinary
pitchers. 1t was real amusing to see the
old boy step into the box. and some peo-
pie said a little merry for his age, but
he had everything that day, and you
ought to have seen him handling those
hunts and watching the bases. lie had
about seven strike-outs and as many as
sists, some of them on very difficult
chances, When you throw man like
Hennessey or Duffy out you've got to go
some Bob had them afraid to bunt, when
really this was the only play for them
to make
what club has the best chance for
the 1903 pennant?" was asked of Mcssrs
Whistler and Gilks, moguls of Memphis
and Shreveport. recently
ITS only guesswork," said Manager
Whistler, and pretty hard guessing at
that"
zone thing is certain, however, said
Bobby Gill<s. The teams which finished
one, two, three at the close of last sea-
son-Memphis, Atlanta and New Orleans
will pretty surely finish in the first
division at the end OF the coming sea-
SON They are all strong and they will
be we'll up. But not one of the three
may be al the top although they have
the best chance The weaker teams will
be a lot stronger than usual and there
will be a hard fight on the part of
Shreveport, Birmingham and Little Rock
to keep out of the second division. OF
course all the teams cannot get in the
first division, for that would crowd
things, but they are going to make it
warm for the high-prced teams.
Harring on Jones is telling the follow
ing story on Umpire Cox and President
KaVanaugh
COX thought a whole lot of President
T-lvanaugh." he said, land so one day
he made fancy stone horse-block, about
as big as a small house. He had w.
NJ Kavanaugh cut on it, and it was the
real article. You know Cox was a stone
cutter by profession.
well, he shipped that stone from
Rock Island to Lifts Rock by express,
collect and it cost Judge Kavanaugh
about $2S.1 to get it out of hook