The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-06-29
BLIND MAN AT AT BALL CAME.
Follows Every Play So Closely as to
 Give His Companions the Creeps.

Follows Every Flay DO NloSeiy& as " Give His Companions the Creeps.
 Clarence Hawkes. of Hadley, Mass, the writer and lecturer on nature sub jects, is totally blind, yet is fond of at tending baseball games.
 T do not see as much of the side play as the others" he says. But i from the moment the umpire calls. Play ball, and the first ball is shot over the plate, until the last man is out, I follow every play that is made with minuteness that often makes my companion for the afternoon feel a bit creepy, always tryo to secure such a seat that the diamond will be a geometrical figure before me, and not on a skew. Then can keep the players and their positions from be- coming confused Opposite first and third bases and directly behind the | home plate are my favorite positions | When I am behind the plate, the catcher, pitcher, second sbaseman, and center field are directly in front of me, each a little further off than the last i and the first baseman and right fielder l are to my right, and the third base l man, shortstop and left fielder are to. my left. This makes things shipshape and to my liking. I can then tell most l of the plays as they are made by noticing in what part of the field they
 are made and how far away the
 sound of the spat of the sphere is from.
 me. Occasionally 1t is hard to tell
 whether a certain play is made by ths shortstop or the second baseman, but
 there is usually some clew that makes lit clear.
 When the umpire calls play ball. my nerves are keyed lip to the highest lpitch, and my ears strained to catch the slightest sound. One ball cries the umpire. That was wide one, of
 course, and is easy enough. 1strike.i shouts the umpire. Now l am puzzled, Was it called upon him. or did he
 strike and miss? A small boy near
 clears all doubts by muttering dis gustedly, Stand there like a wooden man and let him call strike on himr lI'd have struck at that, The bat cracks like the report of a rifle and the fraction of second later there Is the
 clear cut spat of the ball on 3 gloveds
 hand. The two sounds reminds me of
 the two shots in Capt Jack Crawford's ia nous double, they come so close to- gether. Out cries the umpire This lis another easy one. It was right in
 the pitchers hand.
 Another man steps to the plate, and the fun goes on. Then there is a dull thud. shouts of delight from the small lboys, and tho umpire cries. Dead
 ball. Take your base immediately lpicture the player either limping or
 rubbing his rib as he goes. Now get way off, cried the coach Go down
 with his arm,s Spat goes the ball on
 my right Hello! the pitcher is trying
 to catch the runner off first. This part
 Of the fun do not care for, so am glad when the ball is shot over the plate again. There is a scampering ot fleet and a thud of the ball in the second basenlan's hands, but the um- pire has nothing to say on the subject so the runner is safe at second, and tht lplay goes on across the plate, whilt one coach tells the runner to get way off another adn1onishes him to be care ful. 5%
 Again the bat cracks and there i! a much longer interval than before
 There is a spat away out in center field a good running catch, and spa
 against seconds. A double. The run
 ner had thought the hit safe and ha,