The Washington times., 1905-03-19
EARLY SEASON GOSSIP
OF THE BALL PLAYERS

Next day Goldsmith held the Cleve-
lands down to five hits and shut them
out.
. There's more than one way of get
ting work out of d faint heart was
Ansons triumphant remark as he led
his men into my hotel that evening
after returning from the game
What a lot of work for three little
runsr" remarked a weII-known local
business man. a veteran baseball en-
thusiast, after Pickering had made
nome run which won that famous 2-to-1
fourteen-inning game for the Athletics
from Cleveland last summer.
ny. less than forty years ago" he
continued. Il saw the old Athletics make
10 runs in one day. That was on October
~. 1860 OF course. they had no foolish
foul-strike rule then. In the morning
game the Athletics beat the Williams.
port club 101 to 8. and in the afternoon
they won from the Alerts, of Danville.
io2 10 II. In those two games AL Reach
| made thirty-four runs. In nine games
! .hat season the Athletics tailed a to-
tai or 92O runs to their opponents g.
ana In one game-with the Nati/nals, of
Jersey City-they beat their opponents
IA to Guess that was the year All
heacn made his record of nine home
III my pitching arm was in as good
shape today as it was when l was with
the Boston National League club +
! should ike to stand up before Hans
F., Wagner again." said "CheerfuI' Char
ley Hickman the other day. "'Maybe T
/ couldn't fool him now-he's a great bat
ter all right-but he wasn't so dread
1uily hard TO dispose of whe:. he was
| with Louisville.
Well do ! remember the first time I
| pltched against the Colonies down there
wagner will murder yot.' eyerybody
nad said. ! watched Hans he first day
NichoIs pitehed that game for us-and
tnouSht saw way to get him
The next day Selee sent me in the
box When Wagner came Up there were
TWO men on bases. I shot up swift
pal as nigh as the batter's neck and
Hans went after it and popped a
foul into Jimmy Collins hands. The
second time Wagner came up there
were Two men on bases again, and I
gave him low ball, but still way on
the inside. Again he lifted a foul to Col
Inns. ~ LII
-Four times that day Wagner came to
pat with men on the bases Four times
| gave him a ball on the inside~two IF
them low, two of them Highland four
times Hans sent up a foul to Jimmy
Collins"
Few fans who have tossed a bail at
| invented the cover Old 'fan" in
habitants Will remember the days when
the leather that inoased the balls in use
was cut IN four pieces and roughly
| stitched
The present form was an idea OF Ellis
Drake, and it was adopted by the iate
Harry Wright and his brother George
The inventor of the two-piece cover
was recently discovered IN Providence,
q hot
played q. greater part in baseball de-
| Velopment than anyone ever knew. has
told the interesting story Of his inven-
! ton He says:
! Il resided in Stoughton and was at
tending school at the time I invented
the baseball cover in use today NV
father was manufacturing boots at the
time. and i had access to all the leather
| used to cover the balls we schoolboys
used in playing the old round ball
| game. consisting in 'tucking out by
throwing the ball at or toward the bat
ter while in transit from base to base
| tortionist, and general invisabilist to
dodge those balls that were thrown
straight from the shoulder
In covering the balls according to
! the old form. / found that the corners
would give out first. and quick at that
| and when we threw d bail at an OBJ
popent we could not innict black and
blue mark on him to emphasize the vic
t'iN, Iol eiS VIM "'uiu get INTO inc
ragged flaps OF the broken corners and
retard its fight.
so one day in school. when the
teacher was not looking, and those Were
rare intervals. for he had several pairs
Of sharn eyes located In unexpected
| spots ab.zS+ his head, | took piece OF
brown paper, and inside of five minutes
! devised the present form of cover OF
| baseballs.
Had / known its value, Il fortune
was mine, but still | had the rich re-
ection that 1t has afforded a pleasure
TO the world. for the game would be a
tame affair without that desirable
geometric form of cover