Los Angeles herald., 1906-10-20
NICK ALTROcK
DESCRIBES CAME
GREAT TWIRLER TELLS HOW
HE DEFEATED CUBS
Confident That He Gould Have Gone
Twenty Innings Had II Been
Neeessary-Didn't Know What
to Throw First

to Throw First
When Nick Altrock, the great White
Sox pitcher. defeated Mordecai Brown
in the opening game of the pennant
series supporters of the Americans
grew wildly enthusiastic and predict
! ed that White Sox twirling would prove
too much for Chances Cubs.
Altrock describes his sensations prior
to the game and during its progress:
when Jones asked me to pitch the
opening game | thought for minute
that was up against it. guess may
be l was, but after an inning or two
l knew that was going to win.
had been hearing all summer Of
Browns work and it looked bad for
a while. He was pitching fine ball, too,
in this game. / never saw bigger
curves than he had and there was
steam behind every one of them.
81 have pitched many games at crit
lcal times, but the feeling that came
over me when | went into the box
Tuesday and realized that 1t was for
the championship of the world, was
one that / have never had before in all
my experience | know the Cubs are
great batters. They had licked every
team in the National league, and 1 also
remembered how they got the best of
us last fall in the post-season games
But after l had flung over a few
balls and saw that they were good l
had no fear whatever. l had as good
control of the ball as l ever had in my
life, and before the third inning was
over L could put it any place that
'Suly' asked. He would stick out one
finger to show me where he wanted the
ball and if he hadn't taken his finger
away 1 would have broken it off.
when Brown struck out Hahn, the
first man up, | thought it was all off,
Then Jones hit fly ball and Isbell
was fooled by Brown for the third
strike. Then l went in the box and
Hoffman came to bat. / didn't know
what to throw. The first ball 1 threw
l believe he could have hit a mile If
he had swung at it.
Grows Confident
But he didn't, and | began to get
my senses. 1 stuck one down pretty
close to his knees and he picked 1t out
and sent it down to Tannehill. Lee got
1t nicely and there was one man out
Right there l got my senses back and
made up my mind that l was going
to win that game. Sheckard came near
getting away with a hit but / man
throw and get him out.
Then everything came easy. Schultz
waited until there were three balls
and two strikes. Then he hit one down
to Tannehill and the side was out.
After that first inning l had not a
bit of fear. / told Jones that i could
handle those fellows if he could man
age to get some hits off Brown. But
Brown kept singing over those ter
rible curves and the fellows couldn't
hit them.
1.-THE first time went to bat 1 didn't
know what was coming. Brown started
one that 1 thought would be wide and
it turned right down over the plate.
gave up and did not expect to hit
them.
Fright after that Schultz got to first
base after catching one of my low
shoots. don't see how he managed to
hit it on fair ground but he did and
got to first ahead of it. Chance was the
next man up and he is a terror to pitch
to. 81
but I was not afraid then. and
! 'Sully' kept me cutting the corners
of the plate righ talong. Finally
Chance caught one with the end of the
bat, but got it and finally threw him
out which retired the side.
"All that was soaring me was the
fact that our fellows couldn't hit the
ball L was afraid that Brown had us
all buffaloed for a while, but finally
Robe got that three-bagger. He was
the first man up, and l knew then that
if we could get him home we would win
| the game.
Americans Score
when Donohue struck out 1 thought
1t was all off again. Then Dougherty
| hit that slow one, which fell dead be-
tween Brown and the plate, and Robe
got home ahead of the ball. 1t took a
load off my mind and when 1 went back
into the box it was with an easier feel
| ing.
II was just beginning to feel good
then and felt as though / could pitch
twenty innings if necessary. When we
got another run in the next inning
may have let up a little, for 1t was
right after thta that l give Killing a
base on balls. / thought l would let
UP on the second a little, so i lobbed
over a couple of slow ones. But they
were both balls. 1 got one strike on
him and another ball, and then tried
to cut the inside corner, for i didn't
want him to get square whack at a
straight one The ball went right over
one corner, but Umpire Johnstone
called it ball and let King go to first
base.
1T hadn't collected myself entirely
II. II -