Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-04-08

Humorous Incidents in Lives of
WeIl-knoWn Base Ball
Players of the Past.
BY HUGH $. FULLERTON

Base ban as a profession develops more
queer characters than any other sport. In
the first place. it brings great crowd OF
half-developed men into the hmelight of
publicity and affords the best opportunity
to develop their cranks and conceits. Be
sides. they have plenty of spare time TO ac-
oentuate Their peculiarities.
1t seems to me sometimes that the day %
the character is past. and that never
again viii the game reproduce the unique d,
figures that are historic We have now no
Mike Kellys no Brudder Bui Gleasons, no
Dad ClarSes. One-Armed Days. Gladiator
Brownings-or that kind of fellows. True,
we have Rube Waddell-but where can the
present game find the duplicates OF Pat
Tabeau. Bin Joyce. Bad Bill Egan. Tony
Mullane; his catcher. Kid Baldwin; Tacky
Tom Parrot. Dave orr. Scissors Foutz or
Cherokee Fsher2 In those days it seemed
Il every player was an individual char
acter. known both on and off the field
while nowadays bail player il much IKE
any other worker He plays the game
doffa his uniform, and little more Is known
of him until the next day.
Tacky Tom Parrot.
racky Tom PARROT was one of the great
est characters that ever broke into the
game He could pitch some. and when be
landed on the ball he ticketed II for the
fence. One day in ncnnau Tom caught
a fast straight one on the piccoio and sent
it into the corner of the lot for home run.
He completed the circuit OF the bases De
fore the ball came back into the Held, but
instead of stopping, he started Tor hrSt
again and, still going at top speed went
around the bases again. The crowd was
bowling when he finished the second cir
cult so Tom started around again. -Four
times he raced around the bases, and then
one of his team mates caught him ana lei
him TO the bench
Tom was a cornet player-and a good
one when he was pitching Tor st. Louis
one afternoon Won der Abe employed ie-
male band to discourse sweet music he
tween innings, and the plan made Il nit
with Tom He would pitch the inn ng,
| then. after retiring his opponents. he would
| climb up the front of the stand take his
| place in the band and play corEct Sol-e
| after which he would go out and pttch
some more,
one night-at > a.m.-we were IN tile
! Gault house in Louisville when was awal>-
| ened by great Upro1r. Curses yols ard
| imprecauons hlled the air, ana above the
| curses rose the notes Of Cornet. Toms
| room connected with mine, and. rushing
| into his room. l found him IN his night
! shirt. with his bare beet in the window AMI
| a cornet to his Fps playing away fer dear
| life.
What in thunder do YOU mean. waking
| up everybody in the hotei?" l demanded.
! Il just remembered a tune hadn'
| thought Of for years, said Tom, and
| was fixing II IN my mind
Scissors Foutz
Scissors Forftz was another odd one liz
| drank some. and also he played poker. ana
! on one occasion this combination beat a
| crowd of San Francisco sports out If \
big bunch of money. Scissors was pitch
| ing for a Louisville aggregation winter
| ing on the coast and he was cardnd 10
| pitch against Chicago the following dav
! in Central Park. He got drunk during
| the afternoon and sat in abe poker game
| that evening in the Baldwin Hotel. lie
| was still drinking, and late IN the even
| ing the story got out among the sports
! that Foutz was drunk and playing poker
| SO they began to bet heavily thar ChicasJ
would win, Qualifying the bet with n
| Foutz pitches for Louisville" As he was
| the star pitcher many of the bets We're
| snapped up.
| At I o'clock the next mornin7 Fourz
| still was playing poker and drinking ana
| the betting was lively. The game broke
| up shortly before 10 O'Clock in the morning
| The betting then to l. FoutZ Went
| to bed, slept two hours, and that after
| noon let Chicago down with two hits.
One-Armed Daily.
| One-arrned DAILY was a real character.
| His left arm was cut off just above the ell
| bow, and he wore d leather pad. followed
d bit, on the stump. and with it and his
| good hand he could catch iiy balls and
| field grounders excellenuy. He was the
| greatest hit that ever happened in the
| south during training seasons, ana the
! negroes would come for miles TO see the
! one-armed man pitch and field
! The trouble WAS that the stump OF his
! arm was tender, and he hated to eaten
| thrown balls. which was source Of con
| slant trouble between him and his catcher.
Tom Deasley, who always returned the ball
| hard.
Arch en- Tom; arch en- pleaded
! Daly but DeasIey continued to put the
| speed until one day DAILY called him down
into the diamond and swung the stump OF
| him arm against Deasley's jaw, dropping
/ him to the ground, and remarking, Now
| Will ye arch en-?
CONSERVATION of Dead Arms
one spring Rasty Wright and Big Head
! Miller were playing in the outfield of a
| southern team. Both had arms deader
than Brooklyn's pennant chances ami
| neither of them could get the ball back
to the inheld in two heaves- Suddenly
they received the startling news that BiLy
| George had been signed To play the othel
| outfield position.
'srhat guy'n come down here and show
| us up throwing" remarked Hasiy
There was CONSERVATION in tae outheld
| when Billy showed up and the oead-armed
| duo approached the new man al ,uously.
"FIow's the whip, Billy?' asked 4'iS
Head.
| the line"
| That afternoon the trio took their places
| in the outfeld. In the first inning sohl-
| batter caught the ball square and drove
IL a mile out over Billy's head. He gave
| one look at the flying ball and, turning
pleadingly toward Rasty and Big Head, Es
| called ''Help-men,
New One on Mike Kelly.
There are a million, more or less, Nike
| Kelly stories. but one that Frank Bancroft
| tells is new one day during the reign OF
| KeIly's killers IN Pendleton kel was catcH-
| ing and poor old Yank Robinson was AT
! short, so shaky from long spree that NJ
| was on the verge OF collapse. BoundeE
| after bounder went toward short and ROO
| by kicked every one OF them: messed over
| them and gave the most horrible eXinbitioh
| OF fielding ever seen. lie made SIX errors
| and was so bad the crowd was hoWllns-
I Then some one drove a fierce liner straight
| over second Robby II, made snort
| RIM leaned stuck out one hand slid Oh
/ his side across the base ard speared Ire