Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-06-03
TALES OF THE
OLD ORIOLES
How HanIon Built Up the Cham
pion Baltimore Team-Some
Plays Employed.

the game carefully and faithfully for the
last FIVE years are prone TO the opinion that
the game as played in the American and
National Leagues today. Is faster and more
scientific than any base ball which the
world has ever seen. But fans of, say, If
teen years standing. as we'll as many play
ers who are still doing great stunts In the
big leagues and who took part in the his
toric struggles of the early nineties. declare
that there never was such ball before and
never will be such ball again as that which
was put up In the twelve-club league dur
ing the years 1894. '95, 96 and '97, when the
Baltimores, New Yorks, Bostons and Cleve-
lands, to say nothing of the other eight
teams, were battling for supremacy.
Hanon went to Baltimore from Pittsburg
| in 1898, when the Baltimore team was to
put it mildly. pretty punk. Hanlon. fred
all the old-ttmers, retained the promising
youngsters and got out and hustled for
| more. Among those whom he retained was
McGraw, though Barnie had in the previous
| summer, been upon the point of selling Mac
to Arson for 300.
The writer was, during all the years men,
toned, the base ball editor of leading
Baltimore newspaper. and he saw every
game the Baltimore team played. at home
and away from home. from the spring prac-
| tice trips through the south to the post
| season SERIES and he claims that all there
was or is in slick base ball he saw in
| that time.
How the Team Was Built Up.
Hanlon never had a lot of stars on his
| team, that Is to start with. True, they all
| developed into stars. but that came later.
| In 1893 the club made a mediocre showing
| in the race, but 1t got out Of the tail-end
habit Then Foxy Eddie began to make
some of his celebrated trades at the end of
| that season, those trades in which the other
! fellows always seemed to get the worst of
| 1t. He sent Shindle and Treadway to
| Brooklyn in exchange for Brouthers and
| Keller. Shindle had been a good third
baseman and poor stcker both for De-
| troit and for Baltimore, but he was going
| down hill Treadway was hog-wild bat
| ter whom Hanlon had obtained from Cali
| fornia at the same time he got Catcher Bill
| Clarke, late of Washington fame, and
Second Baseman Reitz. Treadway could
| run just about as fast Clarke, but he
wasn't the all-around player that Clarke
| was Brouthers. though an old-timer, did
| good work for Baltimore with the stick
| and as for Keller, everybody knows what
| Keller has become. Then he was a third
| baseman. and a left-handed thrower, at
| that-a most serious handicap for a man
1 playing that position Hanlonf put him in
right field. Jennings came from Louisville.
| with First Baseman Harry Taylor thrown
| in, and Billy Barnie. who had gone to man.
| age Louisvilfe. got. in return for these two
one Tim O'Rourke. and whatever became
! of Tim after he left Louisville nobody
| seems to know.
Jennings, who Is now manager of the Bal
| timore Eastern League club, developed into
| what was probably the most brilliant short
| stop that ever played base ball. though
| some still argue that Herman Long Of
| Boston was his equal If not his superior
| Kelley, now captain OF the Cincinnatis un-
| purchased from Pfttsburg for a song, as
| was Brodfe from st. Louis. and these two
! turned out to be able to fill the left and
center gardens as accepta.bly as any Other
| two outflelders In the league. Kelley was a
great batter; Brodie was a good one.
Hanlon, during his stay In Baltimore, al
| ways had the same catchers-Robinson, the
| old standby. and one of the best that ever
| wore a mask; Clarke, a good substitute,
and Bowerman. now New York's star who
very seldom got chance. Four men play
Brouthers, Carey-also known in Washing
ton-and Jack Doyle Reitz from Califor-
nia. led the second basemen one year
McGraw. OF course. was on third. Steve
| these different seasons.
OF pitchers through the three Champion
ship years and the following year, when
Baltimore lost the championship to Boston
py margin OF one game. there was long
string. Among them were Mcmahon. Glea-
son, now captain and second baseman Of
the Philadelphia National League club; Ar
thur Clarkson. Hemming. Esper. Baker,
MeNabb. Pond, Inks, Muliane, Hawke.
Brown. Nops and Joe Corbett. There may
have been some others. but of all this list
there were only two really frst-class men
Mcmahon and Corbett. Mcmahon was the
equal OF any twirler of those days, not
barring Rusie, Meekin. ICY" Young {the
same old "cy< today or Breitenstein. and
Corbett, when he was right. was unbeat-
able.
Training the Men.
| With this bunch of has-beens unknowns
and nondescripts. Hanlon went to Macon.
Ga, in March. 1894, and started to drill
some base ball sense into them individually
and to weld his material into a team which
was team In all that the word implies
For two weeks in Macon and for two weeks
in New Orleans the gang was put through
the PAGES morning and afternoon and was
taught more base ball than they ever
| dreamed of. The hit and run was originat-
ed right in Macon at that time and was
tried with success time and time again In
the contests with the Southern League
clubs. The squeeze play was there perfect
ed. as well as the triple steal, which was
pulled OF the other day by the New York
Giants with much eclAt and hailed as
brand-new TRUMP. There were lets OF
others. too. Hanlon giving most Of his At
tention to what IL known an sfnsidess work
that is, the work which IL done when the