Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1906-07-09
HE DAYS DOINGS IN THE WORLD OF SPORTS

be COMBS natural batting gait, for hs
stands up to the plate without GinchIng
and takes a long, hard swing at the
ball"
Charles Dryden. the Philadelphia North
Americans baseball writer. also gays
Coombs "A good sendof, sayiCg:
zone Coombs of Colby is now here. all
tho way from Maine. to efervesce in our
midst. The Nationals stirred him Up for
the first time in airy big league yard and
acquired nothing but bubblcs-nine nf
them. While our new man was effer-
vofcing the Champions pIucicd three
runs from the shadowy Mr.. Smith and
won Tn" game to 0.
"IIc pitched good ball though trife
unsteady. using great speed and good
judgment in the pinchos. Luck was with
Rim all the way, but luck Is a factor in
every game. At all times the colIegian
was rs cool az the coast line Of his ma
tive State in winter.
Nothing seemed to jar him. not even
the Jones triple in the first round. A
double play wiped out the side, leaving
the triple in hook at third base. En-
coHaged by this start Coombs waded on
to glory. He allowed five men to toddlc
Whitfield six and was hit seven times
Pretty good for a younSster fresh from
the hills.
Before the game was Is minutes old
Cap Davis, with the easy familiarity of "a
leader was calling the new man Jack
His real name is John W., but he didn't
seem to mind the slangy corruption com
mon to ballyards. DR.. Powers went
even further. He alluded to the Maine
collegian as 'Coombsy. old boy. and re-
uuested him to work hard all the time.
We look upon this as a good omen. The
'Coombsy, old boy so early i'm the game
shows that tender affection with which
a catcher regards a new hurler who
seems to have the merchandise concealed
on his person. COMBS was right UP be-
hind the band on the first day.
Just what Jim Potter and Director
Hyneman called the new man was not
given out for publication. They thought
they had him once. An agent Of the
Phillies tried some time ago to land
Cac,nbsy old boy, and it even got into
the papers that he had been landed And
so he was, but at the rival camp. Mr..
Mack saw Coombsy first. and the Ma
t;onaIs saw him next and got stung. )
to o."
Coombs is too well known to the Maine
fans to need any extended introduction.
He was for four years Colby's star
twirler and was rated a crack-a jack
from the start. He Put up the fastest
college ball ever seen in Maine and has
been frequently alluded to as the premier
pitcher of The Maine colleges. He halls
from West I<cnnebunkport.
Besides figuring as a star twirler of the
first magnitude he has cut quite a swath
oil ath nj
by on the track team and the football
squad. He won several of the events IaS1
year and was rated as being good at al
most anything i'm the athletic line.
Coombs went to Philadelphia at the he
ginning of last week and watched the
team work three days. Then he was sent
in to pitch against Washington. While
the Senators are low down in the list.
they can bat at times the equal of any
team in the league. HIS achievement in
holding them down to seven hits is
markablc, and that he shut them out de-
serves the utmost credit. Rarely has an
experiment of this sort been tried late
years in the big leagues. trying a new
man the fourth day he is with a team.
1t is all the more striking as an indi-
cation of Manager Mack's faith in his
recruit because the Athletics are the 1905
champions and are strong candidates for
first place this year Had the team been
down and hopelesSly out of the running
it would have been allowable to navo
sent Coombs in at short notice. With
four men of the abiEtics of Waddell.
Plank. Bender and DyEert on the staff it
shows that the new man will have a
chance along with the others and that is
something the Boston teams past and
present. have been 10th to give promising
It seemed natural to suppose that Mack
would take no chances this year and that
Coombs' only opportunities would be to
20 in when a game hopeicssly lost
and get his experience by hauling up the
steep hills the loads the other men
couldn't haul the level. His many
friends in Maine appreciate the confidence
Of tn" master which the pupil seems to
Justify None of the pitchers. big or lit
tie, win all their games. If COMBS gets
a chance once q week and wins major
ity his future will be secure and he has
hosts Of friends in Maine who look for
this and have done so over since IL WAS
known he was going to Philadelphia.