The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-10-22
BASEBALL TRlt,ks,
Baltimore Champions Of Early se's
Were = Great AxxreR,tleu.

baseball enthusiasts who have
watched the game carefully and faith
fully for the last five years are prone
to the opinion thar the game AS played
in the American and National leagues
today, is faster and more scientific
than any baseball which the world has
ever seen, says the Washington Star.
Hut fans of. say fifteen years stand
ing. as we'll as many players who are
still doing great stunts in the hi.
leagues and who took part In the his
toric struggles of the early COS, de-
clare that there never was such ball
before and there never will be such
ball again rs that which was put up
In the twelve-club league during the
years 1894. 1895. 1896 and 1897, when
the Raltimores. New York, Bostons
and Clevelands TO say nothing of the
other eight teams. were battling for
supremacy.
Hanlon went to Baltimore from
Pittsburg in 1898, when the Baltimore
team was. to put it mildly. pretty punk.
Hanlon fired all the old timers, re-
tanned the promising youngsters and
got cut and hustled for more. Among
those whom he retained was McGraw,
though Barnie had in the previous
summer. been upon the point of sell.
ing Mac to Arson for $780,
The writer was, during all the years
mentioned. the baseball editor of a
leading Baltimore newspaper, and he
saw every game the Baltimore team
played. at home and away from home,
from the spring practice trips through
the south to the post-season series,
and he claims that all there was or is
in slick" baseball he saw in that
time.
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 1898 the club made a
mediocre showing in the race, but It
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
otner fellows seemed to get the worst
OF 1t. He sent Shindle and Treadway
10 Brooklyn in exchange for Brouth-
ers and Keller. Sh.ndle had been a
good third baseman and poor sticker
both for Detroit and for Baltimore, but
he was going down hill. Treadway
was a hog-wild batter whom Hanlon
had obtained from California at the
same time he got Catcher Bill Clarke,
late of Washington fame. and second
baseman Reitz. Treadway could run
just about as fast as Clarke, but he
wasn't the all-round 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 be-
come. Then he was third basemai.
and left handed thrower at that-a
most serious handicap for man play
ing that position. Hanlon put him
In right field. Jennings came from
Louisville. with First Baseman Harry
Taylor thrown in. and Billy Barnie,
who had gone to manage Louisville,
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 Baltimore Eastern league club,
developed into what was probably the
most brilliant shortstop that ever
played baseball. though some still
argue that Herman Long OF Bostou.
was his equal. II not his superior.
Kelley, now captain of the Cincinnatis
under the management of his old
leader, was purchased from Pittsburg
for a song, as was Brodie from st.
Louis, and these two turned out 20
be able to fill the left and center gar
dens as acceptably as any other two
outhelders In the league. Kelley was
a great batter; Brodie vas a good
one.
to L. Mt AZ
more always had the same catchers
-Robinson. the old standby. and one
OF the best that ever wore a mask;
Clarke. a good substitute, and Bower
man. now New York'e star. who very
seldom got chance. Four men played
first base at different timestTaylor,
Brouthers. Carey-also known in
Washington-and Jack Doyle. Reitz,
from California, led the second base
men one year. McGraw. of course,
was on third. Steve Brodie and Stem
eel were in center during these differ
ent seasons.
OF pitchers through the three cham
pionship years and the following year,
when Baltimore lost the championship
to Boston by mere margin of one
game. there was long string. Among
them was Mcmahon, Gleason, now cap
tain and second baseman of the Phil
adelphia National league club; Arthur
Clarkson, Hemming. Esper, Baker,
McNabb. Pond. Inks. Mullane, Hawke,
Brown, Nops and Joe Corbett. There
may have been some others, but of
all this list there were only two really
first class men-McMahon and Cor.
bett Mcmahon was the equal of any
twirler of those days, not barring
Rusie. Meekin. ICY" Young 1.-THE same
old ICY" today or Breitenstein; and
Corbett. when he was right, was un-
beatablc.
With this bunch of has-beens, un-
knowns and nonedescripts, Hanlon
went to Macon. Ca. in March. 1894,
and started to drill some baseball
sense into them individually and to
weld his material into a 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 baseball than thew
ever dreamed Of The hit and run
was originated right in Macon at that
time. and was tried with success time
and time again in the contests with
tn" Southern league clubs. The
squeeze play was there perfected, as
we'll as the triple steal. which was
pulled OFF the other day by the New
York Giants with so much eclat and
hailed as Il brand new turn. There
were lots of others, too, Hanlon Civ
ing much of his attention to what is
known as inside" work-that Is. the
work which is done when the team