The Washington herald., 1907-10-09
BY THOMAS KIRBY,
Sporting Editor The Washington Herald.

CnlcaSO, Oct- b--lle thlCagO CUBS and
the Detroit Tigers. the Two grandest ball
clubs in America. opened the worlds Sc
ries to-day by battling for twelve in
nings. and when darkness called a halt
the score stood 3 to g.
In the fateful eighth inning, when the
Tigers. by mighty bats and sharper eyes.
chased three runs across the plate. the
vast multitude sat quiet. Not d sound es-
capped the Chicagoans save here and there
an occasional groan.
But when in the ninth the score was
tied a shout went up such as Chicago has
never before heard. A yeritable hurricane
of voices at the park. it was audible for
blocks and mingled with the exultation
Of the crowds that gathered around the
score boards outside the grounds.
Never before in the history OF the na-
tionaI sport has such a vast multitude
assembled TO see rival teams clash
Completely surrounding the field OF
play, and rising tier above tier and seat
above seat. were the immense stands
which contained nearly 5000 spectators,
while from temporary bleachers on
neighboring house tops fully 1900 more
enthusiasts viewed the opening clash Of
the great battle.
Hold Schmidt Responsible.
Fatal weakness behind the bat caused
the undoing for the Tigers. Schmidts
catching was execrable, and that the
American League champions were not
beaten was no fault Of the baclstop, for
there was hardly an inning that he did
not make some error Of commission or
! omission which was narrowing 10 the
proud contingent Of Detroit rooteTs, who
were particularly anxious TO have their
| favorites take the opening game Of the
series. Compared with the clever Johnny
King. Of the Cubs, Schmidt looked like q
novice
/ Frank Chance, ever ready 20 make the
most Of the weakness OF his opponents,
| instructed his men 70 take desperate
chances on the bases. The result was
| that as soon as a Cub would reach first
he would set sail for second, and unless
| the batter hit into the play. the runner
would be safe. for Schmidt found It alb
soluteIy impossible TO locate either second
| or third corner.
| Not only was Scmidt's throwing
wretohed, but he was directly RESPONSE
| bic for the run which enabled Chicago
TO even up the score IN the ninth in
ming. for, with a Cub on third. the catch
| er dropped a third strike, and while he
was mOping around after the ball the
! runner crossed the rubber.
! Because OF the few chances, the great
/ trio Of Detroit outfelders did not have an
opportunity to show their real worth; but
/ in the opening inning, SIagle, the Cub
| center fielder. made a circus catch Of a.
terrific line drive from Crawford's bat
The outfield was already playing deep.
but the bali was hit so hard thar Slagle
had to go almost 10 the stands 10 bag it.
Overall at His Best.
Overall opposed wild Bill" Donovan,
but a comparison Of the two great
pitchers was out Of the question, for
the former received uperb support from
King. while the latter was a victim OF
the erratlc Schmidt.
! Considering the conditions under
which he was laborfng, Donovan pitched
a magnificent game. keeping his oppo-
nents hits well scattered, and time and
again sending his opponents into the
field hitIess when the bases were occu-
pied and any sort of a long fly or
scratch safety would have changed the
aspect of the whole game.
| Overall. while he succeeded IN hooking
UP with the great Donovan without suf-
feing defeat was not quite as effective
as his rival, for. after having sent the
Tigers into the field scoreless for seven
innings, he fairly fen a victim OF the
rally in the eighth. which apparently
gave Jennings men the game.
In this round, with man on second
and third. Wahoo Sam Crawford smashed
one Of OveraITs curves into right field,
sending in two runs. and crossing the
plate while later himself on Rossman's s
long fly to center.
Cubs Score i'm Fourth.
Up TO that time the Cubs had scored
only once. In the fourth Chance walked.
was sacrificed to second. and counted on
Kings single, but after the Tigers had
finally struck their gait in the eighth and
taken the lead from the locals, It ap-
peared as though It was all up with the
National Leaguers.
However, the unexpected happened in
the ninth. Chance opened with a perfect
drive to right; Steinfeldt was hit by a
pitched ball, and when Bill Coughln
booted Evers' bounder the bases were
loaded. Schultz smashed a wicked ball
TO first. which Rossman succeeded IN
gathering in. but Chance scored on the
play. Howard was sent In to hit for
! Tinker. and when he hit at q wide one
Schmidt let the ball get away from him,
and before he had recovered il Stein
feldt had registered the run which saved
the Cubs from defeat.
In the tenth the Chicago club had 6
royal opportunity to win out. and would