The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1907-06-02
BASEBALL YARNS
BY FULLERTON
Tells of Some Great Catches
That Have Been Made in
National Game.
BY HUGH 5. FULLERTON.


Great catches, it appears. are more cont
mon than one would think. A short time
ago l wrote about few catches which
thought were the greatest ever made,
and Immediately almost every fan in town
broke loose and informed me that. while
they might have been good catches. they
weren't fancy catches compared with ones
they had seen.
Perhaps the strongest one was related
by Young Tom Foley He isn't so
awfully young az that, but still he must
be Young Tom" because his father is
Tom, the veteran billiardist and the
organizer of the first Chicago baseball
club.
Young Toms yarn was about Billy
George.
George was playing on the Minneapolis
team one spring, and. when the season
opened, the upper Mississippi was in flood
ana backwater was almost everywhere.
Billy was playing center, and behind him.
and between him and the center field
fence, was a sluggish flood of water. six
rect deep and fifteen feet across, and the
fence itself stood on a little island.
Along in the sixth inning, with a man on
second, and the game close, one of the Wis
fting players drew a long line fly out
over Billy's head. The ball was ticketed
for the fence, and ii seemed sure to clear
the little creek Billy, however, never
hesitated. He raced back. took a run
ming dive, four strokes, and, crossing the
water swimming at top speed, he rose
up. standing almost to his waist liz the
creek and captured the fly.
The runner on second had trotted on
around home, and was doubled easily.
Young Tom" tells that with his bare
face.
Great Catch by Gross.
Here is one. however which is vouched
for by two old ball players who saw It
I &c fad N he fr11a nv
the victim of the catch, who is big En-
Gross, once the star catcher of the Ma
| tional league, and perhaps the heaviest
hitting catcher that ever donned a glove
En- was great catcher, a wonderful
thrower, and grand INTERRUPT he had
his weakness. and that was In catching
foul flies. Some facetious writer in those
days remarked that En- couldn't see the
high ones in daytime.
He tried for everything in sight ran
circles around the ball, and sometimes
speared ii. but he never felt at ease
when one of those tall twisting fouls
went up.
He was catching in Providence one day
when a Philadelphia batter poked up d
! fly that looked 800 feet high. There was
a wind blowing, and the ball began to
twist around in circles with En- doing
a merry go TOunder under it. Finally
seeing that it was escaping. he made a
desperate effort to turn quickly and fell
flat on his back. To his amazement he
discovered that. for perhaps the first
time in his career. he was under the ball
which was descending like a shot straight
toward his nose
Instinctively he threw up, his feet and
hands to protect his face. The ball
struck the sole of his shoe bounded up
into the air. and. as IL fell again, Elm
reached out and caught it.
And the next mornings Providence pa
per had the nerve to say he did it on
purpose.
Manning Coaching Youngsters.
Jimmy Manning, who was "swapped''
out Of baseball after becoming a PROM
catches ever made, but il was in morn
ing practice after he owned the Kansas
City club, and only d few saw it. Those
who did Tever Will forget, and if it had
been made in a game Manning would have
/ been a hero forever.
He was out coaching his young players
that spring and put on uniform to show
I in center field when JOcko Menefee. who
| was batting fungoes, hit a long fly out
over his head
1 The grounds were low, and the center
| field ended at a stone wall, inside of
which ran a cinder path. which was sep
/ arated from the field by a. low wooden
railing. Manning was sprinting outward,
| his eyes on the ball. when his shins
/ cracked against the fence. anG he turned
/ a complete semersault and landed,
1 stunned and hurt. flat on his back, with
his feet to the stone wall and his head
! toward the field. The players fearing he
/ was badly hurt. were starting to run
/ his hands and grabbed the ball, as it
was flying over him.
When Sadie Went Wrong.