Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-10-23

them Arthur Cummings. The Wash
ington nine was made up in the main
of players belonging to the Junior Ma
tionals, the crack amateur team OF
Washington.
Cummings was n rising young pitch
or. but no one thought that there was
anything remarkable about him. and
the Junior Nationals prepared to knock
him out of the box. But when the first
batsman famed out the WashingtC-
mans began to look surprised.
Its the darndest thing l ever saw
said this batsman. 4 struck right out
at all three balls, and every one of
them seemed to jump aside just as it
got near the plate. One jumped out
ward, another inward, and the third
seemed to rise. Maybe I'm beginning
to see things
ut puzzled Jewell, the catcher, too.
not to speak of Al Mills. the umpire.
Jewell caught all of the balls because
it was then the custom for the catcher
to stand far back and catch on the first
bounce, but it made him dizzy.
1.-The second batsman OF the Junior
Nationals went to the bat and wal
Hoped the air three times too. Al
Mills came up close to the plate to see
what was wrong. 1t looked to him as
if Cummings We're wild.
"'Just keep your head there he said
| to the third batsman, and you'll get
| your base on balls
This third batsman had n steady
| hand. and, sure enough, he got his base
/ on balls. Cummings pitched the ball.
| and it seemed to be coming straight
| for the plate, when suddenly, just as
| 1t was ten feet or so away, it curved
| out and missed the plate by n foot.
| Mills called a ball.
1.-The next ball came straight on. but
the batsman, hoping to hit it and profit
| ing by his experience, swung his bat
far out. But, instead of curving out
like the last one, it seemed to jump.
1t crossed the plate on a level with
the batsman's eyes
THAT scared him, and he just stood
there without making a move until a
succession of wild balls sent him to
| first base. The fourth batsman struck
out SO easily that it was pathetic.
"Well, sir, Cummings began to get
more control over the ball after that
| first inning. and Mills had to admit
| that it was coming over the plate; but
| except by accident, not a single Junior
National batSman could touch 1t. 1t
jumped; it sank: it wabbled from side
to side. Mills rubbed his eyes and Won
dered how the thing was done. Cum
mings merely smiled
'In the fifth inning one of the Ma
tionals by dumb luck landed on the
sphere and drove it into the next coun-
ty. There We're two men ON bases at
the time, and this home run brought
them home. That gave the Nationals
three runs. So far as l know. they
made no other runs in the whole game.
after 1t was all over the whole
town buzzed about Cummings queer
/ pitching As for him, he was as silent
as the grave.
How do you make the ball curve p
asked hundred persons.
docs it curve? Cummings would
say, innocent-like.
land. then he would shut up and be-
come a clam.
"When he got back to New York he
was signed by the champion Athletics
. and became their star pitcher. Other
pitchers watched him and got on to
the trick, but 1t was three years before
anybody did it as well as he During
those three years his team kept the
championship.
: ''And that, so far as / know, is the
story of the origin Of the curve ball.
Baltimore Sun.