The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1907-12-30
FREAK HOME RUNS.
How Little Side Incidents Have Turned
Flukes Into Circuit Drives.

ball player, often come when least ex-
pected. Enough accidental homers have
been made in major and minor leagues
to fill a book.
Napoleon Lajoie, manager of the Cleve-
land club, holds the record for about the
q%ueerest homer made in recent years.
Larry's four-base 'phoney' came early
last August in a game against New York.
When the big Frenchman comes to bat
the outfielders usually move toward the
fence. On this particular day Danny
Hoffman, who was playing middle field
for the Highlanders, did the usual stunt
and moved out. He was not disappointed,
Lajoie met a high straight ball right
on the nose and away it went. The force
behind the ball was terrific. 1t sailed
out and out and finally hit the screen
which surrounds the subway leading to
the right field bleachers. The ball struck
the netting with such force that 1t pried
apart two of the meshes and stuck in
plain view of some 5000 excited fans.
Hoffman hurried to the fence and tried
to pick out the ball. He dug away hard,
cutting his right hand so thai he was out
of the game the next day. While all this
was going on Larry was hiking the bases
at his best pace. He rounded first, saw
Hoffman was laboring at the fence and
hurried to second. Observing that Hoff-
man was still busy he ventured to third,
and on getting the high sign from Dusty"
Rhoades, who was coaching at third, con-
tinued to the bench. Just as he turned
third Hoffman succeeded in prying loose
the ball., but it fell into the subway out
Of his reach.
Danny Murphy. of the Athletics, pulled
OH another homer the very next week,
that was just as peculiar. Murphy had
been hitting into right field, so Ernest
Flick moved over toward the foul line
When he came to bat. Murphy hit a hard
liner just inside the line. The ball hit the
fence near the big exit gate and should
have bounced back into fair. territory.
Flick, who had played the right field for
several years, knew all the angles of that
renee, and laid for the ball where he
thought 1t would return. Flick had nab
bed lots of them there, and Invariably
held the runner at second.
But the ball never came back. II skidded
along the fence and disappeared. The last
Murphy saw of Flick he was down on his
hands and knees near the big gate like a
puppy dog at a rabbit hole. He dug and
dug, but the ball refused to come forth.
When the park police opened the exit at
the close of the game they found the ball
had fallen in a big %knothole. The next
day the management had a new board
put on.
" hOung's FAMOUS Homer.
Old Cy" Young, the most remarkable
man In baseball and the Boston Americans
winning pitcher, won his game from Gene
Wright in Cleveland in 1902 by n queer
home run. The score was Boston l, Cleve-
land ], late in the game, and both pitchers
going good when Cy came to bat. At that
time the scoreboard was in right field.
Wright picked Young for an easy mark,
and as his control was bad that day he fed
the opposite pitcher nothing but fast straight
ones. Young selected a likely looking offer
ing and pasted 1t for keeps. The ball
lodged past the first baseman and went
into a hole below the scoreboard. Now,
Young isn't what you might term a whirl-
wind on the base paths, but he managed to
complete the circuit before the sphere was
retrieved. 1t Is doubtful If any home run
ever drew more generous applause, for
your Uncle Cyrus" is one of the most
popular players in the country and If any
body was to have luck fans all over the
circuit would rather see it go his way than
anywhere.
Bays Freak F~Our4Sacker.
Harry Bay made a home run once,
strange as it may seem. Bay is known
throughout the American League circuit as
a holy terror in getting on bases, but he
usually ~aceomplishes it by a base on balls,
6tlllHB nlAs IL DulL VI II lililt tIoD-SllBlC
over the infield His celebrated nome run
was one Of the chop hits, aided by the re-
mains OF a deserted circus.
The homer came before Bay had attained
the big league. At the time he was play
Ing with Peoria, Ill. The day before this
game a circus had used the ball lot as a
Chow grounds and had dug numerous post
holes. One OF these CHANGED to be back Of
second base. Bay sent a popfiy in that d-
rection Just beyond the reach of the Sec
ond baseman and too close in for the
centre fielder. The ball fell between the
two and rolled into the hole. While the
folders tried to dig 1t out Bay completed
the circuit.
Minor League Yarn.
In the minor leagues the possibilities OF
freak homers are greater even than In the
majors, because OF defective fences and
crowding within the fence. In Connells-
Vile, Pa, In the West Pennsylvania
League, last Fourth Of July, a dog aided
in a homer that gave the home club the
game. Piedmont was the opposing team
in the afternoon, and both sides had gone
scoreless till the eighth inning. O'TIara, for
the home club, was at the bat. He hit a
low liner just inside third base, and as the
ball Travelled to the outfeld it carried
further and further TO the left. Finally 1t
rolled under a picket fence and into a
collection of horses and carriages lined up
behind the railing.
The Piedmont outdelder jumped the low
fence easily and just as he was about to
pick up the ball a small dog ran out,
grasped IL In his mouth and ran out the
horse gate. The Piedmont player pur-
sued as rapidly as possible, but the dog
was too fast and the ball never was re-
covered. This was the only tally of the