The Yale expositor., 1907-10-18
TIE BASEBALL CURVE
An Old Timers Story Of the
Game That First Saw 1t.
1T WAS USED BY AN AMATEUR
According to This Old Profession al
Player, Arthur Cummings Was the
Young Pitcher Who Was the Origi-
nator Of the In and Out Shoots.

Speaking about the early history OF
baseball the other day, an old time
professional player said there were
eany things not known generally.
There is, for instance, the matter of
curve pitching. Who pitched the first
curved ball? No; don't name any of
the men that won pennants and got
$4,000 a year. The pioneer wasn't II
professional but an amateur-that Is.
he was an amateur until his curves
made him famous.
Ills name was Arthur Cummings,
and he was n New York boy, a tall,
thin young fellow with hair as blond
as chorus girls. How he came to
discover curve pitching | don't know,
! but II was generally believed after
ward that ne hit on il by accident.
| He tried Il out for the first time ia
1861 in a game between two scrub
! teams in Washington.
THE famous Excelsior club of New
York was then visiting Washington as
the guest OF the old National club and
the two played series Of games on
! the Old White lot. Toward the end of
the series some one suggested that the
young New Workers who had come
over with the EXcelsiors make up a
scrub nine and play nine of Wash
ington boys as a sort of comic inter
lude.
THE suggestion was adopted, and the
New York nine consisted of four or
five Excelsior substitutes and a mum
Der of other young fellows, among
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 rising young pitch
er, but no one thought that there was
anything remarkable about him. and
the Junior Nationals prepared 10 EiO'k
him out of the box. But when the first
batsman famed out the WaShingto-
mans began to look surprised.
Its the darndest thing over S..'r.'
said this batsman. i struck r."'!t pu
at all three balls. and every one o.
them seemed To jump aside vast - 1t
got near the plate. one iunrri oct
ward. another inward. and the thiri
seemed to rise. Maybe I'm beginning
to see things
ut puzzled Jewell, the catcher. too
Jewell caught all of the balls because
it was then the custom for the catcher
to stand far back and catch on the first
l bounce but it made him dizzy.
"The second batsman OF the Junior
Nationals went To the bat and wal
loped the air three times too Al
Mills came up close to the plate to see
what was wrong. 1t looked to him as
II Cummings were wild.
"'Just keep your head there he said
to the third batsman. and you'll get
your base on balls
"Ths third batsman had 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
It was ten feet or so away, 1t curved
out and missed the plate by foot.
Mills called IA ball.
"The next ball came straight on, but
the batsman, hoping to hit IL and profit
ing 10y 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 level with
the batsman's eyes.
"That scared him, and he just stood
there without making n 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 10y 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 II into the next coun-
/ ty. There we're two men Oh bases at
the time, and this home run brought
lutll llbilts lHdA StNt Aht
three runs. So far as ! know, they
made no other runs in the whole game.
after It 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|
asked hundred persons.
Docs Il curvey Cummings would
say. inn0ccnt-like.
And then he would shut up and he
come u clam
"Whcn he got back TO New York he
was signed 10y the champion Athletics
and became their star pitcher other
pitchers watched him aud got on 10
the trick. but II vas three years before
anybody did il as well rs he. During
those three wears his team kept the
championship.
"And that. so far as | know. Is the
story of the origin of the curve ball.
Baltimore Sun.