Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-05-15
MARVELLOUS CATCHES.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
When an, outfieldcr sprints forty
yards ut top speed, in less than
seconds, keeps his eyes on flying
ball and grabs it with both hands as
easily and gracefully as If he were
picking II ripe blackberry off it's vine.
few persons who are Watching the
game consider that he has done any
thing wonderful. AS 4 matter of
fact, no has performed feat which
is simply marvellous. Think even of
running that far at such speed,
Think of Keeping an object which Is
flying through the air at the rate of
eighty feet second in view! Think
of calculating at ono glance where
that FLYING spcck will fall and then
being there to meet it. and you can
have some idea of the difficulties
which every outficldcr must meet
half dozen times. perhaps. in one
afternoon
II would take n professor of mathe-
MATES half an hour perhaps, to figure
out where sphere of Il certain
weight. struck by an object of n GER
tain weight, propelled ly certain
force and driven at n given angle
would reach point. Any outfieldcr,
even in n minor league, makes the
calculation in II fraction of second
He doesn't do 1t by geometry, but by
instinct
Skilled English crcketcrs who see
Americans play baseball are astonish
cd at the "fly catches" | have seen
n prpnn nf uli ch cit -, ., nr,,J
stand and applaud "a catch which. to
the experienced American crowd, is
considered easy" The Britishers
cannot grasp the idea nor understand
how training and long experience en-
ables men to get the ball out of tho
air wiah such wonderful precision.
To the average American fan catch
ing fly anywhere that the fielder
can reach 1t looks easy.
Yet there are catches which bring
the most calloused fans to their feet
with yclps of delight and send thrills
through the crowd. Some of these
catches border on the accidental, so
impossible do they seem.
that Tip O'Neill made at st. Louis
in tho days of Comiskey's triumphs
Tip was in center. The game was
close and hit meant defeat for the
Browns. Corlihill of Cincinnati was
ut bat and he drove low rakish
liner to center. 1t seemed to be Il
thousand to one shot that O'Ncill
could not reach It. The runner who
was on second started home. O'Ncill
came forward at top speed It was
apparent from the stand that the feat
was impossible, yet Tip never check
ed his speed. Within ten feet of the
lnll he hurled himself forward, diving
towards the ball. There was Il cloud
of dust. O'Neill rolled over and over
again and then arose, and while the
crowd stood up and shouted wildly
he tossed the ball to the second base.
man and completed the double play.
O'Ncill told me after the game that
the ball struck his hands. went out.
struck his check. then the calf of
his leg and while rolling over he
grabbed it as II was falling to earth
and hung on to 1t.
That, | believe. was the greatest
catch ever madc-always. of course
barring Bill Langc's famous catch at
Washington, of which every baseball
fan knows.
Jimmy Ryan, while playing right
field for Chicago, performed almost
the Same feat. lcaping into the bleach
ers ut Washington and capturing Il
fly in much the same way.
But Ryan's greatest catch was made
on the old Staten Island ground The
center field there was built ont over
the beach and was an inclined plane
of boards which slantcd up from the
field
Ryan. who was playing in right,
saw a long line drive going out
ward. Tho center ficldcrs. who had
run almost to the edge of the boards
stopped. Ryan however thought he
could reach the hall. He raced across
and up. lcaped, and with the ball dis.
appeared over the edge of the planks.
His teammates ran to the rescue.
Ryan was standing in three feet of
water, as the tide was at flood, and
holding the ball. He waded out and.
In spite of the ardent protest of tho
Mctropolitans, was awarded the
catch