Gilpin observer., 1907-08-22
AMERICAN BORN
PLAYERS BEST
YANKEE BALL TOSSERS SHOW
MOST NATURAL ABILITY
ON THE FIELD.
MANY FOREIGNERS MAKE GOOD
Query Of oid-Time Fan Brings Up
Nationality Of Most Prominent Men
in the Game To-Day-Lajoie and
Wagner Considered Best Of Their
Respective Races.

Respective Races.
An old-time fan, whose interest in
the players is evidently Of keen and
analytic nature, sends in a query con-
cerning the nationalities Of the vari-
GUS big league players.
Several Frenchmen of great ability
have figured in the game, besides the
wonderful Lajoie. The first French
man to gain lasting fame was Berth
rong, of the Washington Nationals,
whose record for running the bases,
made in 1868, still stands .unbroken.
| Others of French descent now in the
game are Beaumont of Boston, Moren
of Philadelphia, Laporte of the High
| landers and Parent of the Pilgrims.
Two of the best French players have
left the big league only lately-La
Chance and Mertes.
1t was always claimed that Uncle
Anson was of Scandinavian descent,
and he certainly looked the part, al
though it is also asserted that he is
English by ancestry. John Anderson
of Washington is the largest Scandi-
navian now performing. Isbell Of the
| Sox is alleged to be Swede, and also
to be Of French lineage. Lundgren OF
the Cubs is Swedish; Ferguson Of the
| Giants is said to be Swede under an
old Irish name; Anderson of Pitts
burg is either Danish or Norwegian;
| Jacobsen of the Boston Americans is
| Dane.
The first Indian to gain fame at
baseball was Sockalexis, who drank
himself out of the fast company.
Clarke, the Cleveland catcher, is a
| Wyandotte Indian, and Phyle, who has
just Joined the Giants. is Of Sioux
descent Bruce, clever pitcher for
merly with the Athletics, is an Indian.
Indians, from time immemorial, have
| played ball games-Lacrosse being
only a civilized form of their favorite
| sport-and any game in which tossing
and catching ball is the diversion
seems to appeal naturally to the red
man.
A few Cubans are playing in minor
leagues, and the Cubans show great
| speed and fielding skill, but are shy
on batting ability. The only Spaniard
ever in the big leagues, if memory
serves Alright, was Vincent Nava, who
was with Providence in 1884, but did
not last long.
| Foreign-born citizens can do just as
well as Americans, il they are trained
young and set at the game. Ten years
from now there will be any number
| of fast men in the big leagues who
were born across the sea. Two big
| league catchers-Shaw of the Boston
Americans and Smith of Pittsburg-
are Englishmen by birth, and have
| found baseball much more pleasing
and profitable than cricket used to be.
The Canadian players are Of the
French variety, as a rule, though the
great Tip O'Neill was an Irish-Cana-
dian. Lajoie and Lachance both came
from French-Canadian settlements
originally.
1t is almost impossible to count up
the German stars. They have become
as numerous as the Irishmen in recent
years. and play as good game. Fred
Pfeffer was one of the early German
crackerjacks, and another was Charlie
Getzein. Some Of the mightiest Ger
mans now in the business, aside from
the burly Wagner. are almost the
whole Chicago National team-Slagle,
Sheckard, Schultz, Steinfeldt, Holman,
King, Pfister and Reulbach, for ex-
| ample-while it is contended that the
beloved Frank Chance is also a Ger
man. Other Dutchmen Of top-notch
| quality are Lobert, Weimer, Schlei,
Dahlen. Knabe. Hartsel. Seybold,
Unglaub. Hahn, Robe. Alperman. Alt
rock, Schaefer, Schmidt, Hoffman,
| Elberfeld, Kleinow, Altizer and Hick-
man.
John King is the best Hebrew play
er now in the game. Plank of the
Athletics, Strang Of the Giants, and
Camnitz of Pittsburg are said to be
Jews, and are certainly valuable per-
formers.
Frazer of the Cubs and Mathewson
of New York are the most prominent
| Scotchmen now in the business, out
side of Bob Wallace. Konetchy of st.
Louis is said to be Greek. and also
a Pole.
Abbatichio of the Pirates is an
Italian. The Italian race does not
seem to care much for baseball, and
few Italian names are found In the
score cards Of even the sandlots and
| amateur teams.
| Holly of the Cardinals is Bo.
hemian, with real name as long as a
pennant pole. The Bohemians take
well to the game and will be heard
from in the future. Only the dear
Lord knows what Rube Waddell is.
Overlooked in the shuttle: Barney
Petty is Of Jewish descent. Philippe
is Of an old French family. Mclean
and Osborne are Scotch. Criger is OF
/ Norman French ancestry md Dnppla,