The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-05-20
BASEBALL STORIES.


 Billy Gilbert, the once peerless little baseman of the New York Giants though q silent man on the field. is a compan- fonable and talkative chap when at lei sure. He has a seemingly inexhaustible fund of anecdotes to draw on, while his memory Is a marvellous thing.
 Before the present season opened Gill bert and Billy Murray, the manager of the Phillies this year, were having a flaming bee in Greens hotel in the Quaker city. and the two old baseball veterans were regaling one another with yarns they had come across during the years that they had been identified with the national game.
 Ever hear,' asked Gilbert. about the time that Luther Taylor, the pitcher, lost nls speech and couldn't talk at all?"
 What are you trying to give me?" shot back Murray. Why, Dummy Tay- Tor has been a mute since birth
 Yes" replied Gilbert, as he licked the ashes from his cigar, "hut I refer to the time that we were playing the Bostons and Fred Tenny caught one of Luther's fast ones on the end of his bat and it shot dcwn to Taylor so fast that he could not side-step it. so to savo himself he put out both hands to keep 1t away from his body. and it struck him with so much force, on the tips of his fingers. that he was speechless for over a week"
 !, nen the Washington team was train ing down at Galveston, during the present spring, several of the boys got taken down t0h 1nt of dangerous character, were still mighty unpleasant, and much grumbling relative to the climatic conditions of the Texas town ensued. One night group of the players were assembled in the hotel lobby, discussing Galveston as a health resort and vice versa, when the hotel clerk, native born product and a loyal soul, exclaimed:
 | tell you, no matter how much you people knock, that Galveston is a mighty healthy place. and people don't die often here.
 'sWhere I come from blurted out Charley Hickman they only die once"
 Sammy Strang of the New Yorks is about the only professional baseball play CT up to date that is known to be in- terested in the flying machine sport. Sammy. be 1t known is a college man, and the son of wealthy parents down in sunny Tennessee where the Giants out fielder halls from, and whose name is not Strang, by the way. he having as- sumed this fictitious appellation when he first started to play in the Southern league. Any way, sammy is a great aeronaut. if not In practice, at least in theory, and he never tires talking about his favorite subject.
 The other day he and Dahien, the short stop, were discussing flying machine sub jects and sammy made some remark rela- tive to the joining of an aero club. when Dahlea said: ''It would be all right if they met In hall like other clubs. but as you say. Sammy, they hold their meet ings up in the air. |" ne added.
 ''They sure do.' replied strang. 'but that's where the novelty comes in
 Yes, responded Dahlen. but say, wouldn't it be awful if they'd drop a man for non-payment of dues?"
 When the only George Edward Waddell was an actor and toured In a celebrated theatrical game entitled ''The Stain of Guilt" he was given many opportunities of displaying that metallic and strident- toned voice of his as the gentle George. who had to say Hands off.' and "Vil- lain. rnhand that ladyl' in a voice so loud that it would i'll the gallery gods hearts with. glee. They used to give the Rube heavy hand every time that he would roar out. which was frequent, to say the least. One day when the show was playing in St. Louis he was standing outside the stage door, bask- ing in the respectful admiration of group of his friends. who were telling him that he had Richard Mansfield and John Drew left at the post, when pert maiden the sister of a prominent local politician. came up to Waddell and asked: ::
 Are you the actor with the command ing and far-reachlng voice, whom just