The Elbert County tribune., 1907-07-18
ALLEN BROKE UP
SIGNAL SYSTEMS:
Ex-cINciNNATi MANAGER Ex
POSED TIPPING AT PITTS
BURG AND BOSTON.
HOW BATTING WAS MADE EASY
Home Hitters Were Given Inside
Track by the Use Of Small Point
er Manipulated on Sign Board
Behind the Fielders by Watcher
with Field Glasses.


Behind the Fielders by Watcher
with Field Glasses.
Bob Allen, now a prosperous lumber
merchant of Arkansas, but not so
many years back one of the stellar
lights of major league baseball, was
in st. Louis the other day, and told
some interesting stories of his expert
ences in the National league. Allen
in his prime played shortstop for Phil
adelphia and managed that team for
part of a season, and he afterward
had charge of the Cincinnati club be-
fore going with the American league
in the days of the latter's infancy as a
national organization. Allen and the
Cincinnati team were responsible for
the exposing of the secret signal sys-
TENS at Pittsburg and Boston along in
1900, and his stories of these two
feats are realistic.
TT was while ! was with the Gin
cinnati club that we became aware
that our signals to the pitcher were
in some way leaking out at Pittsburg.
and we heard the same complaint
from other teams" said Allen. Close
study of the matter convinced me that
some system of signals was being
worked to tip the Pirate batters off
on the signals of my catchers. and l
set the players to watching for any
thing suspicious about the grounds or
any place from which our catchers
might be watched with a pair of
glasses. Nothing developed the first
day, and we were all at sea on the
second BY that time ] was exerting
every wit had to unravel the mys-
terry. Still there was nothing l could
think of or see which would give
clew to the mystery.
Finally along toward the middle of
the game my eye began TO wander
over part of the fence painted green
back of the pitcher and to sign
painted to one side of 1t. Finally, I
detected something moving on the
part of the fence on which the sign
was painted. 1t was a small pointer,
which kept moving around in vag-
rant sort of a way. 1t struck me in a
minute that there was the solution to
the matter. When the team came in
we held consultation and agreed
matter completely. The next thing to
do was to call the pitching signals
and see how the pointer on the fence
moved. Sure enough. the pointer
moved slowly to right for curve and
to left for a straight one. Then we
mixed up the signals and the hitting
stopped like magic.
THAT was enough and the next
thing was to expose the matter so
publicly that it would break the sys-
TEN up and show how we were being
duped. Corcoran and myself went out
to Emslie and asked him what he
would do in such an emergency and
tried to impress upon him the fact
that he was in complete charge of the
field and game. He demurred, but
finally agreed to allow us time enough
to make an investigation the next
time we left the bench for the field
When the team went to the field the
outfielders started as though to take
up their position, but when they
reached the latter broke into a run
straight for the fence. Pittsburg did
not get next to what was happening
for couple of minutes, but then
there came pretty near being riot.
when the chap who was working
the signal pointer got next to what
was happening he made frantic efforts
to get the latter through the hole il
the fence through which it was being
worked. We beat him to it and
wrenched the pointer from the fence
I have it still at home as a mementd
of the occasion. 1t is an iron bar a
couple of inches long and about as big
as your finger The next move was to
boost some one over the fence, and
Corcoran was the chap chosen. He
found small hut attached to the
fence and got glimpse of player as
he scrambled out and ran for it, Cor.
coran always claimed that he could
not identify the player, but / have
| always had pretty good idea as to
who it was. Further investigation
showed that the fence had two small
holes bored in it so that a pair of
| glasses could be used behind them in
| order to read off the signals given by
the catchers. With the pointer and an
understood system of working the
latter the thing was easy That broke
up the system SO far as the Pirates
were concerned and thereafter they
had to work for their hits instead of
| stealing them"