Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-01-27
REC0LLECT|0NS OF
LOCAL BALL TEAMS
Best Catchers of the Country
Here-AIIison and Snyder
Were Stars.
By Ted Sullivan.

BY Ted Sullivan.
The many shifts of grounds and base ball
teams that have interested the city of
WASHINGTON from 1867 dow. etaoineta-iiio
the new generation Of patrons of the game
today, and may bring back the sunshine
of the base ball past in many instances to
the older ones. The first great team that
gave q tone to the game when the sport
was on the threshold Of professionalism.
and who evangelical the game in the west.
will ever be remembered by not only the
old Washingtonfans and lovers or the
game, but patrons of the sport throughout
the whole western country. The old Ma
tionals Of 1857 that made that famous tour
west were clerks in the different depart
ments of the capital. but at that-they pos
sessed base ball skill that equaled the best
in the then known base ball world. Passing
throughout the country made the sport a
legitimate professional pastime, Washing
ton gathered together a formidable team
called the Olympfcs-which included nearly
one-half of the famous Cincinnati Reds of
80. I do not mean to state that II was
the beginning Of professional base ball
as professionalism was In operation IN
many DISCUSSES from '66 on-but as the
came out in the open and declared for
legitimate professional base ball.
A Great Catcher.
The catcher Of that great team called
the Olympics was Douglas Allison. who Is
now a resident Of Washington city. He
was the first high-class catcher Of the base
ball world and in my humble opinion he
was the greatest: Of them all In that first
period Of professional base ball. There
was no pigmy about him In size or In skill.
He was nst only q good batter, but great
thrower to bases also, and it did not require
derrick to straighten him up before ne
got the ball out of his hands. He caught
under the bat without mask or glove,
but in later years he used very thin
glove on one hand. When the athletic and
elastic statures of Allison, Snyder. Bennett
and Ewing are remembered by the old pa
deed to look at some Of the Lilliputtan catch
ers Of today. do not mean to say that we
have not sldllful catchers In base ball at
the present time, but they are nearly all IN
the middleweight. lightweight and feather
weight class, when compared to the heavy
weights of the past. Caliber counts IN all
things, to use a pugilistic phrase, "a good
big man" IL always better than good
small stature that is fast on his feet inoc-
ulated with q good deal Of ginger, IL far
better than q man Of large stature who u
heavy and loggy on his feet with no snap
Bennett and Ewing had the combination Of
BOTH and there fs no featherwetEht catcher
Of the present day that eQualed these men
in celebrity of foot behind the bat.
|. Another great team that Washington Dos.
sessed was that grand organization Of 70
that was controlled by Mike Scanlon,
While his team was not q member OF tho
National League. yet there was not q club
met the boys of 10 but had q battle ON
their hands. and most Of the time suffered
defeat by the Nationals. but the club that
suffered the most defeats by the home or
under Capt. Arson. There were two men
on the Nationals Of 10 that were oonspic-
uously great-namely, Charlie Snyder.
catcher. and Joe Gerhardt. second base
There was not catcher that ever wore
uniform In the history OF base ball that was
Snyders superior. and Ewing only excelled
him as a batter. Snyder in his best days
was tall 1.-the and willowy. He had an
arm that made the boys of those base
running days wary. He was called on te
handle the new rfie-shot pitching Of mod
ern times that was introduced by James
Devlin Of the Louisvilles Of IT. and he did
with Gerhardt and with Burdock OF the old
Bostons we have not seen since, but oncs
in a while Billy Sullivan and Davis Of the
Chicago Whites get into that algebra oi
seen Snyder and Burdock nip" those dare
devil Chicago base runners Of the early sos
when they were maneuvering q lead Oh
second to steal third. My dear readers.
Mike Kelly. Gore, Dalrymple Williamson.
Prefer and Tom Burns Of that Chicago
team were no dray horse base runners.
either. In fact. they had q catcher guess
Ing all the time when they were to steal
catch some Of those sleepy. giddy fellows
Of today once In q while, but without q
man like Davis at the other end Of the
play Sullivan's lightning throws would 20
tionals, who Is today one Of the greatest
all-round catchers Of modern base ball
would pull or the same plays II he had
such a general as George Davis around
second base.
Sullivan Was Game.
White am writing of catchers. Of the
present day, must not forget to mention
the gameness and hon-lfke grit In that
world seriee and before 1t. even Il he Il my
fore the close Of the American League
season last October he had his thumb torn
from the bone by foul tip. The audience
In the grandstand saw the doctor run over
In its place. The flesh was torn and the
next day, after the doctor had sswed the
wound and splintered the thumb. 6ulli-
van wanted to g In the game. but the
IT, The games were very Important az .
loss Of a couple of them would throw the
Chicago club out Of the race and the New
York Americans In It. AFTER three or four
days Sullivan was finally left to 60 In and
his work in the world series with that bad
thumb stamps him as one of the gamest
catchers that ever wore a mask.
Washington had no base ball club In any
league In '83, but they had an independent
team in the city that played exhibition
games with major leagues as they passed
through. As manager of the st. Louis
Browns made date with Mr.. Warren
White, who was the manager of the Wash
ington boys. Where these grounds were I
do not know, but am sure the Washing
ton Monument was not ON them.
This game I pitched myself, which I
usually did In all exhibition games, AZ We
carried but two pitchers in those days,
namely. Tony Muilane and McGinnis. Bob
Barr pitched for the Nationals. The names