Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1907-10-15
THE BASEBALL CURVE
An Old Timers Story of the
Game That First Saw 1t.
1T WAS USED BY AN AMATEUR
According to This Old Professional
Player, Arthur Cummings Was tie
Young Pitcher Who Was the orisi-
nator Of tho IN and Out Shoots. !.

Il
Speaking about the early history Of
baseball the other day, an old time
professional player said there were
many things not known generally.
.There Is, for instance, the matter of
curve pitching. Who pitched the first
curved ball? No; don't name any of |
the men that won pennants and got
$4,000 a year. The pioneer wasn't a
professional, but an amateur-that is.
he was an amateur until his curves
made him famous II.
"His name was Arthur Cummings. |
and he was New York boy, a tail,
thin young fellow with hair as blond
as chorus girls. How he came to
discover curve pitching don't know,
but it was generally believed after
ward that he hit on 1t by accident.
He tried 1t out for the first time in
1867 in game between two scrub
teams In Washington
|. 1.-THE famous Excelsior club of New
York was then visiting Washington as
| the guest Of the old National club, and
the two played q series Of games on
| the old White lot. Toward the end of
| the series some one suggested that the
young New Workers who had come
over, with the ExcelsioFs make up a.
scrub nine and play a nineeof Wash
ington boys as sort Of comic inter
Jude.
| "The suggestion was adopted, and the
New York nine consisted OF four or
eve Excelsior substitutes and a num-
Der Of other young fellows, among
them Arthur Cummings. The Wash
ington nine was made up in the main
OF players belonging to the Junior No
tionais, the crack amateur team of
| Washington. S5~.%
/ Cummings was rising young pitch
or, but no one thought that there was
anything remarkable about him, and
the Junior Nationals prepared to knock
him out OF the box But when the hrst
batsman famed out the Washingto-
nsans began to look surprised.
i "tIt's the darndest thing ever saw
}, said this batsman. Il struck right out
J, at ali three balls, and every one of
them seemed to jump aside Just as II
got near the plate. One jumped out.
ward, another inward, and the third
seemed to rise. Maybe I'm beginning
to see things
Il "It puzzled Jewell, the catcher, too
= not to speak Of AL Mills, the umpire
4 Jewell caught all of the balls because
al It was then the custom for the catcher
to stand far back and catch ON the firs'
bounce, but it made him dizzy. :
1.-THE second batsman Of the Junior
Nationals went to the bat and wal
: Hoped the air three times too Al
Mills came mp close to the plate to see
, what was wrong 1t looked 80 him az
= IL Cummings were wild.
".Just keep your head there he said
r to the third batsman. and you'll gel
your base ON balls -.. d
'This third batsman had a steady
hand, and. sure enough, he got his base
ON balls. Cummings pitched the ball
and it seemed to be coming straight
for the plate, when suddenly, just as
3 1t was ten feet or so away, it curved
, out and missed the plate by foot
Mills called ball.
1.-THE next ball came straight On but
the batsman, hoping to hit 1t and profit
l. ing by his experience, swung his bat
far out. But, instead Of curving Out
. like the last one, it seemed to jump
: 1t crossed the plate on level with
: the batsman's eyes.
THAT scared him, and he just stood
;, there without making a move until a
succession Of wild balls sent him tC
l first base The fourth batsman struck
out so easily that it was pathetic.
"Well, sir, Cummings began to gel
more control over the ball after that
! first inning, and Mills had to admit
!. that it was coming over the plate; but
except by accident, not single Junior
National batsman could touch it. II
] jumped; it sank; it wabbled from side
. to side Mills rubbed his eyes and won
dered how the thing was done. Cum
mings merely smiled.
''In the fifth inning one of the Ma
tionals by dumb luck landed on the
sphere and drove 1t into the next coun
: ty. There were two men on bases al
4 the time. sd this home run brought
+ them home That gave the Nationals
E three runs. So far as know, they
:. made no other runs in the whole game
: after it was all over the whole
town buzzed about Cumming queel
l. pitching. AS for him. he was as silen
MS the grave. Y. s"
L How do you make the bah curve?
! asked hundred persons.
!, ttDoes1 it csiryey CUMMINGS woul(
! say, innocentI like. *
And then he would shut up and be
come clam. 49, T..
"When he got back to New York b,
: was signed by the champion Athletic
3 and became their star pitcher. othe
n pitchers watched him and got ON 3
/. the trick, but 1t was three years befor