The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1907-11-26
THE BASEBALL CURVE.
An Old Timers Story Of the Game
Who First Saw It.


"There is. for instance, the matter
Of curve pitching. Who pitched rhe
tirSy carve ball? No; dom name
anv 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.
His name was Arthur Cummings.
and he was a New York boy, tall,
thin young fellow with hair as blond
as a chorus girls. How he came to
discover curve pitching [ don't
know, but it was generally believed
afterward that he hit on it by acci-
dent. He tried it out for the first
time in 1867 in a game between two
scrub teams in Washington.
"The famous Excelsior CLUB OF
New York was then visiting Wash
ington as the guest Of the old Nation
al club, and the two played a series
of games on the old White lot. To-
ward the end Of the series some one
suggested that the young New York
ers who had come over from the Ex-
cefsiors make up a scrub nine and
plav a nine Of Washington boys as a
sort of comic interlude.
"The suggestion was adopted, and
the New York nine consisted Of four
or five Excelsior substitutes and a
number of other young fellows,
among them Arthur Cummings. The
Washington nine was made up in the
main of players belonging to tae
Junior Nationals, the crack amateur
team of Washington.
''Cumminos vas a rising young
pitcher. 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 first batSman famed out
the Washingtonians began to look
surprised.
"EIt's the darndest thing I ever
saw said this batsman. I struck
right out at all three balls, and every
one of them seemed to jump aside
just as it got near the plate. One
jumped outward, another inward,
and the third seemed to rise. Maybe
I'm beginning to see things
4tIt puzzled Jewell, the catcher,
too, not to speak of Al Mills, the
umpire: Jewell caught all Of the balls
because it was then the custom for
the catcher to stand far back and
catch on the first bounce, but it made
him dizzy.
'EThe second batsman of the Jun
ior Nationals went to the bat and
walloped the air three times too. Al
Mills came up close to the plate to
see what was wrong. It looked to
aim as if Cummings were wild.
"sJust keep your head there he
said to the third batsman, 'and you
will get your base on balls
'''This third batsman. had steady
hand. and. sure enough, he cot his
base on balls. Cummings pitched the
ball. and it seemed to be coming
straight for the plate, when sudden
lv. Just as it was ten feet or so away,
it curved out and missed the plate by
a foot: Mills called bali.
''The next ball came straight on,
but the batsman, hoping to hit it
and profiting by his experience,
swung his bat far outs But, instead
Of curving out like the last one, 1t
seemed to jump. It crossed the plate
on a level with the batsman's eyes,
"That scared him, and ne just
stood there without making move
until a succession Of wild balls sent
him to first base. The fourth bats
man struck out so easily that it was
pathetic.
"Well, sir, Cummings began to get
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 a single
Junior National bats1nan could
touch it. 1t jumped; it sank; it
wabbled from side to side. Mills
rubbed his eyes and wondered how
the thing was done Cummings mere
" smiled.
I'm the fifth inning one Of the Ma
tionals by dumb luck landed on the
sphere and drove it into the next
county. There we're two men on
bases at the time, and the home run
brought them home. That gave the