Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-02-02

good for several seasons yet so this list
will not be changed much within the next
few years. OF course. there are a number
of players now in the league who have
service. but when the American League
was organized they were in the National
League and did not come into the Ban
johnson circuit until a year or two later.
In this list might be mentioned Cy Young,
Lajoie, Keller. Bernhard. Flick. Bradley
Jimmy Collins, Crawford. Fielder Jones.
George Davis and Bobby Wallace. Connie
Mack has four of the men who aided in
the development of the American League.
starting out in 1900 and going through
| the hard war of 19O1-O2 and 1903. They
are Outtielders Hartsel and Seybold. First
Baseman Harry Davis and Catcher
Schreck. Hartsel and Seybold were men,
bers of the Indianapolis team In 1900.
while Davis was playing first for the
Minneapolis team. Schreck was then with
Buffalo, and also played with Boston and
| Cleveland prior to becoming one of the
Athletics. Roy Patterson of the White
Sox was the boy wonder in 1900 and
had Frank Isbell for a teammate. Wash
ington also had two men last season who
were original American Leaguers-John
Anderson and Case Patten. Anderson
started at Milwaukee and afterward
played with st. Louis and New York and
will be with Chicago this year Patten
came to Washington from Kansas City.
Bill Coughlin. the captain of the Tigers.
who started with Kansas City and went
to Detroit by way of this city. and Kid
Elberfeld of the Yankees. who was a
Detroiter in 1900, are the only others who
have seen eight continuous years Of serv
Ice in the AElerican 1t will be seen by
this resume mat Patterson and Isbell are
the only ones who have put in eight years
with the same club. There are a few
others who are now In the league who
were American Leaguers in the first year
of its career, but they have been out of
the league a season or SO in the mean
time. This list includes those Detroit
Heavenly Twins" O'Leary and Schaefer.
In 1900 OLeary was with Chicago and
Schaefer was with Kansas City. Ollie
chickering's American League career was
broken by a stay at Columbus, while
Charley Hemphfll put In a couple of years
at st. Paul. "Shoddy' Shaw, with Buff
falo In 1900, went back to the minors for
several seasons before going to Boston
last year. Catcher Heydon wis with In
dianapolis in 1900. but did not land with
Washington until two or three years later.
RUDE" Waddell was out OF the league
for one season, while vivid" Conroy was
with the National League for couple of
years. and Joe Yeager was in Montreal
for a season. Cleveland has had Bill
Bradley for seven continuous seasons. and
Lajoie. Flick. Bemis, Joss, Bay and Bern
hard for six years, but there is not an
elght-year-old on the Nap roster.
Look out for the Highlanders! They
sure do look like the goods this year.
Clark Griffith has been vainly knocking
on the pennant door since his team en-
tered the American League in 1903 but
has failed to land. In nearly every year
he has been a strong contender, but in
recent seasons his great weakness has
been the lack of championship pitching
caliber. His team has been greatly
strengthened by the addition Of Jake
Stahl. Hemphill and Niles, but his great
effort at building up has been made in
the pitching department.
Seventeen good bad and Indifferent
pitchers are on the Highlanders' reserve
list, and IL Foxy Clark Griffith, who knows
the pitching game from every angle. can
not find the nucleus of a good staff in
that army it is nearly time for him to
ranch and keep away from the Great
White Way.
The stalwart seventeen are composed of
Chesbro. Ortiz. Newton, Doyle. Hogg.
Neuer, Tiff, Hughes. Keefe, Brockett and
Castleton. all of whom have been with
the Highlanders before; Glade and Hide
brand. secured by trades and Lake, Plank
mot Eddie), Zeller and Manning, minor
league graduates Of the class of 1907.
The general impression among base ball
men is that Griffith has secured the cream
of the available twirlers for the coming
year, and the 1908 pitching staff of the
Highlanders will compare favorably with
any in the league.
The following story. told by Pitcher
Harry Howell to the st. Louis Globe-Dem-
ocrat, recalls two sad experiences on the
Washington grounds last season. and 1t
Is to be hoped that luck of this sort Will
steer clear Of the Nationals this year.
THE Browns won a game of ball from
Washington July 26. 1907. that have
laughed over ever since. I was pitching
that day, and it so happened that won
the game by one of the freakiest home
runs ever seem
..In the second inning Of the game we
had two men on the bases when l came
up to bat Our fellows hadn't been hit
ting the ball so far, and 1T looked as IT
we were going to have a tight game.
1.-THE right-field bleachers in Washing
ton come right up to the foul line. just
short distance back of first base. and
low fence is all that shuts them off from
the field
Il had swung at couple of balls and
attempt / lifted short fly back of first
1t would have been a single on ordinary
grounds as the first baseman and right
fielder were both ready to get 1t almost
on the first bound. But the ball came
down with reverse English on 1t and
bounded high out Of reach of both f1elders
and jumped over into the first row OF
bleachers.
at had to go as a. home run. and three
runs came across the plate. We needed
them. too, as the final score was but 3 to
in our favor. Only the day before we
had beaten Washington when Yeager
bounded one into the same bleacher for
home run. and Washington fans must
have thought the fates were against