Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-08-27
CONTINUED RAIN BLOCKS LOCAL BALL GAMES.
ANOTHER YOUNG TWIRI>ER JOINS THE NATIONALS


Clevelsn nd players nothing to do but sit
around the hotels and talk shop Man
ager Cantillon was out at the park early
this morning trying to get the field In
shape but it was hard work. as rain
started; again at IL o'clock.
The Cleveland crowd was the most dis
appointed bunch imaginable.
I'VE had a good chance of coping sew
eral games here" said one of the play
ers this morning but our luck always
fails lis when we strike Washington.
Playing a single game day our chances
would have been equal to Washington s,
but NOW with double headers coming up
it is al most impossible to win two games
in rtev from any team"
The Mayer was reminded that the Ma
tonalss had captured two games in one
day from the Chicagos on their last trip:
We'll the Washington crowd has a
way OF its own in winning games. but
I'm willing TO bet Il months wages they
don't Jake two in one day from us"
The bet was too hard for the reporter
and he passed it up.
Another young recruit for the Washing
ton CRIB drifted into the city yesterday
and wsI be given thorough trying out
this fin. He is a pitcher. by the name
of Bob Dimpfel. and from his looks
shouId prove a good one He weighs
something over 200 pounds. and as he
stood alongside Walter Johnson last
night Dimpfel looked TO he larger all
around. Ever since Manager Cantillon
dug Johnson out of the bushes he has
been willing to take a look at unknown
youngsters
Dimofel halls from Maryland and this
spring graduated from st. Johns Col
1ege. annapolis. His home being near
he a oh
Quakdt city Union League club, and did
splenC5dly with poor support He then
went with Easton. but that club dis
banded and he drifted down south. where
1t is reported he worked in twenty-three
games and won twenty-one of them. A
trave9ng man. who is friend of the
Washington club. called Cantillon's at
tention to Dimpfel. and Jesse Tannehill
was sent down south to look him over.
Dimpyel worked several games to Tame
hills satisfaction, and as he will cost the
club hothing, he was told to report here
as soon as possible. Dimpfel will COM
mence practcing with the club as soon
as th} grounds are fit, and at the first
pporfunity he will be sent in to face one
of th& American League clubs. Manager
Cantizon says he can't have too many
good pitchers tied up to his club. as they
are rot only valuable winners. but
also iirst-claSs trading and selling ma
Jerial-
Not withstanding that it is we'll known
fact that a ball has never been caught
that aas been dropped from the Wash
inStoi. monument until Charley. Street
perfos med the feat recently. several of
the Y estern papers are already on his
trail trying to give the honors to an
other man.
The Indianapolis News has the follow
ing:
Tie story in yesterdays News" said
the sld-time base ball reporter. that
fnfn of
teams had performed the unprecedented
though oft-attempted feat of catching a
base $ball dropped from the top of the
Washington Monument. a distance of 500
feet, Is probably true regarding Streets
stunt. but 1 do not believe it is true that
1t is unprecedented. In 1SS1-SS I trav-
eled with the indianapolis club, then in
the National League. reporting, games
for the News. We were tail-enders, al
though we had several players. including
Jack Glasscock. Jerry Denny, Charley
Bassett. Henry Boyle and George My
ers. that were among the best. On one
or orr eastern trips we followed the Chi
Cages In Washington, ard while there
the catching of a ball dropped from the
monument was much talked of, because
one of the Chicago players was said to
have done 1t few days before. Ny i'm
PRESTON is that it was Arson himself, al
though itmight have been Silver Flint
'Oae of our team, John cTugO Arun-
del. a catcher. said it was dead easy to
.catczI a ball dropped from the Monument
and "a bet was made on it. A crowd Of
us went out to see the attempt. Arundel
wor.; catchers gloveS-wh.ch were not so
thicb as they now are-on both hands and
put layers OF cotton under them. He
tried: eight or ten times to catch the ball
which Horace Fogel. the Indianapolis
manager, dropped from the top of the
Monument, but failed every time, and
after he had battered up his hands so he
could not play for some days he gave it
up:
Horace Fogel, now sporting editor of the
Philadelphia Telegraph, then chips in with
the following:
THE above interview. l surmise, was
witis my old friend Romeo Johnson, then
a base ball writer in Indianapolis and
travelling with our team. Arundel, If /
remember Alright. only succeeded in get
ting his hands on one ball and it almost
tore them off his wrists. Tug explained
afterward that he had not figured on IA
ball weighing ton coming from that dis
tanVe." The other balls IL dozen or more.
/ tossed out to him Arundel missed, some
by fifty feet. he misjudging them that
badly from such height. No. it was
not Arson nor Flint nor Schriver who
had previously caught tall thrown from
the Washington Monument. Bill did not
succeed the first day after numerous at
tempts, if my memory serves me right
nor the second day. but the third day he
had succeeded in gauging the angle Of
the; drop. got under one and held 1t.
Phile Baker. the veteran ball player of
thit city, came the nearest to holding the
bali. as on his try for tile catch he par
tiaay checked ii as it slid through his
glote. The veterans all made the mis-
taka of not having plenty of balls and
wasting several in gauging the wind be-
fora trying to make the catch. Street did
this and on his fourteenth effort held on to
the ball and il was the first and only ball
caught from the Washington Monument
Silk a spike here.
Thinkest thou that Larry Lajoie is dis
coUraged because he has number of men
on the hospital list? Think again He is
no.: he is not of the build that lets dis
corragement creep into his soul and the
baSe ball business. for he has been too
long in the business. While men are get
ting hurt and being put out of business.
Larry's faithful scouts hustle over the
lard and seek those who are willing to
jump in big league company. so that the
Maps have at all times sufficient number
OF extra players on the pay roll to prevent
Lajoic being obliged TO visit town
after the other with hut nine players.
This was pretty well illustrated when
George Stovan and Elmer Flick were
ad,ied to the hospital list. The next day
after Stovall wrenched his arm Laioie
purchased Outfielder RAFFERTY, of the Port
latd Ore, team in the Pacific Coast
League.
Rafferty, played with Charlestown, S G..
lakt year and led the South Atlantic
I.Jasue in batting and base running. his
stick work bringing him an average OF
- ~1l III.