The weekly herald. [volume] (Amarillo, Tex.) 1906-19??, 1908-05-07
BALI. FIELD STORIES
Peculiar Incidents Not Covered
by the Rules.
PUZZLES FOR THE UMPIRE.

Baseball rules are supposed 10 cover
Every possible emergency that may
arise during a game, yet n dozen times
q week in some nook or corner OF the
world there arises situation over
which there nrc certain 10 be bitter
disputes and which tho umpire alone
may fudge
Even I'm the big leagues these things
occur ono did an the old Eastern
park grounds at Brooklyn in game
between Philadelphia and the Pcram.
buators
The decision OF the umpire was up
held by President Nick Young, al.
though II stlll is open to dispute
IT. happened that In the seventh IN
nlng, with two men on bases, Tread.
way hit line drive down the left
Held line. The bail beyond doubt was
going foul, FOR II was curying toward
abe foul line rapidly. Gafney, who
wAs umpiring the game, was standing
ut the plate squirting down the line,
hiS eye following the bail
Suddenly a flight Of pigeons swept
along The ball struck one OF the pr
geons, knocking II to the earth, and the
ball Itself swerved from Its course and
struck the ground a foot inside the
You'll line. The Brooklyn runners raced
around the bases, but Gaffney waved
Them back and declared the hit foul.
Nhcre was long wrangle which re.
suited in Brooklyn protesting the
game, but Uncle Nick upheld Gaffney,
Jiggers Donahue always had ter
Dor OF all sorH OF snakes toads and
bugs, and this terror once nearly lost
Chicago victory over Washington.
Joe Cantllon knew OF this aversion,
and when the Senators opened In Chi
cago Cantllon spent the early after
noon digging fishing worms grubS and
the like and he arrived at the park
with couple Of pans filled with them.
Joe waited several innings, and then.
with one Of the Senators on first, he
began sprinkIng worms around the
sack Ilggers did not notice It for a
minute, and. indeed, not until the
Washington player ran of the bag to
draw the throw Tho ball came low.
and Just before he stopped 10 catch
II Jiggers saw the ground covered
with worms. He lot out a yell and
Jumped foot In the air. He managed
10 block the ball, however, and sent
In a hurry.up call for John to sweep
ne ground around the base.
All through tho game Cantillon and
ais men Sprlnkled worms and bugs
kround Jlggers and kept him in state
.nf tarror, but with the aid OF the broom
bs managed to Illustrate his tormentors
and escape without an error, and the
Following day he appealed to the UNI
Firs to make the Senators quit
Tommy Tucker, however, was not so
Eucl1y a. Jiggers, He lost a game for
Washington TO Chicago once and start
ed a battle all BECAUSE OF a trick Bill
DAhlan and Bill Everett put up on him.
Tom never did like snakes. Indeed,
he held them in adherence, and in
Some way Dahleu discovered this.
Washington was TO play Chicago that
afternoon, and during the mGgning
practice on the west side grounds Dab
Zen and Everett discovered a small
Rartprsnako and treasured II mp.
Along IN the fourth inning Everett
cracked out hit, and as soon as he
banded on first base Dahlen, ignoring
hA usual custom, ran out 10 coach, and
a moment later be slipped the harmless
rttIe reptile to Everett, who dropped 1t
INTO fuckers hip pocket.
Tommy discovered the snake inst as
The pitcher was delivering the ball.
R0d, with yelp. he deserted first
base. The shortstop gathered up the
hall on the run and started to throw to
second, but was too late and threw
howard first. Tommy was twenty feet
off the base, jumping up and down and
hunting for something with which to
Kill that snake, and tho ball went to
the stands, and Chicago scored four
runs in the round.
Tucker protested wildly, but the UNI
plre couldn't find anything about
snakes in the rule book and let it 80
at that
But possibly the hardest decision an
umpire ever tackled fell TO the lot Of
Jack Stratton, who was umplring Q
xame between the Dallas co. team
and the club from Sycamore Valley
years ago.
The teams were playing down nj
I.ynns bottom at Sycamore Valley,
and the score was 10 10 II, or some
thing like that, in favor Of Dallas in
the ninth inning, with two out and
the bases filed. At any rate, what
ever the score was, Sycamore Valley
needed three runs TO tie and four to
win, and 1t happened that Butch Car
penter, one Of the weakest hitters On
the team, was at bat
One strike had been called when
Butch hit the ball. Where that ball
went no one knows to this day. All
the players were running They saw
the ball pitched and saw it hit, hot
just as the bat hit the ball the boiler
at Hicks sawmill about 200 yards
away exploded,
About FIVE minutes later, when the
smoke and steam cleared away, the
base runners remembered and ran
a-a,,nd 80 Abo yIotn