Connecticut western news., 1908-10-01
THE OLD RED COW
 WON THE BALL CAME
so SAYS THE GROCERY ORACLE
Twas in the old Days When the Ham, mertoWn and Rafferty's Crossing Teams Were Tied fer First Place The OracIe's Home Run.

Teams Were Tied fer First Place The 0racIe's Home Run.
 AS I used to be somethin' of ball tlayer meself tn game by innin's'' is
 wan iv tn fust things l look at each week when I git sot down to read Tn News" remarked the Grocery Oracle.
 'Tis little difference it makes to me which iv tn clubs trims tn other be- cause I don't know none iv tn b'yes ex- cept be reputation but I've been readin' about tn games in tn hope that I'd come across the account of some plays like them as was made ill tn old days when was a playin' lift field on tn Hammertown club i'll tn old Hopper County League Them was tn days when games was played as was worth goin' to see. Tn tame sort iv base ball these Hoosatonic Valley lads is putin up wouldn't have called out corporal s guard down on Foley's Patch where tn league games was played. Tn b'yes and gir-ruls who come to see them games knowed there would be some- thin doin' as was worth while every minute after tn fiust ball was t'run. People come from miles around to see them games. Many's th' time I've seen tn patch so full iv folks that tn b'yes had hardly room to play tn game. Then we put tn admission price up to 50 cents but tn crowds was as big as ever. 'Pon me sowl, b'lave they'd coughed up a cartwheel before they d stayed to home.
 Tn year I'm speakin' iv was tn most excitin' iv all Tn Hammertowns and tn club from Rufferty's Crossin' was tied for fust place and twas tn last game iy tn season and yez can imagine what sort iv excitement they was. Tn Rufferty's Crossing club went to bat We got one in th' second aRd not ball heavier put his brogans on tn plate after that. Innin' after innin' was played and not run scored. Wimmen tainted and tn men yelled themselves hoarse and trampled each other under foot. Nine innins and tn score one and one. Ten, iliven. twelve, thirteen, four teen, and fifteen innin's. In tn six teenth with none out and man on first Mulcahey. tn hardest hitter i'll tn Raf- ferty's Crossin' bunch come up to bat. When saw him walk up to tn plate, I went to deep left because I knowed if he swatted it 'twould be good fir a pair iv them and maybe three, Casey, our pitcher flung him an in and drop and he made two gouges with his stick in tn warm afternoon. He put it to tn next one and saw tn ball soarin' out my way. Twas goin' so high that thought we was goners and I had visions of tn rag fyin' from tn pennant stick at Rafferty s Crossing but I started on tn try to get it. A fence ran through corner iv our field and when saw tn ball was goin' over I climbed up on it, give a jump six feet in tn air, stuck up one hand, touched tn ball with the end of me fingers. stopped it and caught it with me other hand as it bounded off.
 Tn man on first had started for second when Mulcahy hit tn ball. When he saw me pull'e down, he run back, touched first and started like mad fer home, but he n'r me n'r anyone else hadn't figured on what happened then. Iv coarse if l give jump in tn air I had to come down and when did come, I landed straddle iv McFadden's old red COW what was gnawin' the whiskers off tn earth and what was tn only per son.fer miles around what wasn't t that ex- cited that eatin' was tn last thing they thought of. Whether she thought she had been hit be an air ship or run into be an autymobile I'll never tell ge but whatever 'twuz she thought, she had an idea twas necessary to pull her freight right quick and she done it.
 Through tn bars she went, pintin' in a bee line fir tn crowd and at tn same time tn base runner was pikin' it as fast as he could wiggle his pins. Tn crowd yelled fir me to give tn ball heave to head off tn lad but there's aisYer things than chuckin' ball from the back of COW travelin forty knots an hour. When tn old beast put her hoofs on third, the lad was a streakin fer home and only few feet ahead. I saw we was gainin' on him and with tn ball ill me fist, I leaned off tn COW as far as dast and thumped him be- tween the shoulders with it just as he had his foot raised to step on tn plate Out" says tn empire
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