Waterbury evening Democrat., 1908-01-10
THE DIAMOND.
Triple Plays Are Scarce in Bases


 Triple plays are | rarity in baseball4 1 Not more than one of these feats la accomplished during season, as q rule, and the instances when q triple l play has been made unassisted can be | counted on the fingers of one hand with some of the fingers left over. [ There is but one instance on record where an outflelder has made triple | play unassisted and thatN was thirty years ago The man who made this wonderful play is | resident of Wash- ington. Paul Hines, not so many years ago one of the brightest stars of the game, now clerk in the agricultural department, accomplished this feat and the distinction of making the first unassisted triple play on record
 Paul Hines career as ball player started in Washington. He WAS born in Virginia, and his first engagement was with the Rosedale club i'll 1868. The Rosedales were then champions of the district. He continued with that team for two seasons, then joined the Nationals in 1871. In 1873 he became member of Nick Young's Washing ton club. His ability as a fielder and batter attracted general attention, and he accepted an offer from the Chicago club in 1874. and played ill that city until the fall of 1877, when he signed with the Providence team of the Ma tional league.
 It was in this year that Hines made the wonderful play already referred to. He was playing center field on the day in question, and with the bases full, short fly was hit to center field. It did not seem possible for Hines to reach the ball, as he was playing deep, and the ball was not more than forty feet behind second base. Hines came with the speed of a deer. caught the ball at his shoetops, and, without stop ping, ran in and touched second, re- tiring the base runner, who had start- ed for third, and then ran ill time 10 touch that base before the man who had started home could return. com pleting the triple play and retiring the side
 That play" said Hines the other day, has been questioned. but only few days ago 1 received clipping from a Hartford paper. in which a man named Daniels, who umpired the game, vouched for it. I remember dis tinctly that after had made the play there was q Hull in the stands The crowd did not seem to understand what had taken place. but when they that I had do S.;.Nl l.x d scene followed which I will never forget. Men and women stood up and cheered and l guess I was the proudest man on earth that day"
 'Keefe had the greatest slow ball that l have ever seen. He would fre- quently fool his catcher with it. let alone the batsman. Why. the pitchers of to-day talk about curves and spit balls and change of pace, well. we had all those things to contend with years ago but we did not have so much to say about it.
 Nowadays, with all sorts of gloves. the fielding is no better than it was then. Radbourne never wore a glove, and yet there was not better fielding pitcher. Burlington was another of the pitching stars. They tell you that Mathewson discovered the fade-away ball, which he uses against left handed batters. Well. Burlington had that fade-away long before Mathewson was ever heard of and he had it better than the New York crack
 Hines is now fifty-three years old, but he has never lost interest ill the game. In most instances the old play CTS lose interest in the sport after they have once retired, but not so with Hines. He is greatly interested in the Washington team and hopes that Cantillon will have winner next season.
 ''Do you know" remarked the vet eran, that every spring l have that baseball fever come over me. When the grass gets green and l read of the players reporting to their training camps. just feel like packing my grip and going with them, but. of course. guess those are merely ideas, and would not be able to keep ED with the young fellows any more