The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-03-24
OLD TIME
 ATHLETICS Won Pennant on New
 Grounds. CAN CONNIE MACK REPEATs Billy Sharsig Had Some Stars in
 1883. The Athletics of 1909 Will Find It Diff ficult Trying To Finish Ahead of Any Of The Four Vest
 ern Clubs.


 of Any Of The Four Vest
 ern Clubs.
 How about that big new ball park Of yours, Mir. Mack?' was a question fired at the tall manager of the Athletics yesterday. Well, Its pretty obig, at that" answered Connie, and guess our team will have to go some to Till it."
 Along this line The Philadelphia Record of Sunday has the following:
 'Twenty-six years ago Billy Snar- sig's Athletics opened new grounds at won the championship pennant the first season. Can Connie Mack's -Ath- letics duplicate the performance this year on the new ball players paradise be most remarkable should history re- peat itself, even though Mack has players enough to make up three teams; unlimited backing to buy the to get and the finest baseball grounds in the world on which to play the games. Sharsigs capital consisted of stocking of gold. the life savings of his old mother. which he had borrowed and the contributions of Simmons and Mason, his partners in ownership of the club. Pretty much all this was eaten up in fitting up the grounds in the most simple manner possible-a small covered stand that would seat less than 1000 board bleachers and a skin diamond. The field was barely fit to play ball on when the season opened and was never, even In after years, anywhere near first-class. But Shar- sig had some very good ball players. even though barely enough to make up a team, and they won out in the first really close pennant race In the his tory of organized baseball. Harry act haa Ina game has ever known; Jack O'Brien, a good heady catcher. who could also hit; Bobby Matthews, one of the great est pitchers of his day. and Pitcher least of sharsigs team whom Connie Mack could find places for right now. notwithstanding the wealth of material at his command. Stovey would fit in very nicely in the outfieId and O'Brien would send some of Con- nie's catching candidates back to the minors.
 Pitchers Played Third Base.
 Fred Corey was Sharsig's third pitcher. and he and Bradley alternated also along with O'Brien, substituted in centerfield. Bill Crowley and Bob Blackiston were supposed to be field ewnT but netns5 Risyed on %any nnss looked after right field in good shape, and Jud Birchall cared for left gar den. Stovey, although an outfielder, played first base all season and led Stricker held down second base. mak- ing his errors when they cost least, and Mike Moynahan played shortstop. Ed. Rowen was the extra catcher. but secured with Matthews from Boston, and was let go the following season. That was the makeup of the team which won the American Association pennant for Philadelphia in 1883 with record of sixty-six games won and thirty-eight lost. St. Louis finished second with sixty-five won and thirty three lost. and Cincinnati third, with sixty-two won and thirty-six lost. The Eclipse. of Louisville; Columbus. Ale gheny, of Pittsburg, and Baltimore. were also in the circuit and finished in the order named. A tenth-inning Elipse team. gave the Athletics to victory in the game that decided the championship at Louisville on Sep tember <2S. the last but one of the season The Athletics lost the other while the St. Louis Browns won three straight from Allegheny, but that mar gin of one game to the good was enough to land the pennant and a great reception with a street parade was ac- corded the team when the players ar- rived in this city few days later.
 "Jumping Jack" Jones.
 Dumping Jack" Jones, the Yale paid si 900 for one months service (September), and Jones by winning two successive games from St. Louis. II to l and to (September and D broke the slump which the team was experiencing and started the boys win ming again Bradley won the third game from the Browns. giving the St. Louis men a terrible setback just at time when they looked like coming champions. That was Comiskey's great St Louis team. one of the live Hest ever put on the diamond, which afterward won enough American As- sociation pennants to make the race look like joke. Jones followed his St. Louis victories by beating the Columbus team to 2; but after that he was not of much account until he pitched that deciding game at Louis vile. which won the. championship, put in against the Browns at St. Louis. and ell told he pitched but seven games We're well worth the salary paid the Yale hattery-even though Hubbard was of no use whatever to the club since he did not class with O'Brien as a catcher.
 Five of Tbem Are Dead.
 All but five of these old-time cham Moynahan. Matthews and Rowen-are stfll living OBrien. Rryan). is teamster in thls city; Bradley is a noliceman in the Twenty sixth district; Stovey Is on the police department at New Bedford, Mass: Stricker is keep ing a cigar store near Twenty third and Columbia Avenue: Corey is father at Providence, R: L; iackiston Navy Yard Cali. and Knight is in the Highway Department at City Hall The success of the team In winning games was not due to discipline or Q dherence to the usual rules of train ing, for the players did pretty much az they liked both on and off the field. It was a happy-go-lucky crowd, both owners and players. On the trips Q accompanying the team. and Stovey. the field captain, was practically the manager, also Stovey. whose right name is Stowe, was a most remarkable ball player-a good batsman (except against such left-hand pitchers as Matt a fast fielder and a phenome nal base-runner. Standing upward of six feet in his stockings. he would slide to base. feet first and regain stand CT speed than any other man who has ever played baseball. He always slid feet first but was not nasty" with his feet In the way of trying to hurt the basemen. as some of his imitators were. Stovey always wore a pad on his left hip to protect the bones, and when some fifteen feet from a base he would make a great forward feet-ffrst plunge, blowing along on the side of his feet with his face turned toward the man making the throw intended ground about the time his feet reached the hase baP and rebounding he would