Norwich bulletin., 1909-02-02
BREAKING INTO FAST COMPANY.
Baseball Stars Tell How it Felt to
Appear for First me in Profess
sionaI LimeIightt.

sionaI LimeIightt.
The most trying period in a ball
players life is when he makes his first
professional appearance Many of the
| chesty players seen strutting about the
ball parks today like a peacock were at
| one time in their career the most timid
| and panic stricken of mankind
This was on the occasion when they
made their entry into the ranks of
the professional ball players, and now
it is an old story. the men whose
names today are famous in the annals
| Of baseball delight to tell of their queer
| feelings when they BIZ oke into the
game.
Cy Young, though he flss been pitch
/ ing ball for nearly tive ty years, saws
| that he will never forget that August
| day in 1890 when he took his place on
the firing line for the Cleveland club
| against the Chicago team. At this
time Cy was grAen country boy fresh
from his fathers farm in Ohio, where
he had practiced throwing the ball
against the barn.
Cy Young GrecNs Country Boy.
Cleveland heard OF Cy about the lat
| ter part Of July, invited him down to
the park for tryout and set the date
for Aug 5, 1890. Young was Johnny-
| on-the-spot'' and was put in against
| the troublesome Chicago bunch. Only
| one man in that game besides Young
| is in harness today and that is George
Davis, who is with Comiskey'S White
Sox.
Young was a very awkward chap
| (and he hasn't improved much in these
many. many years., and this awkward
! ness was intensified when 1t was
found that there was no uniform be-
| longing to the CleveIA nd club that
l IA OF
sizes too small for him and in which
he made such a ridiculous figure that
the Chicago bunch just lay down and
rolled over with laughter. Every one
worked overtime in kidding the big
| overgrown looking Rube, and prom
! ised themselves all sorts Of sport with
| his pitching.
Cy says he walked on the field feel
| ing as II his heels were made of pneu-
matte rubber. Every time he took a
step he imagined he was sinking down
| into the hard earth. He has a con-
fused idea, also. that there was a
| crowd OF people somewhere in the vi
cinity but he couldn't remember where
it was.
Tainted Him.
| The Chicago players, though, soon
brought the big fellow out of hi
dreamy condition by jeering taunts.
/ This got Cy so angry that all his ner-
| vousness vanished like a flash. Grit
| ting his teeth, he took his position in
| the pitchers box with the stern deter
| mination to win that game in order to
| show the sassy westerners" that he
/ wasn't as green as he looked.
! Nerved up to this pitch, the ungalnly
| fellow shot his curves over the plate
and with such cannonbaI speed that
| he had the bewildered Chfca goans at
| his mercy He finally won his game
by a score of to I. He was hit safely
| but three times; gave only three pass
| including the redoubtai>le Captain An
| son.
MoGraw Once Tanned.
"Muggsy' McGraw, to see him on
| the field today and to hear him roast
/ ing the umpires to a fragile, would
hardly be accused Of becoming discon-
| certed at anything. Yet he got the
can by the Olean club of the New
York state league on his initial ap-
| pearance. 1t was way back in April,
| 1890 April Fools day. to be exact, that
Johnny McGraw blew into Olean~ Just
| the opposite of Cy Young, there wasn't
a suit in the camp that would fit the
midget In fact, there was only one
l suit that was not in use, and that be-
| longed to a six footer. McGraw climb-
| ed into the suit and when this bundle
| of clothing came on the field a search
warrant was sworn out 10 find the
| youngster.
There we're at least 1000. 900 people
on the Olean grounds that day. Nc
Graw says so, and he ought to know.
On the first ball knocked to him at
third base "Muggsy' put the clamps
| on, but it seemed to be as big as a
mountain. He took a good hold on it
and heaved it several feet over the
| first baseman's head. Every ball that
was knocked to him thereafter during
| the game he threw higher and higher.
After the game the manager came
I'D to the little Celt, patted him on the
| head and told him that he was an
awfully nice boy and so on, but as a
| ball player he was nothing short Of a
| frigid frost.
McGraw pulled out Of Olean that
night He secured berth on the
| Wellesville team, where he finished the
| season. He did 50 well that at the end
| of the year he received no less than
eighteen chances, one Of them from
| Pop Arson of the Chicago team.
Ewing Started With Cincinnati.
Buck Ewing, before his death, used
| to like to go back to the time he was
| first given an opportunity with the
! Cincinnati team. He liked to tell how
his nerve deserted him and how he felt.
! At the time Buck took UP baseball
for a living he was employed by Gin
cinnad brewery. During his spare time
/ he played ball for sport. But so many
good reports were circulated about his
/ playing that the Cincinnati manager
/ began to sit up and take notice. He
went after Ewing and made arrange
ments with him to show up at the big
| ball park on certain day for a try
| out.
There wasn't a wink Of sleep for
! Buck the night previous to the day on
which he was to appear. He rolled
and tossed around in his bed. and while
he dreaded the coming daylight he was
/ glad in a way when 1t did some. The
| nearer, it got to the time for his APP
pearance at the ball park the more
nervous he became. Somehow he man
aged to present himself at the park,
but in an almost collapsed condition.
| He hadn't the nerve to go to the man
ager, so he skunk away to the bleach
| ers, where he hid himself. Although
he heard his name called several times,