The Ogden standard. [volume] (Ogden City, Utah) 1902-1910, 1909-04-20
CATCHING RECORDS
FOR 1903 SEASON
Gibson of Pittsbure Makes New Rec
ord by Working In 14o Games.

Among the baseball records for the
season 1908 the work of the star catch
ers Of the National league makes
interesting reading for the close stu
dents Of baseball According to the
Official records just issued Gibson OF
P1ttsburg leads the National league for
participating in games. having 40 to
his credit, which Is q new record for
major leagues. while Berry eclipsed
all previous records in any league by
acting as a backstop In l63 games
during the long season of the Pacific
Coast league.
For many years IL has been the aim
OF managers to carry two first-class
catchers, working them on alternate
days, and filling in with a third man
occasionally. But In recent seasons
championship teams and neaT.cham-
pionship teams have depended mainly
upon one man behind the bat. There
was time when a catcher who work
ed 100 games behind the bat In a sea
Son was heralded as wonder but for
the past two or three years several
catchers have passed the century
mark in working days until Gibson
finally brought the record up TO 140
games.
Catching a double-header on hot
day Is hard labor, and the chance of
accident is so great that only a few
backstops can survive such ordeals. A
great many catchers are laid up half
the time with broken bones or split
hands, but the artists Of the profes-
sion do their work so neatly and with
such caution that they are seldom
forced TO do bench duty. With Sullivan
working every day the White SoX will
win majority Of their games Doom
has been the PhillleS star ever since
he joined the team Bowerman was
pillar of. strength to the Boston team
and King is an important cog in the
Chicago machine. One reason why
Detroit was beaten twice by the Cubs
WAS the lack of f1rst-class work be-
mind the bat
Gibson led the National league last
year by catching 10 games. and he
was the only player In the National
league to catch In 100 or more games
King of Chicago. was second with
9S; Breshnahan of New York third
with 95, and Doom of Philadelphia
fourth, with 81 In the American
league Clarke of Cleveland had the
record in the major leagues. catching
in 115 games Sullivan of Chicago
caught In 100 and Schmidt OF Detrol:
in 1OS, not including the games played
In the worlds series.
BreSnahan, the mainstay of the New
York team behind The bat. was a close
ri. al 81 p, f1,- e, Co.
season just closed. Breshnahan caught
in 139 games. and would no doubt have
made it very close to $50 but for Sc
we're accident which put him out OF
the game during the latter part Of the
season, when Needham was called up
on. Charley Doom ranks third, with
record of 132 games to his credit. while
Kings inability to handle the spit-ball
cut his working days down to 125
during the regular season, and he
added five games to this during the
worlds series.
The record Of these catchers and
Berry can hardly be compared. as the
season on the Pacific coast lasts seven
months. and something like It's games
are played by each team Charley
Street, now with the Washington team,
got record for the Pacific Coast
league by doing the backstop work in
l54 games for San Francisco in 1907.
Berry's performance. however. is the
best ever in any league. and probably
his record will stand for a good many
years.
Berry is only 81 years old. and has
had two trials in the American league.
He started out in Texas-where about
half OF the American league catchers
get their early training-and finished
the season OF 1904 with the White Sox,
Light hitting sent him back to the
minors. In 1906 he was drafted by
Connie Mack but early in the season
Of 1907 he was sent to Williamsport,
going from there to Frisco.