Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-12-12
BALL PLAYERS ARE
IN FAVOR OF SPIKES
Abolition of the Same Would
Hope|essIy SIacken Up
the Game.
By Clarence L. Cullen.
II Correspondence Of Tho Star.

:
By Clarence L. Cullen.
Special Correspondence of The Star.
NEW YORK, November -. 1909.
None Of the base ball players with
whom / have talked about the proposed
scheme to do away with shoe spikes
thinks anything worth mentioning of that
plan They take the unqualified view. l
find. that spikes are an absolute necessity,
and they even glover upon the PROPOSE
ton that the spikes should be decreased
in size They take it that injuries from
spikes and from other causes are part
of the game. and they claim that the
speed of the game of ball would be hope
Iessly impaired If spikes were taken away.
Some Of the best men | have talked With
Hal Chase for example-claim that they
wouldn't he able to run bases at all with
out spikes.
| have found among the players no
svmpathy whatever for that suggestion,
recently made, that players should be re-
auired to slide into bags head first instead
or feet first.
RI mo az 10 that scneme. That's feature
OF the game that was cut out years anu
wears ago Hughey Jennings, n under :
stand, still teaches his men now 10 ~
into bags head nrst, but, In my OPINION
its the pad medicine. !.
Going into bags head hrst was q
scheme that caused more injuries 10
players than spikes ever did. Wnen so.,
dive for bag that way you We ohis 30.
about an eyen-money chance thal soui
noddle won't collide with the base-coVeI
er,s legs or feet Id like 10 know when
is better. to get hurt around the legs Q.
around the pcan? Me for splklng around
the legs every time. l don't want
ia have any base-coverer's knee WeuSed
INTO my eye. so deep that when ne puis
il out II makes a noise like dreose.
Not only that, but when you dive Tor
a bag you've got to flop smack-dab onto
your stomach. Well, that gag seriously
damaged : scores of players in the ola
DAYS. When a full-grown man comes
a whooping on his stomach to make the
head dive for a bag he's taking sven We,
chance on injuring himself internally
I've known men to so seriously .laa,
way as to be put out of the game lot
keeps. You remember, maybe, when you
were a kid, how il jolted you Wnen you
went what was called belly-bustin OF
belly-whoppin' in doing your coasting In
the winter time? Well. it's the same
sensation when you dive for a bag, only
you're grown up and with lot OF meat
on your carcass when you beiiy-Duss ~
a ball game, and the action Is pouho "
slam ali of the ginger out OF you even
It is doesn't positively damage your IN
ards. / can't see that diving-for-the,pa 9
thing at ALL unless, of course, they aIloW
ball players to wear those Deii-uaSel .
helmets The head foremost slide IoI
the bag was abolished mainly for tne
reason that it knocked the everlasting
tar out of too many good ball PLAYERS.
ANYHOW, the head-first way OF get
ting to a bag isn't the real thing. Inc
feet-first gag is the scientlnc soou ls,rsa
don't play ball at all any more, OF course,
but I'd be willing to lay two 10 one
that right now l can so into bag rect
first faster than the fastest man In .he
game can get into bag head nrst Inc
dive thing won't do It's only .aik' =
may come up at the winter league ses-
sions. but don't you believe 1t. It's one
of those things that won't eventuate.
Spikes won't be abolished, either. VIVA.
is this game of ball, anyhow-ping pong
III a few men arc spiked every year,
what of it? It's bad stuff, of course, but
all hands are taking chances In the
game all the time, and what Wouiu pe
the sense of slackening up the speed
of the game just for the sake OF throw
ing a sort of tiddlydewinks atmosphere
OF safety into it? Forget that head dive
and that can-the-spikes stun. Ihose
things will never happen.
I don't find any great enthusiasm any
where among base ball men in this neck
of the woods over the proposition TO
resurrect Pop" Arson and make min
into one of the great figures of the base
hall world in an official capacity. The
general opinion hereabout seems to be
that, putting it briefly, Pop Anson al,
ready has got his out of base ball, and
it is considered that if he has lost Wha'
he got that fact in itself, has no bearns
upon the matter a base pan omciai
of prominence put it this way to me:
"Anson was in the game for almost as
many wears as I've got hairs on the
back of my hand. He was In receipt
of a big salary great part OF that
time When he quit the game he was
which realized large sums. He was given
political office in Chicago His sup
porters have time and again boosted
him into soft things. 1t is too bad If
the old man hasn't maintained his Gluten
on any of the goodies that have been
passed his way so many times. But the
fact remains that he isn't in any way
adapted for an up-to-date base ball Off,
cial. He lives in the other days Of the
game Modern base ball is new world
to him. He is crotchety and difficult to
get ON with. He's rugged old chap,
but he has just about as much diplomacy
as a deep-sea drum-fish. He would
never do for top man in the base ball
world. I'd execute my regular chlp-in
II they were to give him another bene-
fallen SO far behind the spirit of the
game put into the star niche of TIE
base bali temple"
For a man born out in that country
the call Of California is pretty hard to
resist when the snowflakes begin to sft
down in this section OF the country
That's why Hal Chase, the bearcat first
baseman Of the Yanks, Is beginning tG
LOOK SO glum around here these days.
Hal has been clubbing around New York
trying to make himself and his friends
believe he's happy since the base bal
season closed. One of the main reasons
why he stuck here. instead OF going back
to the coast as usual. was that, during
the summer. one of his admirers, a thir-
ty-third degree fan. made him gift o.
a fine and tidy house over. in Jersey. Ha
has been living in the house since the
close OF the season, coming over to New
York each forenoon ia mingle up with
the winter leaguers around here. But
his teeth have been knocking together q
good deal since the raw November wealth
er came along, and even on the nildeI
days. when acclimated folks hereabOuts
have been going about without overcoats
Hal has been popping into town swaddleG
into benny that might easily keep q
man warm up around the north pole.
He says "Br-r-r-r-r!' every time he
steps into the open air. and then he turns
his wistful gaze toward the west and
shivers and shakes ard mutters things
under his breath and growls about SNOW
shoveiers.'' that being the derisive name
you understand. by which easterners are
known TO the Californians.
wouldn't be surprised to see Chase
f.al- an he v,tY, fnr q nv