Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-09-11
SAY iris SPEAKER
IS BEST FIELDER
Boston Fans Consider Hin
Superior of Any Man
Playing Center.

BOSTON. September 9-Here are a few
kind words about Iris Speaker, the Red
Sox center fielder. Boston base ball fans.
the best informed and the most dis
eliminating. say he is the best center
fielder in the world. Every player in the
American League says so. and even the
rival players Of the National League tip
their hats TO our Iris and acknowledge
him the best of them all.
We see him every day away out In
center field making difficult fly balls
look easy. running like a greyhound into
the right fielder's or left fielders ter
ritory. and We see him at the plate
swinging his bat nonchalantly. cycling
the pitcher like hawk and waiting for
him to send up the kind of ball he is
waiting for: but the public never gets
very close to a ball player-never knows
what kind Of a man he really is.
Iris Speaker is Texan. How did he
some by the name of Iris? / asked him
The question one day.
"They Just Call Me iris"
"Oh. don't know" he replied: they
lust call me that
Speaker is twenty-eight years old.
weighs $50 pounds and stands feet IL
inches high. He has the rough COM
olexion of one who has spent most of his
lie in the open air. He has heavy.
muddy. bloodshot eyes, not the kind one
would imagine could pick out q good ball
and paste IL to the far corner Of the
ieid. or could start after the ball at the
rack and judge to an inch where that
ball Is going to land.
He has voice like rumbling thunder,
md his softest words sound like the growl
If mastiff. lie has large. powerful
hands. freckled
Speaker lives in winter in Hubbard
-ity. Tex. which is not city at all.
,ut a small post village near Dallas. hav-
ng a population of S.4 in summer and
10 when Speaker is there.
He goes back home at the close OF the
,ase ball season and spends the first few
weeks hunting. and then turns his hand
o the cattle industry. He is a regular
Texas cowboy in the saddle. and can do
- much with horse as he can with a
lase ball bat
Lille a Boy a Action.
Speaker is only boy In actions
rrifiing things amuse him He cares
iothing for books. and as for newspapers
Ne simply glances at the Red Sox score
see IL the reporters have given credit
all the base hits he made. He wants
be out OF doors all OF the time. Most
~ iht DoStOu payers ilht tOScIHcT OH
.partment house in Huntington avenue.
iany OF them like TO Toll around their
ooms when they are not playing ball.
Sot so with Speaker He gets out and
cams around If he has nothing else
do.
Recently he bought an automobile. and
ext winter II will be the only car in
hubbard City. Tex. He has learned the
nechanism of the machine and now
ponds his mornings speeding on the sub
1u "A. slz sts.
.utomobile has affected his batting eye.
% one can guide an automobile for
wenty miles without returning with a
ind OF squint in the eyes. So IL is with
peaker. IL is a good bet that he will
al better on the western trip than he
as on the home grounds recently.
Hans Wagner OF the Pittsburg club
tho owns and operated an automobile
ad TO stop riding in IL because his bat
Ing fell off to nothing. Since then he
as picked up wonderfully. Speaker could
asily bat for 100 IL he would leave the
utomobile alone.