El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-04-13
BASEBALL WRITERS
MEDIUM THROUGH WHICH MAJORITY
OF FANS SEE AND ENJOY THE GAME

work is supposed by many readers to
be the result of the labor of the in
dividual baseball riters, the fact is,
these figures are furnished by COM
parativeIy few men. Some papers keep
their own avera geS, but they are gen.
orally of the home club only. and it IS
very seldom they are compiled for
whole league for one paper alone
Aman who once did this was Joe
Cummings, now editor of a weekly pa
per devoted exclusively to baseball In
almost every league there is man
who undertakes TO furnish these fig
ures at so much per week to all the
sporting editors in the circuit. A late
development of this business is fur
nished by George E Moreland, OF
Pittsburg. himself an old player mana
ger and writer. He complies the record
for the National and American major
leagues and several minor leagues. He
has an office force of eight people. and
among his paraphernalia is a dividing
machine, modelled on the theory of the
adding machine. which was built espe
cially for him at great expense.
Baseball editors frequently have
taken an active part in the progress
of the game in unexpected directions.
One Of the first small leagues ever or
ganized in this country was the horse
and buggy league" as it was called,
which radiated from Louisville. Ky. Its
sponsor was Jim Nolan, who has been
a printer and newspaper man. time out
OF mind. and Is still the baseball oracle
of Galveston. Texas, where he has lived
many seasons.
Cuban Enjoys Game.
A regular visitor at the world
series in this country every year be-
tween the pennant winners in the Ma
toinal and American leagues is Victor
Munoz, of Havana. Mr.. MunOZ is a
thOroughgOing Cuban, with a we'll de-
veloped mania for the American nation
al game. He has been an active sup
porter of the league in Cuba, which
has made the sport so popular in that
island. and every year makes arrange
ments for teams composed of Arnerics
stars to play in Cuba. He is an acute
observer and competent judge of the
finest points of inside play.
Stories of the contests which thrill
rOoters usually are supposed TO be writ
ten in bright and lively vein. and
some Of the best American humorists
have got their start in .facetious base
ball writing. George AIDE. Finley Peter
Dunno, of Mr.. DoOley fame, George V.
Hobart, playwright and originator of
the Dinkelspiel stories. were all the
idols of baseball fans long before they
branched into a broader field.
Mr. Hobart's stories Of the games
they were winning the championship
three times in succession. in which he
initiated the style of the bible and
spoke OF Hughey Jennings. now man
ager Of the Detroit team, as "Hughey
the Hittite,' established a style which
has been followed by many subsequent
WRITERS
Summer and Winter Dope.
| Baseball writer's :. are advancing
steadily to the point where thew have
to produce a column or so OF matter
on their chosen subject every day OF
tlpe sos from Christmas to Christmas.
The fans demand their full allotment
Oft gossip about the clubs, owners and
players, in season and out It is the
to hang the daily effusion in the off
seas on which accounts for the vast
amount of space devoted to the politics
of TIE big leagues.
More than one of these heroes of the
profession has poured forth almost au-
tomatically stories which he would not
recognize a week afterward as the
children Of his genius for killing space.
A beA utiful illustration of this was fur
>nishad by Judge" J. H. Anderson, for
merly sporting editor OF the now de-
funct Baltimore Herald. In the stormy
period of National league politics IN
the late eos he one day evolved sue
cinct statement of the trouble and the
remedy, answering the problem of the
moment in a manner eminently salts
factory 10 himself. and serving to fill
his allotted midwinter baseball void for
that "a hours. 1t really was a useful
utterAnce, and was extensively copied.
A Inonth or six weeks later, in look
ing through the exchanges he saw this
same istory in a San Francisco paper,
whose> sporting editor was his personal
friend.i Anderson was immensely i'm
pressed by it, clipped it, and published
it again in the Herald, with a glow
ing eulogy Of the San Francisco man,
to whom he gave credit for its author
ship, praising him for his perspicacity
In seeing the solution so clearly An
derson, had not recognized his own |
story.
How Some Start.
Baseball writing is the means of in |
Producing a great many young men into |
journa lis IN. Almost every city has one |
or more colleges, and in each of these 4
the local newspapers employ students !
TO report sporting events of the col /
legiate 9ear- These students make
more or less money by their correspond
ence and many of them are bitten by /
the germs which lurk in printers ink
When they leave college they already !
know the trudiments OF newspaper work
and it is Ieasy for them to find a city !
editor whb needs a new man. Usually |
these college, cubs begin by writing
baseball land other sporting news. and
from tho sporting editors room they
are graduated into full fledged news
paper mdn.
Tomord ow-Votes for Women.