Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1910-04-06

ers as to how could stand the pound
ing, when their hands were used up in
spite of heavily padded gloves. |
think mine must have been made for
the game, for in spite of the want of
protection / never had a sore hand,
put a finger out of joint or even raised
a nail in experience behind the bat
of something like fifteen years, and
consequently have no crooked chase
ball" fingers to show for it. Now
as to speed of pitching in my day, I
can vouch for the fact that it was no
less than today. I need only to men
tion that while | was in college
"Long Jim" Whitney was pitching for
the Bostons, who will be remembered
as one of the speedjest men who ever
threw ball in the National league;
and have also played against
Hutchinson of Yale, who subsequent
ly for many years pitched for the
Chicago National League team and
whose speed was so enormous that
to hold him. The ''curved.. pitching"
and the '"throw" came in before
went to college; and whether the
throw was even with the shoulder or
overland made no difference in fact,
know of men who could send in a
-peedier BALI with shoulder throw
J than in an overland. I know what l
+ am talking about for / caught behind
| the bat many years after the over
| hand throw came in. When I gradu :
ated at Dartmouth in 1882. the Vars
ity pitcher, Gay, '83, who still had
another year in college, and whose
pitching | caught in senior year, and
was unable to do himself justice in his
senior year because (he told me( there
was no one able 90 hold him even with
gloves. He had the speediest inshoot
that ] ever stood up against. | we'll
remember that you threw ball which
for speed was, up TO the best Of them !;
and in addition to this you were a
left handler and had a peculiar spin
which made it extremely difficult for
our opponents to hit the ball out fair
ly. I never caught pitcher from
whom so many fouls were sent up
into the air. Moreover, when your
hall playing friends are speaking of
speed, they must remember that the
pitcher in those days stood only As
feet from the home plate instead Of
the present go feet; and the speed
as the ball reached the catcher was
correspondingly greater. sometimes
wonder that batters were ever able
to hit the ball at that distance, and
before the distance was extended tic
60 feet it had become very difficult
with the "throwfng'' which took the
place of the old ""pftch." To sum up
the ball which was used by the Sefdoms
was the regular league ball, of the
same character as has ever since beer
. used. With the arrival of the
throw" in place of the pitch
whether from the hip, the shoulder
, or overland, it became very hard OIL
the hands of the catcher and his hands
were frequently bruised - and sftel
> two or three years of this the catcher
+ as rule began to wear gloves. which
continued to grow thicker and heavie
! until the present glove was reached
Until the catcher began to use glove
. not even the first basemans and muc
! less the other felders, thought o
/ such a thing, although balls wer
J.. thrown and batted to them with tn
g same speed as they are now. and the
o frequently got fingers or hand
!. knocked out; and finally I am tn
!. only catcher in my day, whom ! eve
q met, who caught throughout witho&
:. padded gloves.
Il They say that the older man get
Q the more he likes to tell what h
y could do when boy" and I woul
= hesitate to write as much to anyor
!. but you; but SO long as your youn
% baseball friends have raised question
n and you have asked me respectir
n them 1 have answered at considerab
- length in the interest of exact fact
% With best regards to you and n
= other Barton friends, am, as Away
70 Sincerely yours,
~ Chas. T. Mathewson.