The San Francisco call., 1910-10-30
OAKLAND LEADER
VETERAN TOSSER
War1orse Third Sacker Has
Had Long and Successful
Career on Diamond

Harry Wolverton. captain and man
ager OF the Oakland baseball team. has
had more practical baseball experience
than any other man in the Pacific Coast
league. He's been battling on the dia-
mond for the last Ii years and he says
that he's good for IA more He's game
to the backbone. this man Wolverton.
and he never let's up. The fighting
spirit was bred in him. He is still
lighting TO land that pennant for Oak
land. though the majority OF his friends
are trying to tell him that Portland
already has it tied up in the sack
wolverton owes his wonderful sue
cess on the diamond to his gameness
and his bulldog tenacity. When he
gets into the game he stays right In
it until the last man has been declared
out by the umpire. He doesn't know
what It means to say, Well It's off
with us today" His motto is. Keep
right at 'em, old boy. We will land
yet"
wolverton has done more for baseball
in Oakland than any other man who
ever handled the team. and Pete Lob
man is not barred. Poor old Pete won
the pennant for Oakland eight years
ago, when he trotted out one OF the
most wonderful teams the coast has
ever known But ft~cwas only little
outlaw four club lea que in those days.
fastest class A aggregation In the buSi-
ness
The home OF the Oakland manager
is In Philadelphia, AMI he's proud OF
it. He likes to talk about the old
days and the old teams and the oldtime
players. He will tell you anything you
ask him except his age. Make IL under
64 and then there's no mistake" he
says when anybody tries to find out
the year In which he was born.
This scrappy man OF baseball broke
into professional society way back in
| 1895, when the majority of the members
of his team were reporting TO their
| school teachers at 9 o'clock every morn
ing. 1T was back in Columbus. o.. in
the old Western association, that
league which turned out so many hun
dreds of good ball players.
Like many another famous tosser.
/ Wolverton began his career as
pitcher. And he was some pitcher. too.
He had plenty Of speed and good bend
ers. and. best of all. a good baseball
| head. He loved to pitch and he had
his heart set upon being a great slab
ster in the big league some day.
But he was also some fielder and
some hitter, too, and when his boss
watched him come up to the bat time
after time and line out those good old
\ bingleS he made up his mind that this
young slabster should be In every game
instead OF in a couple OF games every
week The answer was that in the
/ following year, 1897. young Wolverton
was given the job of looking after
/ things around third base .
Once third baseman, always a third
baseman for WOlverton. He was riot
on third for Columbus that year and
the fans would not think OF allowing
him TO perform any place else on the
diamond. Besides fielding hts position
1 in bear like fashion. hs> >cfouted the ball
on the nose. He was so good, In fact.
! that he went up to the big brush next
| season.
His first big league experience was
with the Chicago Nationals. In those
days the team was being run by that
grand old man of baseball. Pop Anson
| Bill Lange was also on the team, so
it can easily be seen that he was i'm
mediately thrown into good fast com
pany. He was getting his big league
schooling under one Of the greatest
leaders who ever lived
| From Chicago Wolverton found his
way to Philadelphia, where he landed
| in 1900 He found a home in Quaker
/ town and remained there four years
In 1903 he was made captain of the
/ team and he made good. too. He did
not win the pennant. but his team was
right up in the race all the time, so
the fans fairly idolized the ground he
x
| But there came another switch in the
varied career Of the much tossed about
ball player and the year 1905 found him
holding down the third sack for Bos-
ton He did not get along so well there,
so he made up his mind to buy his re-
lease and go into the minors. He ac-
complished this feat handily enough
and in 1906 landed. as captain manager
of the Wil1iamsport team OF the Tri-
State league.
This team did very well that season.
and in the next two years II got away
with the pennant. thanks to the tire
/ less efforts of Wolverton- He could
have been mayor of the city II he
pleased but he thought that change
would do him some good. so he tied
Eup with Joe McGinnity on the Newark
club last season
1t took a whole lot of persuasion and
coaxfng to get WoIverton to come out
to Oakland this spring. but they finally
landed him. so here he is. And he saws
that he is here to stay. That Is, he
will stay so long as he makes good He
Is of to a great start and IL all goes
well he will be leading Oakland's pen
nant fight next year. and maybe for
couple more years.
II