The Detroit times., 1910-11-30

troit. In his book. The National
Game" A. II. Sphinx writes as follows
concerning catching:
Next to the great pitchers, the
great catchers who have had so much
10 do with the building up OF the
game are first worthy Of mention.
Opinion is divided and history
fails TO prove just which of the vet
eran catchers was the first TO play up
close to the bat with neither mask,
chest protector or the commonest
kind of q glove TO protect him.
The honor has been claimed in
turn by the friends OF Robert Fer
guson of the Atlantics OF Brooklyn,
Fergy Malone OF the Athletics OF
Philadelphia; w. II. Craver OF the
original Chicago White Stockings
Douglas Allison of the Cincinnati
Reds: Mart King of the Haymakers
and later of the Chicago White Stock
! ings; Scott Hastings OF the Forest
Citys of Rockford; Mike McGeary ot
the Haymakers OF Troy; Jim White
OF the Forest Citys of Cleveland; ;
Charley Mills OF the Mutuals OF New
York AID Jouett of the Eckfords oil
Brooklyn; +. r. Becannon OF the AT
ldntlCS OF IHllduelpHld anu +Na'
Hicks of the Hartfords.
Il saw all of these players in their
work behind the bat in 1870 and not
one of them had mask, chest pro-
tector or glove TO protect them from
the swift pitching they then faced.
They were all fine. fearless players
and took no heed of the injuries 10
face head. body and fingers which
came TO them often.
There may, however, have been
other catchers before those ! have
mentioned to play up close TO the
bat.
With their wire masks. pillow
gloves and bedmattress chest protec-
! tors, the present-day catchers, com
pared with the stalwart huskies who
caught for the Athletic Base Ball
club of Philadelphia, in the first de-
cade or its existence, are as carpet
| knights to the weather-beaten vet
| Grams of an old-time army.
I'm the good old days. when base
| ball was played more for glory and
amusement than for business. such
things as masks. big gloves and chest
protectors would have been regarded
with derision both by players and
fans.
This naturally recalls a story OF
Dockney, the old-time famous catcher
of the Athletics, in the late sixties
and early seventies. Dockney was
one OF the best catchers OF his time
and perhaps the toughest OF anyone
! who ever stood behind a bat Robert
| Reach, a brother of Al Reach at one
time a great baseball player himself
vouches for the following story OF
Dockney's toughness.
| 1T was somewhere around 1870
according TO Mr. Reach, that the Ath-
! letic Baseball club. accompanied by
Dockney as catcher, paid visit to
! st. Louis. On the night of the day
| prior to the game, Dockney went out
with the boys to see the town and
getting into a bar-room brawl was
carried to a hospital. with his chest
laid open from shoulder TO shoulder
by razor or butcher knife. welded
by St Louis tough He lay in the
hospital all night in the care of the
doctor. who stitched up his wounded
chest and covered 1t with plasters
Notwithstanding his weakened condi-
ton from the loss OF blood and the
serious nature of the wound, he in
sisted on going into the game on the
! following day TO catch for his club
nothing covering his wound except
the plasters and the flannel shirt.
"'He handled the swift delivery OF
! the famous Dick Mcbride with all his
old.time vigor Every ball that miss
/ ed his outstretched hands and struck
him on the chest brought the blood