The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-07-10
{ NJ LONGER WHISKERS
 WORN BY PLAYERS "Jiggs' Donohue's Mishap [ Caused Their Finish MUSTACHES DISAPPEAR O'ROurke's Got in s1fs Eye and He Dropped Ball, Which Gave White
 Sox yictOry-Then He
 Shaved
 
MUSTACHES DISAPPEAR
By SAM CRANE


 In fact whiskers and mustaches are ta-
 booed from the baseball profession
 they are under a ban as close and tight
 as any unwritten law was ever res pected and kept.
 But it was not always thus. Twenty
 years ago hirsute face growths were all the rage among members of the base
 ball profession. They were the style and it was almost worth any players
 job to appear on the field without some
 thing in the facial hirsute line. The
 young blood players of twenty years
 ago had to raise something on their up-
 per lips, no matter how fuzzy or scat
 tering. If promising youngster could
 show mine on side" the chances were
 that he would make the regular team
 and have his salary increased the first month of his long sought for engage IA ment.
 There was much leeway accorded the
 players in those days as to the cut of
 their facial adornments. Twenty
 years prevous-that is, 40 years ago
 the general run was to whiskers, even
 "galways," loose chewing" "lace cur
 tains' and "lambrequins" being in style.
 Harry Wright, the famous manager,
 captain of the Cincinnati Red Stockings
 went to the 'loose chewing" style.
 Harry's whiskers covered his face like
 Herr Mosts
 Dick Mcbride, the noted pitcher of the
 old Philadelphia Athletics. wore long
 flowing "Dundrearys", and was very
 proud of them.
 Asa Brainerd, the pitcher of the Gin
 cinnati Red Stockings thought more of
 his "Burnsides" than he did of winning
 game, and indeed they were most be-
 coming. And Leonard, the crack left
 fielder of the Cincinnati and Boston ls Reds wore the cutrat of little "siders'
 as did Rose Barnes, the crack second baseman of those early days. Char
 ley Gould, the first baseman of the Red Stockings and later with the Bos- ton Reds, took up the mustache and goatee style and was a very handsome man, stern looking and soldier like, but how he could kick at any umpire. Gould is now a policeman in Cincin- nati. George Wright followed after Gould with the goatee and upper lip adornment.
 Bob Ferguson went to the "siders,, the cute little cosette kind. Bill Graves, wore a chin whisker only, the real Reu- ben variety, that would cause the boys Of the present to say "ba-a-a-a'' in spite of themselves
 \ Whiskers did not go entirely out of style for long while. for "Jiggs' Donohue carried full facial regalia around with him long after mat ! tress makers formed a trust. It was not public opinion that caused "Jiggs" to
 shake his whiskers, not at all. "Jiggs" was pitcher, but occasionally he played right field. He was kept in for his bat l ting and that for pitcher is going some. Well, one day while "Jiggs was member of the Nashville, Tenn. club I the Nashvlles were playing the Giants | an exhibition game in Nashville The | regular grounds of the local club were Q In itlc CD l of hostilities was tranferred to the ball l field of a college.
 l The grounds were small and crude and l the right field was a tangled thicket, thick and dense, and almost inpenetra- ble from thorn bushes. "Jiggs'' Donohue
 didn't know this though-that is, not un- l til in chasing long fly off one of the l Giants bats, he plunged into the thorny l jungle head first and vigorously. Nothing was heard or seen of 'Jiggs' for several minutes. The batter had made home | run and was seated on the bench when | sudden commotion was seen In the l bushes-it was more of an upheaval. But | still nothing could be seen of "Jggs" Finally. a ventursome player decided to investigate, and following feeble cries for help, "Jiggs' was finally located. He was held as firmly as in vice by the
 whiskers that had got tangled up in a | mass of thorns. "Jiggs" had to be saw ed out of his predicament. and, in doing
 so the majority of his whiskers were
 left in the jungle.
 II The report of the horrible disaster
 spread throughout the country, and that
 meant the death of whiskers for ball
 players.
 \ But there was still the mustaches
 Players did re,ly hate to part with those
 beauty spots Tim Deefe's was the envy
 of his fellow players and the delight of | the fair sex. Johnny Wond's blonde
 adornment was a beach, but 1t was the | long, flowing mustaches of handsome | Jim O'Rourke that caused the most fut-
 tering in feminine hearts and envy
 among the men folks. And 1t was noth- | ing else than those same Jim O'Rourke's | mustaches that caused the final efface-
 ment of all mustaches from ball players
 faces. Fred Titus of the present Phillies | was the last player to hold on to his mus | tache, but as soon as he got married he
 had it shaved off His wife laughed at 1t.
 It is a pathetic story-the tragedy that
 brought about the effacement of the ? mustache.
 Jim ORourke, left fielder of the Giants at the time of the tragedy, was playing the same sun field at the Polo grounds that now bothers Josh De Wore and Josh wears no mustache to deceive us Well,
 one day when Old Sol was more than
 generally generous with his beams. ball
 was knocked into O'Rourke's' territory. IL was a IuOSt eAcitilS stage OI tne game. If the fly was caught the Giants would win, but if the ball was missed dire de- feat for the Giants and victory. for the detested Chicago White Stockings. and | the closest and bitterest rivals. It had been an intensely exciting game and the | score was 2 to in the Giants favor up l to >the climax that marked the fly hit to ORourke. There were two Chicagos out and man on third and one on second. | The fly was an easy one and the specta- tors jumped to their feet with howls of | Joy, the victory was won, but not quite O. Rourke muffed the ball, two Chicago's scurried over the plate and defeat was the I Giants portion
 "Another blow-up, growled the fans. | O'Rourke slowly and dlsconsolately re- turned to the club house muttering big words to himself as was his custom. Well, what was the matter, Jim? You fought to have eaten that ball up." chirped III Capt. Buck Ewing.
 HI Yes, I know it, Cap" replied Jim, "but jmy mustache blew in my eyes," III That settled the mustaches for good bland all with ball players.
 
 He Had Done Enough tFrom Success Magazine