Omaha daily bee., 1910-02-13
STAR BASE BALL CATCHERS
Buck Ewing is Still Regarded as
Without a Peer.
FINE OLD BOYS OF OLD DAYS
Charley Bennett, Too, IL Not Forgot
ten by Veteran students Of Game
Killing, Gibson, CarriEan
and BackstOps.

6o1&1 ~ N1A AN
Dung up a record that may not be sur
PISSED for many years TO come and also
created a general belief that he possessed
more skill than many great backstops in
days gone by. still the studious critics o,
the game were not ready to admit thai
Gibson was the equal OF the famous Johr
Killing of the victorious Cubs. who in spite
OF a year OF idleness is even now consid.
cred the star catcher Of modern times. II
is only natural for the new crop of base
ball fans to regard such backstops as
King, Gibson. Carrigan Of the Boston Red
Sox, Roger B~resnahan, once Of the Giants
and now of the st. Louis Cardinals; Sulli-
van OF the White Sox, and others. I'M
equaled in point Of playing skill, but old
timers are always ready to disagree with
them when looking back over the pages OF
diamond history.
You can find many veteran base ball
enthusiasts who will tell you that a greater
catcher thar Buck Ewing never lived; that
Charley Bennett, Jim Mcclure, Duke Far,
rell, Jack Boyle. Charley Camel, Lou Cri-
ger, Charley thinner, Jack O'Connor, Tom
DAILY, Doc Bushong, Wilbert Robinson.
Die Buckley, Charley Snyder, Calliope
Miller, John Clement, Emil Gross. Mike
Kelley, Silver Flint, Vincent Nava, Jim
White and Cal McVey were among the
most famous backstops that ever stood
behind the plate. All these stars did
phenomenal work, as the records will show.
and those who saw them in action will
stick to the belief that no better catchers
are wearing the mask and chest protector
at the present time.
Going back more than thirty years ago.
the records show that Jim White, famil-
iarly called Deacon, was a crack receiver;
also cal McVey. They HANDLED the de-
livery or A. g. Spaulding at different
times and displayed rare skill. McVey
caught for Boston In 1872 and was sue
ceeded by White, who in 1875 took part in
seventy-nine games, and in 1875 played in
slxty-tour games, leading the National
league catchers In the latter year with a
iieiding average Of ,791. 1t must be re-
membered that Mcvey and White did not
wear Dig mitts or chest protectors in those
days, and there were many occasions when
they went behind the bat without masks,
so that their work was all the mora re-
markable. as they caught game after
game, suffering from bone sores in their
hands and other bruises. White later gave
up catching and became a star third base
f PNNS tAA6 NliaI COIUGI OK the diamond
for Buffalo, Detroit and P~ittsburg. The
Deacon was always q heavy hitter, leading
the league in 1877 with an average Of asa
McVey, too, was a big sticker and ranked
third in the averages of 1876 with .s45.
when he played first base for the Chicago
team.
Charley Snyder became famous as a
catcher in Louisville in 1877, and the next
year he set the base bali world on fire with
his splendid work in Boston when he led
the league catchers with an average of .s41
for fifty-four games. and handled the
curves of the Thomas Bond with
great skill. Emil Gross, a big man phv-
sically, made an excellent record with the
Providence club as John M. Wards re-
ceiver in 1879, but he was excelled in the
averages by Silver Flint of Chicago. who
led the league backstops with an average
or $50 for seventy-four games. Flint was
a horse for work. His stamina caused a
Keeling Of awe among players and fans for
he caught necessarily in spite Of many
broken fingers and a smashed nose. He
was the mainstay of the Chicagos when
they won the pennant in 1880, 1881, 1882. 1885
and 1886, t~hough"in the last two seasons
he was helped out to a great extent by
Mike Kelley. Flint handled some cele-
brated pitchers with the ChicaRos, includ-
ing Larry Corcoran. Fred Goldsmith, Jim
Mccormick and John Clarkson. He caught
slxty-two games in 1880. seventy-seven in
1881 and seventy-nine in 1882, and was con-
tinually on the job in the remaining years
Of his engagement.
When Providence won the pennant in
1884 with Radbourne and Sweeney as pitch
ers, Barney Gilligan and Vincent Nava
were the catchers. They were little men,
physically, but they did not fear work.
Gilligan caught seventy-nine games that
year, handling Radbourne's curves in a
majority of the games and making a ster-
ling record. But Charley Bennett of the
Detroits was the champion a~eceiver in
those days, for he led the league, not only
in 1851, 1882 and 1883, but kept UP his. good
work by carrying off first honors in the
fielding averages of 1886, 1886, 1887, 1888, 1889.
1880 and 1893. Bennett caught never less
than fifty games in any of those years
and in 1880 he played in eighty-five, for an
average of .944. He worked like a machine.
having very few passed balls and throwing
to bases with the aim of a sharpshooter.
Furthermore, Bennett never fused with
the empire. He held his tongue, even when
decisions were rendered against him, and
was one of the model players of his time.
His career was cut short when ne was a
member of the Bostons. He was run over
by a locomotive and lost both legs. Among
the well known pitchers handled by Ben
nett were Lady Baldwin Getz5in, Conway,
Dupee, Shaw, Clarkson, S~tivetts, Nichols
and Staley.
Bennett had a side partner, Charley Gan
KEEL, while in Detroit and both were sold to
Boston, together with Dan Brouthers and
Hardle Richardson, in 1883. CANCEL was
a clean-cut catcher. a superb throWer. and
possessed an even temper. He was usually
high in the averages and was an excellent
batsman Mike Kelly was not a great
catcher from the standpoint OF fielding
averages, but he was a wonderful ball
player and a winner. He was full OF tricks.
knew the batsmen's weak points and was
Of valuable assistance to his boxmen. He
was a swift and accurate thrower to bases
and an accomplished kicker, for he seldom
failed to make an umpire's life miserable
when his team was receiving the worst of
the breaks. Kelly could play anywhere
for that matter. lie even pitched now and
then, but his strongest point was hitting
and base running. He led the league in
batting In 1886 with an average OF .ySS for
1sS games.
Buck Ewing, the daddy OF them ali. was