Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-03-19

ALL" said Harold. 1t was great day for
him and he was highly efated. The 10
varsity had begun to take definite shape,
and being named on 1t meant recognition
something worth while In the line of ahil-
ity. The news spread rapidly through
the university, and wherever the boys
who had been named went they were
treated with honor and respect.
Breakfast the first morning at the
training table was a good deal of a get
together and get-acquainted affair. | do
not know what it is that makes the choice
of nicknames, or how 1t is that 1t comes
easier to know some fellows by either
their first or last names, others by an alb
breviation of one or the other, and still
others by the adoption OF something en-
tirely different. but when boys get to a
certain stage Of acquaintance with each
other there comes a spontaneous desire
to bestow a nickname. and these names
generally fit in a remarkable way. Har-
old Case went to breakfast known as
Case, and came out to be forever known
to Lowell men as Hal.
John Hagner started to drink his cof-
fee that morning as Hagner, and when
he had folded his napkin he was known
as both Hans and Honus, why nobody
ever could tell, and the names stuck to
him for life
Charles RadamS came away with the
nickname Babe" and as Babe he went
fdown into the Lowell Book of Heroes.
diversion ndQ always DeGn ESGrSOn De-
fore. He was Everson when he sat down
to the table that morning. and he was
still Everson when he left the room.
though why this little brainy Grab
should have gotten off without a nick
name is far beyond me.
You would think that I,arke, who was
always jolly. either whistlng or singing
when not eating or asleep. would have been
named The Lark years before, but no,
they called him just Cap, yet they had
always called Gibbs Gibbe
If there were regular rule for nick
names they would undoubtedly have
called Black White, but they always re-
ferred to him Miner. Delvin they
generally called Arthur.
There was something stiff about Dill,
which was a good deal like the way he
played first base in the few games he
lasted on the varsity that year, and the
dispenser Of nicknames overlooked him
entirely at that first breakfast. In fact,
he never did acquire one, for no was drop
ped from the team before any one could
really find good name to fit him.
Pickle would have been a good name for
him. and also his fate so far as the team
was concerned
Talkington was quiet young chap.
who said very little either at the table or
on the field, so that "TaIkie' or Mr..
Speaker" or anything like that wouldn't
seem natural at all, so they called him
Iris and let 1t go at that.
Robb might really have been given a
fitting name at the end Of the season.
II they had waited until then they would
undoubtedly have called him Robb. be-
cause he had developed into the greatest
base -stealer the game ever knew, but
somebody had passed him the oatmeal
that morning. after he had demanded it
vigorously. with a Here you are, Ty-
rant and Ty he is today-a very short
name for so long fellow.
A week later they played the first real
game of the season. the first real test
of the lineup as it had been worked out
by jenkins. The game. which was with
Colfax. small neighboring college, was
not an important one. Never had they
all the games that had taken place be-
tween the two teams had Lowell been
even scored upon. AS 1t was, II was
hardly even a test game for the varsity
Hal sat on the players bench with his
chin on his hands. and watched the Col
fax boys getting licked. ~,
There wasn't anything very exciting
about sitting on the bench and there was
nothing very ENCOURAGING about the play
ing of even the Lowell boys. With the
exception of "A hair-raising handed
stop by Hagner of a fast grounder over
second and a Wonderfully accurate throw
to first without getting into position, and
the fine work OF Gibbie behind the bat in
stopping Be be Radams' wild drops and
curves which the Colfax boys struck at
blindly, the game was dull and uninter-
esting.
If the Co!fax team had not had the
usual attack of stage fright. that struck
it whenever II played Lowell 1t prob
ably would have won. Dill on first
dropped three throws in succession made
and il it had not been for the accurate
throwing Of Gibbie to Deivin and Ever
son, who nipped all base runners as they
tried to reach second and third. there il