The Washington herald., 1911-02-19
VIRGINIA LEAGUE
GETS LOCAL STARS
Six Well-knOWn Amateurs
to Try Luck.
IN DANVILLE AND RICHMOND
Brady, Moreland, johnson, Lodge,
SmithsOn, aud Thompson to CAST
Their Lot in Fast Company, and
Local Friends Predict They Will
Make Good-RecOrds of the Sextet.

Six well-known Washington sand lot
ball players will leave the Capital in a
few weeks to try their luck in the Nir-
ginia League. OF this sextet two have
been in the big show before with fair
success
Hundreds of local fans will watch tho
progress of these boys with more than
ordinary interest, and if good wishes
count for anything they will all finish
the season batting 500.
These men are Biz johnson. Yum
MOreland, king Brady, Sid Lodge,
Harry Smithson and George Thompson.
Moreland and Lodge go to Richmond.
in the Virginia State League, and Brady.
johnson, SmithSOn, and Thompson go to
Danville, in the same circuit
Moreland will be rememberd for his
good work while a member of the Grace
Church team in the Sunday School
League in 1895. He has been playing on
the sand lots for the last five years and
has been on a number of good teams.
having played on the National A c.,
Brentwoods, Cornell & Co. Ninth Street
Christian Church, Columbia A c., and
also in the Carolina League. Moreland
is good fielder, a fast man on the bases,
and a heavy hitter. and will have no
trouble making good with Richmond
Lodge, who goes to the same team, is
tHt Vi tue DSSl IGtClNeTS ever tuEutu OuG
in Washington. Last year he caught for
the Silver Spring club. that won the
pennant in the Suburban League, and
also with the Washington Grove A. 4.
Lodge is tWenty-three years old. weighs
10 pounds. and is ) feet 10. Mana
ger Sullivan is counting on him to do
most of the catching this season.
''Biff' johnson goes to DanvilIe, and
judging from his past performances will
be one of the regular twirlers there this
season. In 1908 Johnson started the sea-
son with Portsmouth, in the Virginia
League. and was farmed to Wilmington.
n. Z. He was later traded to Orange
burg. where he won twelve games and
lost three. In 1899 ''Bif' went to Fred
rick, Md. where he won seven and lost
three, and when the team was disbanded
he went to Fredericksburg. He won thiT-
teen and lost two for the Virginia team.
Eastern College persuaded him to coach
their baseball team in 1910, and he turn
ed out a winning nine. Johnson joined
the Fredericksburg team in the middle of
July. and won eight and lost two games
during the remainder of the season.
johnny Priest recommended Johnson
to the DanviIle manager. and he has no
doubt that "Bif' will prove to be a
winning twirler.
Harry SmithSon is the lad who set the
Commercial League on fire with his ter
rife hitting last season. Smithson played
a star game at first for the champion
Washington Herald team, and also play
ed On the crack Olympia A. A team, the
Independent champions Of the District for
the past three years. SmithsOn is only
twenty-one years old. He weighs 165
pounds and is feet 10.
King Brady was given a tryout by
Baltimore last year. but owing to a sore
arm he could not do himself justice. He
was farmed to Atlanta. but as the South
ern team wanted to cut his salary he
refused 10 report Brady later got his
unconditional release. The King holds
the strike-out record of the District. hav-
ing famed eighteen in the Capital City
League last season. Brady is a big b.
fOOter, weighs $50 pounds. and is a stu
dent of Lefty Russell, who goes to the
Athletics this year.
George Thompson vas the leading re-
ceiver in the r. r. Y. NJ. e. A. and also
was well up among the leaders in batting.
Thompson is the youngest of the boys
to leave town. and has had the least eX-
perience of them all. but as he is heavy
hitter he will have nc trouble in making
good on the Southern circuit.
All of the boys frieEds are pulling for
them, and they will receive a fine send
off when they pull up stakes.