The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1911-03-30
The Days of "Old Man Dill
WORTH"

800
exchange credited to the Bangor Daily
News, having overlooked its original
publication. The Knowlton mentioned
is H. E. Knowlton, Familiarity known as
Bert" who for some years has been
successful practicing physician and is
now in California. Dilworth's newspa-
per work was done on The Belfast Age,
of which he was local editor when it was
owned and edited by M. P. Pendleton,
since deceased. There is good deal
that might be written of old-time base
ball in Belfast, and the News article is
an interesting chapter:
We used to call him ''Dilly" and dill"
and "Old Man Dilworth,' and he signed
his name ''W. E. Dilworth,' but for the
life of me when sat down to write this
story | couldn't think of his first name.
| went to the telephone and called Man
ager Clarity, for whom the Belfast hero
used to work, and he couldn't say. Il
think that we used to call him Walter, -
he told me, "but Pm not sure
Still for many years Dilworth was one
of the base ball heroes of Maine and
there are few diamond stars who are so
we'll known or are so we'll remembered
by those who patronized the games play
ed in the State 20 or Is years ago.
Twenty or twenty-five years isn't a
great while when you say it quick-is it?
Dilworth was an all round genius, not
a base ball player alone, and when he
wasn't pitching he was writing for the
press, and while he never ratified it, be
had an ambition to be an actor. He con-
fided this TO Manager Clarity once in all
seriousness. Mr. Clarity wasn't in the
theatrica! business at the time or he
might have given him a show in the
drama. Cyclone" Ran, you remember,
was great pitcher and he made first
rate actor, so good indeed that he dldn' t
like to have the fact that he was once a
ball player recalled. | am not sure but
"Dilly'' would have done just as we'll, for
he was something of mimic and nat
ural born humorist.
His humor cropped out in his newspa-
per writings, which were really first class.
The old man would have had no trouble
making his living writing for the press if
! he had been little more stable. But he
wasn't to be depended on to do anything
for any great length OF time.
Dilworth first burst out upon the base
ball armament in 1885 or 6 when he began
pitching for a semi professional team
that was supported by his home city of
Belfast. He had for his catcher young
man by the name of Knowlton, who was
a Harvard student, as l recall it, and
played on the varsity team, and the fame
ders they could perform, spread all over
M,;,o opd avo, into Nj md
other centers of the game. In those
days base ball fourished on the Penob-
scot river, and Belfast and Bangor and
Rockland had teams which would make
the best of them go. The rivalry be-
tween the three cities was intense, and
it even went so far that Wailie Fessen-
den, an old time manager, who will be
remembered in Portland, took the whole
of defunct New England team down
there with him. Even at that time l
don't recall that he cut particularly
wide swath against the others.
The rivalry continued until 1887, as
remember it, and then began to get too
expensive and was dropped. may be a
year or two out of the way in this mat
| ter, but that is not essential.
Anyhow Dilworth and Knowlton were
the star battery of the crowd, and after
Belfast got through having team the
delivery end of the battery had plenty of
offers and finally signed with one of the
New England league teams. He played
about in one city and another with good
success, until fnally,in 1892, he landed in
Portland and went to work for Manager
Clarity, WHO had charge of the New Eng
land league team of that year.
He pitched some good games for Port
land and some that weren't so good, but
he remained here only short while.
He was good ball player even when
he was here, but he had one weakness,