Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1911-08-24
HUGH JENNINGS
0NBALL PLAYING
DetrOits' Leader Declares No
Coward Made Success Of Game.
rY COBB HIS IDEAL PLAYER

JUDD lilo lUEAL TlAlEn
Says Star Outfielder Is In Love With
sport-Thinks Old Baltimore Team
Wa Greatest of EN- AIl-Telis One
on "Germany" Schaefer.
"No coward eve made q success Of
BASEBALL" says Hughie Jennings. 1.-THE
first great requisite to success in the
game is nerve. l have seen players
with the speed of Cobb. with the ter
rife hitting strength of Crawford, with
the grace Of Chase, and they did not
make good. They lacked the prime es-
sential. stoutness Of heart. They
wavered when the crisis came. I have
seen wizards Of the game culver in the
heat of battle and lose their cunning.
They didn't last long; they never do.
ITO begin with. Of course, a man must
have the natural ability to hit, field
and run. And then comes Imagination.
Give me the player who can conceive
plays, who thinks all the time he Is in
the game-and who doesn't stop think
ing when it is over. but keeps his mind
on 1t and goes over every play Of the
afternoon. recalling how he made this
mistake and how he could have avoid
ed it. and Of how he pulled off that
play and the eason of it.
1.-The ball player who doesn't love his
game isn't worth his salt. He's getting
away with it under false pretenses.
when l joined the old Baltimore
team I was young. at an age perhaps
when early impressions stick strong
est, but all through m: life as a ball
player and manager l have always felt
that the club handled by Ned Hanlon
was the greatest team ever organized.
I recall with what enthusiasm Johnny
son, Doyle and the rest Of US used to
study u game under the careful, pa
tient guidance Of Ned Hanlon.
ION the trains. in the corridors of the
hotels, and often in bed at night, when
we should have been sleeping. we were
discussing plays, arguing over them
and planning for the game of tomor-
row. No other subject was ever dis
cussed. 1t was baseball morning, noon
and night.
Nerve is the first great requirement,
and love Of the game for it's own sake
is the second. A a like Cobb, for in
stance, gets a pretty fair salary. But
if you should put Cobb on a team to
which no money was paid he would
play just as hard, once he donned his
uniform. A sample of this is shown in
an incident that happened at Bennett
AS I recall it, we were playing New
York. We had had q hitting bee and
had scored so many runs we were all
tired out, and the crowd had grown
weary Of the constant scoring. 1t was
toward the close Of the game and Cobb
was on first
"'Step off and let them tag you out,
Ty. For heavens sake. finish it, said
Bill Donovan. who was coaching from
first. And Ty grinned and stepped
from the bag with his hands at his
side. awaiting the ball. And right
here that tired crowd was electrified
by the nos sensational base running
I had see that year.
"As the catcher shot the ball to first
Ty started. He was caught off the
bag and started to zigZag back and
forth. with the whole intield chasing
him. Back and forth he lodged. Cobb
made one Of his famous '%dipseydo'
dives and was safe at second.
why didn't you get out as you
agreed TOT Ty was asked after the
game.
well. l started to, all right said
the Georgian, but, gee whiz, after l
stood there a second and saw that ball
coming l couldn't do it. l just couldn't
stand still and let them throw ME
OUT
Ills love of the game was so strong
that he couldn't stand it. He had to
fight back whether he wanted to or
not.
Nerve and love of the game for the
game itself are the main things in a
pail payers makeup. Aud next there
is Imagination. Confidence breeds con-
fdence. The player who can think of
victory. see it coming against all
odds. is the valuable man for a ball
team. Let me recall an incident In
that seventeen inning game in Phila-
delphia when the Tigers showed the
followers of the game that they were
on earth to stay. 1t was growing
darker and darker. We had fears that
the game would have to be called be-
fore WE could win it. 1t was about
the fourteenth inning. No man on
that club had the slightest idea Of be-
ing beaten. Some one dared to sug-
gest that it was growing darker. Her
man Schaefer flew into a rage.
"''Tisn't growing darker he bel
lowed with all the strength of his
good lungs. I say it isn't. It's grow
ting lighter every minute. every min
nte. It's getting lighter and lighter,
and we'll win out IL it takes us thirty
innings