Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-04-09
First Time in Eight Years Omaha
Will Start the Base Ball Sea-
son at Home,
FANS WILL HELP CELEBRATE
New Park to Be Dedicated with
Great Eolst.
PARADE LEADS TO NEW PARK
Bands Will Play and Fans Will Shout
at Opening,
TEAM ROUNDING INTO FORM
Pitching stair seems 90 ne Especially
strong, hut Few Wsrm Days
Arc Needed 20 Condition
the Players.
FANS WILL HELP CELEBRATE
PARADE LEADS TO NEW PARK
Exhibition Games.

Exhibition Games.
Roaton Americans today.
Q. n. Invtnoihlea, April IL.
Bellevue college, April "a.
Lincoln at Linoeln, April 10 and IL
Einooln az Rourks park, April Is ana ~.
Creighton university, April 40.
Opening day. Dou MONIES, April al
Opening day Of the Western league sea-
son In Omaha. April q, when Omaha and
Des Moines meet to start the race for the
pennant of 1911 Is going to be the biEgest
base ball event Omaha ever saw. new
park. championship calibre team, At .least
10000 fans. a nice day and President W. A.
Rourke Of the Omaha club should nske
day that will long stand in red letters
in the base hall book Of Omaha
Omaha in all the years OF good base ball
that Pa Rourke has brought here never
had team which looked any better than
the one ready to don the new suits on
opening day. Omaha has always stood in
good place in the Western, and this year
It will be a speedy team which will nose
the Rourkes out Of the flrst~piacs
Plans being formed for the big day will
make up to the Omaha fans what they
have missed here since 1908. Eight years
ago Omaha and Milwaukee opened in this
city and since then every year the omahas
have begun the season in some other city.
But this year Il will be different, and Il
is up to the fans to- make It the biggest
opening OF the league. .%
monster parade with brass band,
the players. and hundreds Of loyal bugs in
line will be one of the events Of the day,
| 10 demonstrate that base ball has returned
again for the year And the hand, the
players. and the bugs will be at the park,
also.
All BOost for the OpeninE.
Pa Rourke is working hard these days
| to- make the opening the thing OF the
year. The Commercial club and the Omaha
Ad club are expected 70 have strong rep
resentation at the park to dedicate and
give the omahas good start on their race
The beacher fans will be there. filling
every corner Of their section and ready to
cheer Jimmy Kane every time he grabs
down a high one and tags first for an
out Seats for the boxes go on sale today
and probably every one Of the ssl seats win
hold fan. CO.
Jack Haskell. chief Of jumps and his able
assistants, George Clarke will officiate for
the big day. And it's only twelve days
from today.
Batting practice-pounding the ball for
all sizes Of hits-is to be the occupation OF
the Rourkes from now on TO the opening
day. For Pa Rourke and Captain schipke
have discovered that but for the Rourkes
being weak in batting strength they might
have grabbed at least one of those games
from the Chicago White Sox H.
1t isn't because the Omaha squad does
not contain hard hitters that the batting
shows up poorly, but because the weather
has not allowed any batting practice up to
date. For two weeks there were hardly
three days that any real training could be
INDUCED in and the lack OF 1t showed up
only too plainly when the Rourkes met the
sox.
King il Hack.
The addition OF Bert King to the squad
this last week gives Pa chance to shift
his nelders and thus his batting strength
when up against a left-hsnded pitcher.
Bert King and schoonover are good for any
field and when up against a right-handed
pitcher the three ieft-hand battera, King,
Pickering and Anderson, viii field. Ander-
son bats either way, and when southpaw
twirler is in the box IL will be Anderson
and Schoonover, right-hander. and either
King or Pick holding down left field.
The total right-hand hitters OF the squad
now are Schoonover. Schipke. Kneaves.
Graham. Agnew. Gonding. Hall. Lott. Kes-
ley, fortress, Rhodes, Patton and Ander-
son. Left-handers are Pickering. Kane,
King and Durbin. The two recruits Far
rell and Ward. are right.
This is the last week that the recruits
will stick with the Omahans. April-15 will
see the complete lineup OF the Rourkes as
Pa intends to hold It for the summer. All
four felders win be kept-KinE, schoon-
over. Pickering and Anderson. The infield
is undoubtedly as speedy as the Western
league ever saw with Schipke Kane.
Graham and Kneaves as regulars, and
either Farrell or Ward utility man. Both
Of the youngsters look good Ward Is the
bigger and rangier and perhaps fields
little the better, but Farrell Is going to be
a valuable pinch hitter as he develops
Pitchers Are strong.
Gonding and Agnew look like the catch
ers and the pitchers Will be Durbn, Hall.
Fentress. Kelley. Rhodes. Lotz and Patton.
The work OF the pitchers this spring al
though the cold weather has prevented
them from really training, shows that Pa
is easily going TO have the championship
twirling squad in the Western this year
Thursday and Friday OF this week the
Rourkes HE themselves in full regalia to
the Holy City. TO take on the Lincolnites
} for two-game series there. Saturday and
J Sunday the Antelopes come 10 Omaha for
two return games.
The remainder Of the exhibition games
! will be mere hot workouts for the Rourkes.
Bellevue and Creighton colleges have good
; college squads. but when Pa turns loose
his crack twirlers on the rah-rah battsrs
the college lads will have to hit or quit
Council Bluffs best team, the Invincibles.
viii try out Tuesday with the Rourkes.