The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-02-28


| Looking like lot OF selling plat
ers against a stake winner. the cham
| pion Clubs sailed away from the
Shoemakers Tuesday. winning with
six laps TO spare They sort of foo
zled at the start. but in the second
. stanza took the Bit in their teeth
and putting on every ounce OF steam,
flashed over the line an easy win
ner They had the punch. that Is all.
The other fellows lacked class and
seemed to he looking for soft spot
all the time. After the first inning
1t was a love game. the Clubs lit
orally riding dewn their rivals
Sounds like a mixture Of Choctaw
and chop suey. but anything goes in
describing bah game.
To bs sure, there are expressions
that baseball players use themselves
which would puzzle n layman. but
, these for the most part are apt.
johnson hadn't the old smoke to-
day"
Render had lots OF stuff on the
I bali"
Dozens of similar expressions tell
I whether pitcher was not as good
as usual or had a particularly sue
Acessfal day.
But speaking of the literature of
! the game, the average schoolhoy
knows mcTe about that particular
] subject than the ordinary baseball
writer. for there has been "a heap
of good stories written around the
national game.
! one old timer, The F'reeport
Nine tells of the game in the days
! I'll Al spalding and Rnss Barnes
Judge Robert Grant wrote a couple
of good baseball yarns in his Jack
/ Hall" And in more sensational
line there was once that wonder,
/ Double Curve Dan"
Talk baseball and Young America
viii talk of Frank Merriweather and
/ Asrriyaie. He may not recall Mike
| keliey's Play Ball" but he Is up
/ in Touching Second and Won In
the Ninth"
Most Of these baseball stories are
built around one hero. usually a
pitcher. The pitcher is the hard
working boy of the village or the
struggling student working his way
through college. The wealthy son Of
patrician parents is ever his rival
for honors and the APPROPRIATIONS OF
The Girl Jack Poorboy always lands
4 a winner, In a critical moment his
naughty rival goes In the air. gets
the hook. and Jack Poorhoy goes in.
pulls the game out of the fire. shuts
out the other fellows to the finish
and elouts a home run with the bases
full. Sure thing he's 1t.
Some day real baseball story Will
he written, hut by a whole-souied
lover of the game: not by one who
merely regards baseball writing as
turning out as much dope" as may
be required And when that book is
written il will he sure-enough hit
1t may be that the hero will be
the richest boy in the village, but
who can play hail like Hal Chase
His sand lot companions may call
him Lizzie and pull his hair, but
when he gets in the pitchers box
he's a juvenile Johnson Also. there
won't be any need of home run
with the bases full to win the game
and stolen signals will be left to the
big leagues. But
Well. DIR. Bagby should be able to
write a little classic that would be
q winner from the preface to the
appendix.
Person who signs himself "old
sport asks:
Wasn't the battle between Burns
and Johnson the first contest ever
known between white man and a
negro for the heavyweight champion
ship
Nay, brother
Crib and Molineux, something like
a century ago, were a pair of mixed
pickles and battied for the premier
honors. And, believe me, that was
some contest. Crib won in eleven
or twelve rounds, but, according to
the old prints, he had no easy time
OF it. He had one of his arms broken,
or badly damaged. anyway; both eyes.
especially the left, nearly put out OF
business. but he won The bout was
ended by Il right swing to the jaw OF
poor Moiineux. which fractured that
important feature of the black mans
syisage and made him insensible," as
the Yiddish yernacular hath 1t.
Nearer our own time Corbett and
Peter jackson hoxed--but that, come
to think OF it, was not a championship
battle. Sullivan was the then cham
pion. even If Corbett was the best
of the American boxers.
That freshman rule was not adopt
ed by the Intercollegiate Amateur
Athletic Union, after all.
This Is the story of what occurred
at the ali-important meeting.
The delegates had lively time in
discussing the proposed freshman eli
gihility clause which had been rec
commended for adoption by the execu-
tive COMMITTEES. Mr.. Kirby rose In OPP
position to the measure when 1t was
first brought before the meeting and
carried his point. He made o plea
for the smaller colleges and showed
that IL the freshman rule were adopt
ed 1t would decimate the teams Of the
smaller institutions and would result
in curtailing rather than extending
the influence OF track athletics. He
did admit the wisdom of keeping
freshmen from competing in the fall
events, but said that they had every
right to take part in the spring games.
Mr.. Fitzpatrick replied that he did
not see why If the freshman rule was
a good one for football. baseball and
rowing, II should not be good for track
athletics. Reggie Foster. the Harvard
tcaptain, seconded Kilpatrick's argu-
: ments and so did Dwight. the Prince
: ton hurdler. and Roberts. the Cornell
delegate. w. A. Goulden, athletic d.
L.. H. - y