The Washington herald., 1911-01-19
VIRGINIA LEAGUE DRAWS
TWO DISTRICT PLAYERS
"Biffff' Johnson and "Chck" Davis Will Take Fling
at Organized Ball Other Gossip of Inter-
--.- est to Lovers of Sport.

ground that loss of the series might
interfere with the worlds champions as
drawing card. However. that is re-
mote. The possibilities are so strong
for the series to be played that there ex-
lists but little doubt regarding them. AS
a matter of fact. Connie Mack would
not override President Shibe, and the
latter would not agree to the series il
he knew that Manager Mack was opposed
to playing the games.
That it is no easy matter to get good
playing material from rival clubs is gen.
orally conceded, and yet there are in
stances where some mos. advantageous
trades have been n ade between two ma
jor league clubs. In fact. the winning Of
several pennants can be attributed to the
fact that a club has secured player
from some club that the latter did no:
think it could use.
Baseball history shows that some first
class men have been passed from one
club to another in the last five years. The
following is a partial list of men who
have been sold or traded in recent years:
Pitchers-Morgan, St. Louis to Boston.
| to the Athletics: Ed Smith. Chicago to
| Boston: Mc0uillen. Moren, and Coveles-
kie, Philadelphia to Cincinnati: Ewing,
| Brennan. Beebe. and Rowan. Cincin.
| natl to Philadelphia: Cy Young. Boston
to Cleveland; Browne, St. Louis to Chi
| cago; Overall. Cincinnati to Chicago;
| McIntire. Brooklyn to Chicago: Powell
New York to St Louis: Falkenberg.
Washington to Cleveland; and Charley
Smith. Washington to Boston.
Catchers-Bresnahan. New York to St
| Louis; Thomas. New York to Detroit to
the Athletics: Moran. Boston to Chicago
to Philadelphia; Clarke, Cleveland to St
| Louis: Needham, New York to Chicago
Donohue. Boston to Athletics; Schlei
Cincinnati to New York; Bergen. Cincin-
natl to Brooklyn; Kleinow. New York to
Boston.
1nfielderS-Bridwell Cincinnati to Ros-
ton to New York: H. Lord, Boston to
Chicago: Mcconnell. Boston to Chicago;
| knight. Athletics to Boston to New York
Steinfeldt. Cincinnati to Chicago: Byrne,
st. Louis to Pittsburg: Griggs. St. Louis
| to Cleveland: Lobert. Chicago to Cincin-
natl to Philadelphia: Grant. Philadelphia
to Cincinnati: Shean, Philadelphia to
New York: Moriarity. New York to De-
troit: Bransfield, Pittsburg to Philadel-
phia: Delehanty, Washington to Detroit
Becker. New York to Boston; J. Stahl,
Washington to Boston: Schaefer, Detroit
to Washington; Erberfeld, New York to
Washington.
Outfielders-Bates, Boston to Philadel-
phia to Cincinnati; Paskert. Cincinnati
to Philadelphia: B. Lord. Cleveland to
Athletics: Jackson. Athletics to Cleve-
land; Wolter. Boston to New York: Stone,
Boston to st. Louis; Scheckard, Brooklyn
to Chicago: Murray. st. Louis to New
York: Oakes, Cincinnati to St Louis:
, Gessler, Boston to Washington; Killifer.
Detroit to Washington: Beaumont, Pitts
burg to Boston to Chicago.
In the above list are enough teams
to form two-er three pennant winners,
so the talk that good players are not
procurable is hardly based on fact.
The following is from the Cleveland
Leader:
Bobby Gilks, who is one Of the scouts
for the Maps. and who in his younger
days played ball all through the great
Southwest. including the boundless terri
tory Of Texas. declares that none of the
stories told about odd happenings down
in the Lone Star State in the long ago
days can, by any possibility, be exag-
serated. 'The country was new them
says Gilks. Baseball was a good deal
of an innovation and lots Of the play
ers who came to the front had never
seen a major league game and knew
nothing of it's manifold possibilities So
it was that in those days We saw some
most extraordinary things.
"One day down in WacO-or was 1t
at Austin-no, it was Waco, and HeNs-
ton was playing there at that time
most peculiar play occurred. I'll wager
little money that it has never been
and never will be duplicated.
"A young player on the home team
had recently been presented by the fans
yxri4h toh
run hit, and mighty proud he was of it.
When the players would go out for
practice or to play the game, this man
would be asked to leave his watch in
the clubhouse, but never would he assent.
well. it came along to a day when
the young Waco player-the player with
the gold watch-got enmeshed in the
glamour and graces of young woman
fan, and on this day he had made an
engagement to meet her at $50 p. M.
and take her to dinner. The game drag
ged dreadfully and it so happened that at
Is o'clock only six innings had been
played.
''The young Waco player with the new
gold watch was getting nervous. His
admirer was a wealthy girl. and she
could afford to scorn a man who dis
appointed her in any way.
I'm the Seventh inning a ball was
DatteO Dy f1ouStOn prayer 10 center
field. where this Waco boy was playing
There was a man on second At the time
But just then the Waco boy had drawn
out his watch to note the tinI He was
thus engrossed and was thinking about
his important dinner engagement, when
his captain howled to him:
"'Shoot 'er home, Roscoe, boy!
Roscoe did shoot 'er home Not the
ball that had been batted out to him for
a double and was even then lying at his
feet but the watch that he had been
holding in his hand.
with all his might and main he
hurled the watch home. 1t didn't go as
straight and true as a baseball would
have gone of course, but the catcher got
IT, in plenty of time for the put-out. The
play would have gone through, too, but
for the fact that the backstop was a
good deal of a ninny.
"As he swung around and touched the
runner with the watch, he played the
fool and shouted: What's this?' holding
up the golden timepiece
Umpire. players, and spectators gave
Quick attention, and the cost Of the CEN
ter flelder's lapse of thOughtfulness was
soon known to everybody. but the play
would have gone through all right had
not the catcher been an absolute Ounce.
But did. you ever before hear Of a
game in which a watch was put in play
and was actually ielded In place Of lne
ball?''
Lang Loses On . Foul.
London, Jan. 1S-Lang. the AuStralian.
and Naval Subomcer Curran started q
tventy.round match at Olympia tonight