davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Arizona republican., 1912-08-27

"RASkBALL players are superstl-
 tious. and some go to extremes in this respect" says Johnny Evers, the brainy second sacker of the Chicago Nationals. "On the Cubs team. for instance. I am, believe. more inclined to fear the jinx than any other mem Der of the club. In batting practice before the game the general oe1et IS that if you are not hitting the ball hard or up in the air you will bat well In the game ofttimes as the result Tn many cases I have seen player hit two or three balls hard and on the line and then go to the bench and refuse to bat any more, saying. I'm saving mine for the game
 "Going to the different parks in the cars the sight of a funeral along the road is regarded as an i'll omen. The same applies to 8 cripple unless you toss him a coin. wagon load or empty barrels Is good sign. Ere Quently a man, having gone mile out of the way to purchase something on a day when his club happened to win, will continue to travel the roundabout pathway so long as the club Is in that particular city or until his teammates lose
 watch a man when the inning is over. If the inning previous was fa- vorable to the player, observe him go over and be particular to locate the same spot to lay down his glove. You doubtless have often seen player at tired in a soiled and far from pre- sentable uniform. Beneath all that turks our old friend the jinx. The player will stick to the dirty garments SO long as his team is winning. When the streak is broken the laundryman gets & chance at his clothing. but not before.
 'Remember how Frank Chance in sisted on starting any one but Brown in the last two worlds series in which the Cubs figured? Well. that was be- cause, Mordecai started against the | White Sox, and we lost And then they say the ball players don't try to win early in the worlds series.
 Tt is also said very often that the present prosperity of the game Is due to the untiring efforts of the national commission or to some high officials in either the National or American league, but you can take 1t from me and I believe I am close observer the present prosperity and the high standard of baseball today are due to the honesty. sincerity and hard work of no one individual or set of officials higher up, but to the players them : selves Getting back to superstitions reminds me-did you ever observe the conduct of a pitcher after he had bro- ken one of his shoe laces?
 Not for the world could you induce the average major league pitcher to resume work with a new shoe lace. He will tie up the remnants and go ahead, hoping to make the laces last throughout the session The players don't want the bat boys to hand them their clubs either. On our home grounds. of course Red Gallagher. the bat boy, has a sort Of standing job swinging the sticks. but he always
Arizona republican., 1912-08-27

ards name among the three base hits or home runs but the fact is he won the pennant by saving that game, and he did it by striking out If ever there was a fellow who was crossed up. fool- ed, puzzled and made to look bad 1t was Howard, but that made no differ. ence
 Tt was a corking game. one of the greatest and most exciting ever saw. and the crowd was crazy. Detroit had been winning and held the advantage clear down to the ninth, with Dono- van pitching so fast we scarcely could see the ball. I wasn't in the game. but was doing some gallant bench work trying to help the other fellows hit Donovan.
 'They had us licked by two runs in the ninth, and our fellows commenced to get a start. We had a chance to tie it up when Tinker came to bat Tin ker hadn't been hitting Donovan at all. I believe he had struck out couple of times, and Chance signaled to me to come on and bat. There's where How ard gave a wonderful display of club swinging. The first two shot over the plate so fast I hardly was able to set
 
 yelling strike
 Then I decided to acquire little more con fee Hence I figured that Donovan. having two strikes on me. would waste a fast one high and out side the plate and try to make me bite at 1t. I decided to try a little surprise party. Donovan had called Schmidt down to talk to him. and that gave me plenty of time to think it over. also to listen to what the crowd was think ing out loud about me as a pinch hit ter.
 "T made up my mind that Donovan was going to waste that ball and that I was going to take one large healthy smash at it. because I rather liked to hit those high ones when they weren't too far away. I started to walk in a bit to crack the ball. when I saw 1t coming low and fast and aimed about at my knees. It looked for an instant as if that ball was going to get tangled among my legs I took a fine swing. and don't think missed the ball more than a foot.
 Then I heard howl while the ball was going back to the stands It had slipped through Schmidt and got away so far that the score was tied. The 1 chances are that if Donovan had vast ed the ball, as I expected him to do. I'd have been a hero or a dub. with the chances in favor of the dub, and that Detroit would have won that first game and had a running start toward the championship. I ended in a tie. broke their confidence. and we won tn l straight heats-"
Arizona republican., 1912-08-27
When Governor Tener
 Met Amos Rusie

THE uncertainties of life were never
 A better illustrated than at Dugdale's
 park Seattle, Wash. recently. A large
 man. a picture of success, heading a
 party of prominent Pennsylvanians.
 approached the special officer at the
 entrance of the baseball park.
 Hello. Amos." was his salutation as
 he held out his hand
 "You've got the best of me-" was the reply of the man spoken to. and he made no effort to shake the hand of the speaker.
 "Why. don't you know me? am John Tener," said the first. and there was a handshaking which was the real thing in that line and fanfest worth listening to.
 One man was John K Tener. gov- -rnor of the state of Pennsylvania and a rich banker, the other was Amos
 Rusie. special officer at Dugdale park.
 Twenty years ago. when the sport world was ringing with cheers for John Tener. star pitcher of Spalding' 8 great Chicago team. Amos Rusie, a youngster. pitched his first game in the major league before a large crowd in New York city and defeated Chicago in a great pitchers battle by score l of to 0. in time becoming the great est pitcher in the world.
Arizona republican., 1912-08-27

John L. Sullivan recently, were dur ing my big tour in 1883. When we struck Victoria. B. C.. the first man we met was the mayor. He wanted to know if the s1.000 I hung up for anybody who would stay four rounds was a genuine s1.000 note.
 There's only one way of convincing you" I answered. Heres the money. Hold it yourself!" That pleased the mayor and gave us an official standing in the town. But the mayor got on my nerves, and I didn't like him a lit tie bit. He was a sawed off Irishman. so small I could have tucked him away in one of my pockets.
 "A Frenchman accepted my chal- lenge. and he had pretty fair reputa- tion in town as a boxer. He was fairly crazy to win the thousand, and when he was about to enter the ring I dis covered that his body and arms had been bathed in oil. so that my punches would slip off. and he would not be in jured.
Arizona republican., 1912-08-27
Star Players Are 6
 Easiest to Handle

THE life of an umpire Is a tough one
 believe me- For days he may not be called on to make a close decision and he and the players get along like brothers, but for weeks he off1ciates in battles where for inning after in- ming he has to decide eyelash plays The players Of both teams continually bounce on him and argue with him: the home fans roast him to a brown. It is then that the job gets on his nerves and makes him long for home and the farm.
 The umpire is practically exiled too He cannot mix with the players after the game and go out and have an evening of sport. If he wants to go to a theater he must travel by his lone some.
 One day last summer Umpires Con- molly and Mullen were on the same train with the Yankees on the return trip of the New Workers from Wash ington. When their appetites drove them to the dining car they found the players occupied nearly every seat Connolly informed his young protege that it would never do to be seen eat ing with the players. so they strolled back to their chairs and waited at least an hour and a half for the diamond warriors to fill their bread baskets"
 There are certain players who make all kinds of trouble for umpires and others who never cause a rumpus. no matter if they believe the official has given him the worst of it in a close decision. And 1t is the stars who near fy always abide by the umpire's de- c1sions without a murmur
 "Why, Hal Chase never made a kick in his life.' said Umpire Egan recent ly. "One day I was working on the bases in New York and called Chase out on very close decision. That was hair line decision, Hal I remarked. Well, I thought I had 1t beaten, MT. Egan.' replied Chase, but you could tell better than I could
 That's all he had to say. Why l know of fifty players who would have been ready to scalp me had they been in Chase's place.
 While don't believe there is an um- pire in the American league who would give a wrong decision with intention, it's a cinch a fellow of the Chase type is not going to get any of the worst of 1t from an official.
 "Christy Mathewson is another great player to work behind. An umpire of ten makes a mistake on balls and strikes. but Matty never makes beef
 Ira Thomas. the Athletics backstop Is always pleading with the umpire and Is really funny at times as he begs for
Arizona republican., 1912-08-27
Funny Tales of the Knights of the Padded Nit

"The Frenchman had a crowd of friends on hand, who expected to see him stay the limit During the day they had bought lot of hard stuff for me, with the idea that I wouldn't be in any kind of form when faced their fighter. But I was there with the punch and knocked Frenchy down three times in the first round. The third knockdown kept him on the floor half an hour. dead to the world. When he came to he asked to see me. and while we were talking I asked how 1t felt to go to sleep so suddenly. He re- piled:
 ""When you hit me one time I think I see one French soldier. When you hit me three times I think see one whole army!' Then, wiping the oil out of his eyes, he looked at my mauleys and ex- claimed:
 "'Oh. oh! can break ze wood fences with my feests. but you. M. Sullivan, you break ze stone walls with yours!'"
Arizona republican., 1912-08-27
WALTER JOHNSON.

winds up takes a step toward the third base line and with his exceptionally long arm swings the ball toward the plate not directly. as most pitchers do. but at an angle which is very decep- tive to the man at bat.
 Johnson varies the angle and at times cuts the ball loose two or three times in succession so that 1t will go three or four inchessinside of the plate from a wide angle and yet cause the batter to think that it is coming over. Consequently he takes a swing at 1t and ren"zes his mistake after he hss misse, 6 Then Johnson will shoot 8
Arizona republican., 1912-08-27
BALL PLAYERS A SUPERSTITIOUS LOT

tries hard to drive away the hoodoo. Watch him salivate the handle of ev- cry bat before 1t goes into the hands of its owner. The player. however. prefers to pick up his own bat rather than have any assistance from the club attaches.
 Keep your eyes glued on Tinker when he goes to bat Joe has a habit of walking straight from the bench to the plate for the first time up If he gets a clean hit that time he'll repeat on the second trip, but if he fans or fouls out or is tossed to death on an
Arizona republican., 1912-08-27

strike Charley Street. the former New Yorker, is just the opposite. and he Is continually grabbing when his pitcher isn't, given shade on close ones. But both are grand fellows. and their heart is in their work
 willie Keeler was an ideal fellow" says Connolly, the American league in dicator holder. "Whenever he made a kick you could bet he was pretty near right. but Keeler realized he had noth- ing to gain by batting!
 "Ty Cobb is another good man for the umpires While he may look to be a scrappy player. he seldom kicks at a decision. Cy Young. Nap Lajoie and many of the other great performers are the same"
Arizona republican., 1912-08-27
MdCk's Scouts Look Ills Son Over

CONNIE MACK never overlooks a
 bet The brainy leader of the Philadelphia Athletics is given credit for landing and developing more youngsters than any other major league manager, and Connie constant ly has scouts out watching the budding stars Earl Mack, manager of the At lantic City club. who. by the way, is Manager Mack's son. has two scouts watching his every move, and should one or both star chasers report favor ably on Mack No. 2. Mack No. 1 will grab him up and try him out next sn-1-B. Earl Mack is catcher and according to the dope. is first class man.
Arizona republican., 1912-08-27
Many Players Show One Flash of Brilliant Form

why Jackson and Cobb. two left hand hitters who scarcely ever hit at ball
 not over, are continually swinging at balls both inside and outside of the plate-straight balls, too, with not a semblance of a curve on them. The reason has been mentioned. The cross fire which Johnson uses sends the ball across the plate at such a varying angle it is impossible to judge 1t &C., curately all the time Johnson stands on the extreme right end of the pitch CTS slab while pitching and when he
Arizona republican., 1912-08-27

ture during the closing days of the cially fearful that the photographer might work a jinx on the players and jeopardize our chances of beating De- troit Reulbach is a mighty supersti- tious chap. I remember how one of Eds friends approached him two years ago when the big pitcher was moving them down for his record of fourteen straight victories The fan wanted Reulbach's cap, the one he had worn during all those games. but Ed refused to part with the headgear. Yes, the ball player Is to be listed only with the actor or the sailor when it comes to the superstitious phase of life"
Arizona republican., 1912-08-27
JOHNNY EvERS AT BAT.

infeld drive Tinker certainly will waltz out in a circle. going back to the plate. This way he hopes to break the hoodoo.
 "The catchers of the various clubs have a great horror of loaning their big mitts to any other members of the club. It's all right to loan the old glove-the one used in practice-but nix on the mitt that serves each day in the championship games. That's a bad sign, according to the backstop.
 There are hoodoos-hundreds of them-to the ball players way of thinking. Take Pittsburgh, for in- stance. The worst hoodoo in that town is the bug who daily sQuats back of
Arizona republican., 1912-08-27

first base. making life miserable for the man playing that sack. Time and again have heard the yowls of the in dividual, but never have succeeded in locating him.
 Every first sacker in the National league has heard the rowling of this human coyote. It's little wonder ball players often lose their temper during the heat of battle and become guilty of acts that are far from becoming to the profession
 Recall how Manager Chance refused to have the Cubs pose for a team pic
Arizona republican., 1912-08-27

the score and leave the blunder part of 1t out of the story.
 But 1t Is true. and if you don't pe- lieve 1t. look at the score of that first game between Chicago and Detroit the first time they battled for the worlds championship-that extra inning game that ended in a tie that practically ruined Detroit's chances for the cham = pionship in 1907 You won't see How
Arizona republican., 1912-08-27

BILLY M'CARNEY has a number of
 good stories on tap concerning his new white hope. Luther McCarty. One of them refers to his first ring battle. McCarty. although only twenty one years old, has travelled the world over He walked into Springfield. Mo, less than year ago and found a town bully named Cox was beating every one at a local athletic club that could be dug up. Approaching McCarney. Luther asked him to get him a bout with Cox On the night of the battle the an- nouncer climbed into the ring and ad- dressed the audience thusly:
 Gentlemen, I don't know anything abou this guy McCarty, but if it's a bum bout we will refund your money"
 McCarney went to McCarty's dress ing room and found him whistling 'Alexander's Ragtime Band" He in- formed Luther of the announcement Winking at Billy, Luther asked, Do you want me to kill him in the first round?"
 Twin as quickly as you can, Luther. replied Bill.
 Luther did He knocked Cox out in the first round Then there was a riot. Some one claimed Luther was a ringer and none other than Tony Ross After a free for all battle Luther put several more away and succeeded in convinc- ing the management he was the only and original Luther McCarty and col lected his coin.
Arizona republican., 1912-08-27

WHEN get to the stage of retiring
 from the game and sitting in the chimney corner and drooling about what l used to do." said Del Howard, the former utility man of the Chicago Nationals. the other day, I'm going to tell my grandchildren the story of how won the worlds championship by making the worst blunder of my life. On second thought I think I'll tear up
Arizona republican., 1912-08-27

WHEN ball team reaches that stage
 where its only interest lies in the sharing of the worlds series receipts 1t becomes a hard task for the man in charge to keep up its spirit. When players have had a couple of thousand dollars handed them after the season is over they lose interest as soon as they see this prize slipping away from them They realize that they are draw ing as big salaries as 1t is possible for them to get, and there remains no in- centive for them to hustle.
 It is this condition which is said to be responsible for the rather disap- pointing showing which the Athletics have made this season There are too many players on Connie Mack's team who possess automobiles and other forms of amusement. while the playing of games is considered more of an an- noyance than the pleasure it used to be
Arizona republican., 1912-08-27

fast one directly toward the outside corner of the plate. with the result that the batter takes another ineffec- tual swing at it, 1t being almost impos- sible for him to gauge where the ball is going to cross the plate in front of him.
Arizona republican., 1912-08-27
By TOMMY CLARK.

WHERE is risk about doing the sen-
 sational thing in baseball Though 1t is the proper aim of every player in the game to do the unusual and re- .markable, enough deadly instances could be furnished of notable achieve ment followed by oblivion to make dia mond workmen strive to keep out of the limelight all the time.
 A case Is furnished in Neal Ball, who is now in the minors Two years ago Ball was idolized, but he did not last
 He had performed the remarkable feat of making a triple play unassisted. The town turned out to do him honor. A medal was presented to the short stop on a day set apart as Meal Ball day" Newspapers and magazines the country over printed his pictures and told the story of the play.
 But it was his finish. The New York Americans let him go. Last season the Cleveland Maps signed him. For a time he played we'll Recently he was chased to the minors.
 In the worlds series of 1906 the Chi cago White Sox won because at timely stages Third Baseman Rohe, playing as a substitute for Tannehill, let loose two triples. Chicago hailed Rohe as 
 e year later found him playing third base on the New Orleans team in the Southern league.
 Bill Harris of Boston had the honor of pitching twenty-four innings, the longest contest in the history of base ball. in the memorable game in which Jack Coombs beat Boston in 1906. Bill looked like another phenom to take the nfnann ho hot resembled in appearance and move ments. but the twenty-four inning game was the last important piece of work to the credit of Harris, and he shot back to the minors the next year.
 Babe" Adams climbed the very sum- init of baseball fame when he took three games from Detroit in 1909 and won the worlds championship for the Pirates. But Babe has not done any thing wonderful since. He twirls fair ly good ball, but it would not be sur prising to see Pittsburgh part with him any time.
 Covaleski was another man who had c great fall. The big Pole. who had been signed by the Phillies in 1907. only pitched a game or two and was sent back to Lancaster to get a little more experience He came to the Phillies at the end of the year while New York was making its terrific battle for the National league pennant The large number of games the Phillies had to play the Giants in the closing days of the season put them in a position to decide whether or not the pennant should go to New York. After Corri. don and McQuillan had mysteriously failed to show their usual effectiveness against New York Covaleski was tried on a chance. He pitched amazing ball and beat the Giants three times in a series, thereby putting them out of the race He Is now in the minors.
Arizona republican., 1912-08-27
ONE of the factors which give Wal.

nNE of the factors which give Wal
 - ter Johnson. Washington's great pitcher, his great effectiveness Is his crosJ fire delivery. While Johnsons aimcst unparalleled speed would make him a wonderful pitcher. though he did not possess another attribute except control. it is the manner in which he cuts the ball across the plate that makes him more to be dreaded by the batters, It has often been wondered
Smyrna times., 1912-03-06

they were beside themselves with
terror till reached the end when
Lucy sank down into a chair and
Harry-well, 1 shall never forget
the look Harry gave me. Just
then there was a ring at the tele-
pone, and the police reported that
the robber had been taken with
jewels and silverware.
Mrs. Woodward recovered, and
the doctor said that l had certainly
saved her life. Harry Woodward
had nothing more to say about the
girls he met in society When he
entered upon his profession he mar
ried me, and l was once more in
the circle TO which l belonged and
from that day to this have lived a
happy life.
Smyrna times., 1912-03-06
RACE RIOT AT DELAWARE CITY
Soldiers From Fort Dupont and a
Number of Negroes in Riot

soldiers from Fort DUPONT and
Number of Negroes in Riot
Constable Oakes and the police of
Delaware City on Friday rounded up
a number of negroes for partici-
pating in the riot Thursday night
between gang of colored men and
soldiers from Fort DUPONT, during
which Private Alfred Chamberlain,
of the 139th Company was seriously
stabbed. Fred Shorter, when ar
raigned before Magistrate House
holder, was fined 500 and sentenced
to one year in prison; Isaac Lemby
was iLed $25 and costs and sent to
Jail for six months. and Charles
Shorter was fined SIS and costs.
F ed Shorter is said to be the
negro who stabbed Private Cham
berlain. Two other negroes, "Dub-
lin" Daniels and "Doc" Steptoe,
alleged leaders in the riot, made
their escape and are thought to
have fled to Chester. Pa.
Smyrna times., 1912-03-06

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Liquid Cream Balm. used in an
atomizer, is an unspsakable relief
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breathes freely, perhaps for the first
time in weeks. Liquid Cream Balm
contains all the healing, purifying
elements of the solid form, and
it never fails to satisfy. Sold by
all druggists for 75c., including
spraying tube, or mailed by Ely
Bros, Sc Warren Street, New York.