The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-07-23

| deceive the man at the bat and SO on
| the second man up he would be proficient
in that favorite attitude of pitchers Just
before they get ready to swing their left
leg and hist one over-he stood
The game was onl
The Tired Person, alias THE Rooter,"
got busy
| He sputtered and spattered and groaned
and yawned and crew Chanticler-like,
| thinking that the Game couldn't begin
until he had performed this particular
function, and then in varying keys that
sounded like tune on a Concertina he
shouted:
play B-A-L-Li!l
! TITS almost as exciting as Tiddle-de-
winks or Ping Pong, isn't 1t Doly?'
asked Polly, who up to today had been
reading Les Miserables." and Ellen Key
on "Courtship and Marriage" and Gals
worthy, and Heaven knows who else
| instead of following Ty Cobb's record and
| Marquard and the rest of the heroes of
the Good Old Summer Time.
| 1 didn't answer, because / had my eye
on THE Rooter."
| I saw him light fresh "Stogie" and
unbotton his coat and move down two
or three seats to the front. and 1
KNEW something was going to hap
pen.
You've probably read the official
score" of that day how the game was
slow and draggy, although Kid Smith
was In splendid form-a bit wild at
| first-and how the inimitable south
paw, Mr.. Summers. held the Barons at
all times with his tantalizing slow
curves and hooks.
But you probably DON'T know that
the REAL Deus x-Machna of that
do n 1a rTfra1
alias THE Rooster" who made obser-
vations something like this:
Give us one. Smith; you're the
whole cheese any way. Don't you
know 1t? WE DO. Anybody'd think
they were conducting an auction sale
and just GIvIN away Gas Stoves and
Hammock Couches, the way things
are going. Come in, Smith; give 'em
one of your Choicest. Come on now,
dope 'em a Ball Hit somebody over
there on the fence. That's a good fell
low. It amt too late yet Do some
thing. Save the game, for MY sake. as
well as your own"
kid Smith" advanced to the Mound.
He took his place.
He stood still for a moment.
He didn't reach above his head and
wrap his shoulders with his left toe
and swing his arms three times and
then throw seven inches inside the
plate.
Not he.
He Just took the ball in his hand,
looked at it curiously for a moment
and fired t--ZWING-right over the
plate.
I'D get that ball If I were you,"
shouted THE Rooter," as he took off his
coat and waved his derby in the air,
He'll be playing in the Major league
next year. He will. Hooray for Smith.
He's a Peach, he is Give us another
old man just like that"
who was '1n." and who was out" and
what they did, and what they did
not do
That's history-NOW.
But all of a sudden when the Barons
were at the bat again somebody
guess it was McBride-you can always
count on him to do some heavy bat
ting-hit a ball and knocked 1t some
where up in the blue canopy of Heaven,
and the "Bleachers" arose as one man
and everybody made a noise like a top,
and THE Tired Person" alias THE
Rooter," Whoop-la'd and yelled until
he fell back in his seat a purple mass
of excitement and perspiration.
The Barons STILL stood a show to
win.
play BALL, B-O-Y-Sw
shouted our friend. Come on Smith;
we're countin' on YOU"
And in the mean time the Nashville
coach was doing a Skirt Dance" that
was wonderful to behold. while the
Birmingham coach executed a Gertrude
Hoffman PAS SEUL that had anything
you've ever seen beat a block"
=, tn, f1a h1.,n suit
back of the Catcher wear those Ac-
cordeon Plaits on his Chest for?"
asked Polly, innocently. "Or is 1t
Life Preserver?"
"a man who knows all about Base
Ball" 1 ventured, told me once that
he wore that arrangement to protect
his shirt front in case his teeth got
knocked out"
Look at that Sacrifice HIT" shouted
whats a Sacrificed hit7" asked Pol.
ly, interestedly.
TITS when a batter hits the ball
lightly to confuse the players in the
field, and let the men on bases get
home" man sitting next to Polly in
formed her.
You don't mean that a good player
would nit ball that'-she started.
''Why of course" he said, "in order
to save those on bases. That's the Won
derful part of baseball The individual
merges his own personality-his indi-
|yiduality-into the whole. It's fine team
work that makes great baseball"
But who could possibly explain any,
thing with that wild Indian shouting
at the tip top of his voice:
"P-L-E-A-S-E Play Ball, Boys, Come
on now. Give us somthing to wake us
up! Mcbride and Jimmy Johnston have
delivered the goods. Won't somebody
else do stunt that'l count? Smith,
can't you come to the front and wipe
up the earth with EN-? oh, you beauti-
full ball. Come on Smith! Can't you hear
us calling you. You. YOU, your"
And then 1t was all over
After pinch" CAROLS timely double
had tied up the fray in the ninth, AL
media booted an easy grounder In the
tenth, Yantz let ball of Smiths which
was a bit high escape his perfectly
good mitt, and the Vols-WON. by a
| score of to 8.
/ We heard the Tired Person alias The
lRooter growing like bear and we
saw him light another "Stogie" as he
started toward the car, and we caught
Just a bit of his conversation-but II
won't do to print
1t wasn't exactly Sunday school
llanguage-but that's another story.
rung to warn the guards so that the.
may properly protect the property.
"Another action at which Mrs. Little
ton is dspeased is the fact that visitors
q,