New-York tribune., 1912-04-07
GREET GIANTS WITH
FRENZ|ED CHEERING
Ten Thousand See Champions
Defeat Jersey City on Return
to Home Diamond.
OVATION FOR MATHEWSON
McGraw's Men Show Dash and
Fire in First Game-Fletcher
Slightly Injured in
Slide Home.


Yesterday afternoon Red" Ames sent the
hrst pitched ball of the year spinning
ocross the Polo Grounds diamond ana
thereby rang up the curtain on feast or
baseball that is to continue for six months
and may be for longer, II the Giants are
so successful as to he contenders in an
other struggle for the worlds champion
shin The fact that McGraw's band OF
fighters defeated Jersey city by a score OF
: TO | I'm a we'll played game was OF Incl
dental rather than Of primary importance
IN the ten thousand fans" who swarmed
10 the stadium under Coogan's Blum 10
welcome back the wanderers after their
training pilgrimage to the southland.
1, is doubtful If the Giants were any
happier TO get back on their old stamping
ground than the fans were TO see then
there Nature itself has seldom been In
more pleasant mood for the Homecoming
OF any ball team, for the balmy oreezes
that were waited through the spacious
stands and out across the PLAYING held
breathed OF June rather than April Every
thing that met the eye was fresh ana
bright from the greensward under foot TO
the Ioftiest OF the muticolored decorations
of the stands Signs that were dingy ana
drab in the waning days OF the season last
fall when the battles with the Athielcs
were PLAYED shone as they never shone pe-
fore i'm all the myriad colors of the sign
painters fertile brain
When the gates were thrown OPEN just
before 2 o'clock. there vas mad rush py
an army of nearly a thousand of the most
ardent fans" who stormed the box once
and turnstiles and sped through passage
ways for the most advantageous seats.
. AI aSfA
cause there were seats and seats without
number that yawned for occupants when
the game was at its height. but that fact
did not cause any hesitation. After the
advance guard was settled 1t was long
wait before the gate under the stand was
pushed aside and the first Of the players
walked in. The fans had expected
Mathewson and at least McGraw. but in
stead two strangers in the all too familiar
Giants uniform advanced across the lawn
Then came a procession of strange faces
each one of whom received whoOpins re-
c.ption despite the fact that his identity
was a Chinese puzzle to the welcomers
FINALLY. however a portly form squeezed
through the aperture and the more sophls-
ticated recognized il as the property OF
wilhert Robinson Behind Robinson was
Arthur Shafer who was with the Giants
two years ago, but who spent most or last
season in trying to inculcate the intricacies
Of baseball in the minds Of the sons or
Nippon.
Then there was hush Of expectancy
which was broken by 8 riotous cheer When
MoC;raw stepped out on the field In MS
black uniform After him, IN Veritapie
parade came the regulars. all clad In the
black of the worlds champion series uni
forms save Merkle Each one got cheer
as he walked to the bench. After McGraw
came Crandall, then Larry Doyle. ana
Red" Murray. and Leon Ames. and
.Rube" Marquard Fletcher, Herzog. De-
wore. Snodgrass and Wiltse followed, and
last. but not least of this contingent, was
Big Chief Myers. But not as yet sign
Of Matty. BY the time the regulars had
edged the recruits off the diamond and
begun some lightning practice, the fans
were beside themselves
II was not until the game was well under
way that ieeting glimpse was caught OF
Matty, and the contest was In the fourth
inning when Blk Six" strobe out from the
clubhouse entrance and walked across to
the bench. AS If by magic the game
stopped, and. with the players looking on
the crowd gave Matty one OF the greatest
waved his hand and Big Six" returned
the salute. He then jerked his cap and
nodded to the crowd When he had finally
taken his seat beside McGraw the game
went on. For while in the later innings
he was on the coaching lines. and then
warmed up with Crandal his catcher.
Big JEFF" Tesreau, in a splendid new
uniform put them over for the regulars in
little warming up exercise at the bat
and Fullenwider tossed easy ones up to
Wilson. Burns and Frank Mcdowell, In a
much faded Columbia University uniform
cavorted about when they got the chance
in good lively fashion The whole team
from boss to batboy seemed to be sur
charged with red hot pepper and things
hummed every second of the time. Larry
Doyle made some of his electrfying pick
ups and riheshot throws and Myers
whzzed the ball from corner to corner with
the speed of a wizard.
Meantime. while the crowd was being i'm
mensely edited and amused, the Jersey
City team had slipped out and in less time
than 1t takes to tell. all the pranks came
10 an end and the real work of the day
was at hand. Arlie Latham. no longer the
paid clown OF the Giants caravan stepped
briskly 10 the plate arrayed in the blue
serge of the regulation umpire. He told
OF Arnes and Myers as the Giants battery
and Doscher and Wells for a similar posi-
ton for Jersey City. and with a curt Bat
ter up!' the game was on.
Amase was intent on making the first
ball strike but either his arm or Lath-
ans eve failed him. as the first pitch of the
day was pronounced ball. Breen the
first Skeeter at the bat, rolled an easy tap
10 Ames on the third ball and died at first
of the next two, and the Giants came up
for their turn. With two bases on balls
starter and a rousins two-base hit the
first seen at the Polo Grounds in 1912, by
Snodgrass the Giants had scored the first
runs. Murray followed with another hit
and Snodgrass Tailed. making It 3 to for
the Giants in less than Ave minutes. Merklc
drove hard one at Breen. and Murray was
forced at second. but Merkle stole two bases
on poor throws by Wells and romped across
the plate when the ball was heaved to left
field
That was almost the sum total OF New
York's aggressive work. for although three
more hits were made they were all of the
nuky sort two being inield taps and the
third a hard drive that Roach pulled down
and threw wide to Schahy. At the bat the
McGraw brigade did not shine, although
with the game safely slowed away there
was not much incentive for unwarrant.d
activity. In the field, however, there was
little that the Giants did not tackle.
Fletcher and Herzog pulled off some field
Il. - A<~x orl IL