The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1912-11-07

rather elaborate test had been ar
ranged.
When the speed of a rife bullet is
to be determined on the chronograph.
the arm is placed in a fixed position
at a known distance from a large s.
16th-inch steel plate at the end Of an
enclosed range, something like an
! elongated shooting gallery of the COM
mon type. Over the muzzle of the
gun a thin copper wire is stretched.
The speeding bullet cuts the wire and
electrically releases an upright rod
on the recording instrument at the
rear Of the weapon. The impact OF
the BULLET on the steel plate, in the
same manner, releases a knife which
point and from the distance recorded
on the bar, the length of time re-
ouired for the missile to travel from
wire 10 plate is computed in feet per
second.
One of the changes necessary to
meet the requirements of the pitch
ing arm was to arrange a network
of copper wires over a frame about
three feet square, through which the
ball was thrown. This frame was
mounted on IN upright standard and
was raised or lowered to correspond
with the heights of the pitchers or
the styles of ball to be delivered.
In selecting the pitchers for the in
itial test, Walter Johnson was chosen
because Of his reputation as the
specdlest slab artist" in. the game.
and Napoleon Rucker, the star left
handler Of the Brooklyns, was picked
as d south paw" who pitches a ball
Of moderate speed, depending to a
larger extent on 'slow BALI tactics
than does Johnson.
Both pitchers experienced difficulty
in the ~"tryout" in getting the ball
through the rather narrow wired
frame. AS Johnson remarked, I'VE
are after the man at the other end of
the range in the real game and /
dom think any of us pay much atten-
tion to how the ball starts" However,
a little practice brought out three con
sistent scores" from each pitcher,
both of whom threw at a terrific
speed. Johnson's first record was 100
feet per second. Fuckers LOG; second
trial. Johnson 121, Rucker 100, and in
the final fling at the plate Johnson
pushed his speed up to 1872 feet per
second and Rucker increased his to
113. 1t seems probable that a speed
of at least $50 feet PEI second might
be reached after a longer warming
up, period and more practice.
Johnson's high mark Of 1872 feet per
second affords some most interesting
comparisons. For instance, a ball go
ing at hat velocity has a striking
Of 100 foot pounds-half the
punch" of a As calibre Colt Automatic
pistol. The Twentieth Century Limit
ed, flying at a mile-a-minute gait over
the rails, makes but SO feet per Sec
about two-thirds the speed
of Johnson's ball. If Johnson should
throw at a man standing on the back
platform of that famous ~train-start-
ing his throw after the last car had
passed at the mile-a-minute speed-the
ball would catch up and strike a
blow than if thrown by the
pitcher at a stationary mark.
A speed of 1872 feet per second
means that Johnson sends the sphere
from the pitchers box over the plate,
sixty feet away, in less than two ticks
of a watch-quicker than the wink of
eye. 1t also means that to be
with such a ball in any vital
spot -?
Well, is it any wonder that a batter
now and then "lets one go by" or that
he does not always respond to the
fans Jaw, stand up and hit EN-! Are
-. ofro;l - ,or,o