Norwich bulletin., 1912-12-16
MANY TRICKS PULLED,
Old Players Hardly Ever Got the Best
 of Tim Hurst.

Baseball of years ago compared favorably with the game of today in tricky plays and fast thinking cap tain Anson and Tim Murnane, players of the '10s, have always held this and now E. II. Wood of Chicago, a sub stitute umpire in the National league during the early sos, claims the same thing. T remember when only the catcher wore a glove" says Wood. VI was in St. Louis at the time and 1t was considered baby work to use a glove in any other position This made the game a matter of heroic endeavor. The glove used by the backstop wasn't anything like the one employed today It compared rather with the old fash toned cricket glove with little protec- ton for the hand but reinforced with heavy strips of leather at the finger tips.
 We umpires had to be mighty care full, too, or those catchers would slip something over on us. The clever backstops used to have a trick of ex- tending their gloved hand an inch or so ahead of their bare mitt The ball, striking tn" hard niece of leather, would make a sound not unlike a foul lip. As foul tips were out then, no matter how many strikes the batter had on him. we had to be mighty wary Or clever catcher might get us asleep and claim an out on a foul tip when really the batter hadn't even touched the ball"
 Wood is a great adnirer of Tim Hurst, who he calls the greatest um- pire and fight referee who ever lived. They never officiated together. as Wood preceded Hurst, but they have been great friends for many years. Wood tells a few stories about Tim which might be interesting. Hurst went along on his wit and his nerve" says Wood. "Tim had them combined to fine edge and no ball player ever got the best of him on either point Tim had 1t in for the grouchy player, couldn't tolerate him. When he was umpiring behind pitcher who kept strikes he lasted about 15 minutes or
 t'.. ."r'r e-. i.utat.- tuv pitcher would snarL Gimme the corners, any way, won't ye" Hursts slow grin would appear and he would say: Why you don't dare to put the ball near the R1ete, you big dub. If you did that fSRew could hit you with lead pen cil' This generally got the pitchers goat.
 "Or perhaps Tim would be officiat Ing behind the plate and the batter would be sore at him. Hurst might exclaim something like this: Say Sill ] hear that young fellow who's after your job is a dandy Then when the batter was turning around 10 growl Rt Tim the pitcher would likely slip over strike. This didn't help the batter's mind any, and you can rest assured he soon let up. Many a time player would go up to Hurst and beg off. I'll quit if you do, Tim he would say Many second basemen will tell you how would-be stealer would get mad when Hurst called him out on close play. Like as not the umpire would out with a remark like this: Why, say, you haven't got the sense of feeling. You haven't touched the base even yet Then, turning to the second baseman, he would excIaim: Punch in a couple of his ribs next time he slides, Jim. Then he'll know hes out Such remarks are charac- teristic of the man."
 Ban Johnson. having declined to push his appeal of the libel suit Drought against him by John M. Ward. clecting to pay the s1 900 dam ages Ward secured, il is now said friends are making an effort to get the men to shake hands and forget. It