Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-06-08

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everywhere throughout our
| sport-loving land these days because
/ it's baseball slang. Il is used when
a batter is struck on the head acct
dentaIly by bah hurled with light
ming speed by pitcher.
Frank Chance, the new player-man-
ager Of the American League team
IN New York, is a man Of several dis
tinctions. One Of them is the fact
that he has been "beaned" more than
any other athlete who ever appeared
in the game. Forty times he has
been knocked unconscious by the rifle
shots of an opposing pitcher For a
| long time after one Of these accidents
| It was feared that he would never be
able to play again.
To avoid this peril in the future,
Chance has again shown his origi-
nality. he is the first player to wear
| a headguard while at the bat.
Nobody questions Chances wisdom,
| especially the players who have eX-
perienCed the agony that follows be-
| ing hit on the head by the pitcher.
One gets a vivid idea Of the fearful
| force of a pitched bail from the fact
| that Walter Johnson of the Wash
| ingtons can hurl the sphere at the
| speed OF 122 feet "A second. That is
| a scientifically demonstrated fact, be-
cause Johnson had his powers tested
| by the electric apparatus that the
| Government uses to discover the
! speed Of bullets. At the same time
| Napoleon RuCker, Of the Brooklyns,
| tossed the BAH at the rate Of 11S
! feet a second. And Walter was not
doing his best" said Rucker at the
| time
Therefore, everybody who wishes
! Chance to keep his head on his Shout
ders so that in the course Of time he
! can win a pennant for the Yankees
| approves Of his departure from Gus
! tom Chance viii have to face John
son many times this season.
! NEW kinds Of armor were not in
- troduced into the game In recent
| years until Roger Bresnahan began
| to wear guards for his legs such as
] q wicket keeper uses in the English
! game Of cricket. Bresnahan was
| catching for the New York Nationa!
! League team in those days-which
! We're longer ago than most " the
| present generation Of fans can re-
] member. The ribald crowds saw
! much 10 poke fun at in those days,
| and the fellow players Of the redoubt-
| able Roger jeered him to the limit.
/ But Bresnahan just smiled. and bid
.
/ needed is shown by the fact that
| every catcher I'm the game nowadays
dons the British leg guards.
Therefore II will be interesting TO
see whether other players will fol-
| low Chances lead and adopt the head
| PROTECTORS.
This device Of Chances Is very sim
! pie il is made OF an outer covering
Of webbing made to ut the head with
its broadcast part on the left side so
| that the temple and that part Of the
| head just back Of the ear will be
| covered. That Is because Chance Is
righthanded batter and the left side
of his head Is exposed to the pitcher
| The thickest part is stuffed with the
/ very best quality Of sponge. Il is the
/ theory that this cushion will absorb
= q great deal Of the shock when ball
\ happens 20 bounce Off the head OF the
: victim
Thirteen Is my lucky number"
| says Frank Chance. Perhaps that's
! true. Notwithstanding his dreadful
| record as a target for wild pitchers.
\ For Chance Is only "a years old, Yet
/ he Is credited with receiving the larg-
! est salary ever paid in baseball. II is
| stated on reliable authority that he
| has a five-year contract with the
/ Yankee team calling for a salary IF
| H-NfNNN "a year anu percentage Oh
/ the profits over a certain sum. II he
can get the nine into such a winning
| stride that the public viii flock to see
| the Yankees play, his earnings will be
very much larger.
|
CHANCE has been I'm the big leagues
y years, From 1905 until last year ne
was the manager Of the Chicago Ma
| tiOnal League club. The Cubs, as
! they We're called, became under his
| direction the greatest baseball ma
! chine that the game has ever seen. He
won peunauts and world champion
! ships. Chance always played (eXCe %
when he was unable TO play because
/ Of being "beaued'D until the spring Of
/ 1911. when he got the worst crack Of
| all on the head from the whiphand Of
! Pitcher Suggs, Of Cincinnati. The
next time he tried TO play he became
dizzy and he finally collapsed. Severe
pains In the head / ade him a semi
/ invalid
Then came his period OF bad luck
| He had helped to make a million dol
1 lars for the Chicago Cubs But the
/ president Of the club, Charles ".
| Murphy, believed Chance had passed
into baseball history. So Chance was
| discharged.
But the big first baseman fooled ev-
! erybody. He C4me TO New York and
/ had a very delicate and dangerous op-
| Grafton performed az the base OF his
| brain IL was a great success. A de-
I preston of the nerve center at the
affected spot was relieved Il had
caused a blood clot on the brain, and