The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-06-16
SPORTOGRAPHY

Charley Dexter is a monaker that
 hasn't appeared in the box scores for
 many years, although the owner of
 the name, once a brilliant star of the
 diamond, is no older than Honus Wagner, who still manages to hobble around and to hit the ball. Dexter, at last reports, was @ clothing mer- chant in Des Moines, Ia. He was born in Evansville, Ind, thirty-seven
 years ago Sunday, June 15, 1876, play ed in Q. number of minor aggregat1ons, and at the age of twenty broke into the National League as catcher, out fielder and general a1l-around player
 with the Louisville Co1onials. Fred Clarke was then the manager of the Kentuckians, and he speedily devel-
 oped Dexter into stellar attraction.
 Charley was full of pepper-too full
 of it, in fact, for his fighting spirit
 and determination to win led to ire
 Quent arguments with umpires and
 players. He didn't hunt trouble but
 he was generally in the middle of any
 ruction that developed. Just how
 ''peppery' he was may be judged from
 the fact that lawn McGraw, who
 was never noted for suitability of tenn
 per, reconsidered a. decision to hire
 Dexter because of the latter's tend
 ency toward acrimonious repartee
 with urnpires and such pefsons. With
 the Colonels, Dexter batted over the
 300 mark: as well as playing a snap
 py game behind the bat and in the
 field. During his last three seasons in
 the Kentucky metropolis, Dexter had
 Hans Wagner as a teammates. In 1898, when the Dutchman was cover
 ing first and third for the Colonels, Dexter led him at the bat, with an average for the season of .311 to Wag-
 ner's .3O4. In 1900 Louisville was
 dropped from the National circuit, and and Fred Clarke. For the next three seasons he was with the Chicago Ma tiona1s, and in 1903 and 1904 he was with Boston. Dexter was still on the sunny side of thirty, and in his prime, when he decided to quit the game and
 go into business. He was still playing 8 great game, and looked good for
 many years more in the main show,
 when he sang his swan song.
 t'RoyaI Ascot as the English call the famous racecourse, will be the
 scene this week of great racing meet that will attract the worlds fashion
 abIes. This year the Ascot classics l immediately precede the opening of the International Horse Show at the Olympia in London, and there will be no clash of dates. as in the past | The Coventry stakes for two year olds will be decided tomorrow, followed
 by the famous Ascot Gold cup on Thursday and the Alexandria Plate on Friday. On Friday evening
 the crowds will flock back to Lon don town for the inaugural of the worlds greatest horse exhibition.
 The first race meet at Ascot was held in 1711, under the patronage of Queen Anne, who presented a plate to 1 be raced for. A few years later a
 permanent course was established on Ascot Heath by the Duke of Cum ber1and, uncle of George III.
 Queen Anne was present at the first race on the heath, and ever since English royalty has been identified with the course. In consequence, As cot is the most fashionable of Eng | fish tracks, and the only one where it is necessary for man who wishes | to be aconsidered anybody in parti- l cular to wear silk hat and morn ing coat. The late King Edward set an example by wearing informal dress at other courses, but at Ascot it is still t'the thing to appear in the most formal of daytime attire-
 The royal progress, long a fea- l ture of the Ascot meet, was inaugur- ated nearly a century ago, in 1914, | the monarch riding to the course in 1 a coach and four, with splendid
 retinue. Queen Victoria took part in | the royal procession in 1884, this be- l ing her first visit to a race course.
 Four years later she appeared at As | cot as queen. The royal procession | of 1844 was probably the most spec | tacuIar of the century, the partict- l pants including Queen Victoria and 1 Prince Albert, [Czar Nicholas I. of | Russia, and the King of Saxony. The Czar presented a trophy to be raced
 for, and for a decade or so the Elm peror's Plate took the place of the l famous Ascot Gold Cup. The latter was restored and is now, as in the i hi nf 1 program. This years entry list is un-
 usually good, and it is to be antici- pated that one of the best fields in
 history will start in the classic on