The Detroit times., 1913-10-04
HAVE NOTHING
ON OLD TIMERS
SAYS B. SUNDAY
TOday's Worlds Series Stars are
Not Better Than Those of
The Eighties
USED TO SCORE FROM
SECOND ON NFIELD HITS
But They Received No Fame for
Those Plays in Ye Olden
Days
BY BILLY SUNDAY.

The worlds series Will be a great
exhibition OF baseball, but IL won't be
any more interesting or exciting than
the series OF the sos between the Ma
tional league and American associa-
ton winners.
They say the game is faster than
when played. but you'll have TO show
me- They say Ii is more scientific.
Maybe. but it wasn't quite so rough
and-ready as some fans think.
In the series this year will be
Baker. Collins. Oldring. Mclnnes, Muir
ply, Herzog, Burns. Mccormick, Mer-
kle. Meyers-all great batters, but how
about Drouthers. Thompson, Roger
Connor, Richardson, Kelley, Ewing,
Comiskey, Arson, Ryan, Dalrymple.
O'Neill, Stovey. WEIGH and Browning?
You read about the speed OF Collins.
Snodgrass. Merkle. McInnes and Her
zog. Could they outsprint Latham,
Pfeffer, Stovey, Hamilton and, may
add. Billy Sunday?
have read much OF the scoring
from second on an infield out by
speed-merchants like Ty Cobb and Joe
jackson and of the hit-and-run play as
proving baseball Is faster today.
We did these things, too. but we
had no names for them. scored
twice from second on infield outs in
one series The first time King Kei-
ley siynaled that he'd hit the next
ball and 7 started with the pitchers
motion. sliding around the catcher as
the ball was relayed from first, where
"Kel" had been retired.
: Great speed and perfect timing are
necessary to score from second, but
only. the cleanest fielding can prevent
q good Splinter turning the trick.
Jake Daubert, Chase and Konetchy
are the best hrst basemen today. but
I never saw the man who had a thing
on Captain Arson. | have seen him
take throws from Ed Williamson, bare
|handed--and. man. how Williamson
could hop that ball across from the
short held. AS for fielding, how much
better are these chaps than Charlie
Comiskey?
What pitcher today Is better than
John Clarkson, the only man who ever
threw IN overland raise ball; than
Mccormick, than Jim Keefe, with his
marvellous chance of pace; than
Mickey WEIGH, than Radbourne, or
Amos Rusie. the greatest Of them all?
When Amos was right his fast ball
Compare Chief Myers, Lapp, Wilson
and schang to the greatest backstop
that ever lived-"Silver" Flint or to
tell me the answer,
Eddie Collins Is a great second base
man. but when think of Fred Pfeffer,
who forced the rulemakers to write
Section OF Rule 81, which declares
ho ho tor hn hct tpG a1A Av
with first and second occupied, be-
cause of his deadly trapping, I enjoy
chuckle.
Collins, Herzog-all great third base
men-but not one of them compared
with Billy Nash or Denny.
Ed Williamson, despite his size and
weight, was the fastest shortstop I
ever saw. His fielding and ability to
throw with terrific speed from any
position was simply marvelous-and
he played with bare hands, remem-
Der.
And are Barry and Fletcher better
than Jack Glasscock or Herman Long?
The great batters--Cobb, Jackson:
Wagner. Daubert. Lajoie, Mcdonald.
Speaker-what have they on Ed Dele
hanty. Sam Thompson, 4. Williamson,
Tip ONeill. Mike Herman. Captain
Arson. Browning, Ewing. Brouthers,
Richardson or the greatest OF them
all. Mike Kelley. whose ability to foul
OF the ball forced the foul strike ruleo
J have seen Kelley foul of a dozen
balls at one turn at bat and drive Fer
guson, of the Phillies, from the box.
saying things you can't print-and
wouldn't want to.
Recently. against Walter Johnson.
the Athletics laid down bunt after
bunt--seven, / believe. Johnson got
the first six, but on the seventh went
up in the air and the Athletics took
the bacon-it was just the same thing
Kelley did-under a different rule
The only advance | see is the i'm.
provement In team work We had sig.
nails. The batter tipped the runner
and the catcher tipped the baseman
when he. would throw. The signal
system may not have been so perfect.
but II got results.
There are more stars today, but not
greater ones than in the days of the
series between the National league
and American association.
Connie Mack used lis regulars In
the nrst game against the Yankees,