El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-10-01
Indian One of the Quickest
and ShreUdest of CatcherS
Backstop of the National League Champions Keeps His
Head and Heart in the Game, Striving Until the
Last Man Is Out to Bring Victory to His Team;
Meyers Shows Speed Getting Under Fouls.
By J. w. McCOnaughy.

TEW YORK, Oct. About two
years ae6 disaster descended
= with considerable descent upon
the New York National league base
hall club. It was called the Athletics,
and II had gone into the disaster ous.
mess on a large scale for some time
II had spraddIed the great Cub ma
chine all over the lot a year before ana
thst summer had rOmped through me
American league with the ease anu
grace Of a secretary of state on the
chautauQua circuit
Consequently, when II came UPON
the Giants il was primed for an orgy,
and what befen is history. With Matty
in the box the Giants took the opening
game by a squeak, and then with q low,
rfDpine sound. the team was pulled 70
Noes The Giants best hitters were
tanning in the pincheS. ne pest OF
the infielders were playing Ia saVale on
such grounders as came their way ana
the trustiest of Outfielders frequently
came within 40 feet of the plate when
he attempted a throw 10 cut OIL d uI-
Indian Plays Real Ball
In the general rout there was onS
man who kept both feet on the BrOuLu
an the time who spanned the ball TO
the bases as true and swift as bull
lei. who kept his head and his heart
and strOve until the last man was Out
to get the gang togetner- 49,
This man was Big Chief Meyers,
tbe Giant indian catcher of the Giant
team who came TO New YORK lew
years ago, a thick shouIuerSo, Ileas-
sive hard hitting. slow footed, clumsy
minor Lacquer, and has developed into
one Of the best e2tcherS IN the game
And no matter what happens IN the
big series, you can go out and pet
that there viii be at least one MEMBER
of the Giant club that viii DO MS snare
of the work to wipe out that catastro-
phe Of two years ago
#r-. 1nc# d
est and quickest thinking catchers
that ever came to the big leagues he
has both gray matter ana sumpuoh'
and the one is useless without the otn-
er in baseball as elsewhere He has
a fund OF general information that runs
from national politics to the phlIoso-
ply of Plato, and a delicately ADJUSTED
sense Of humOr, and these Two com
bine to give him good perspective OF
the national game
HOped to be an Engineer.
Whenever the opportunity offers and
the occasion arises he drops in be-
fore some indian commission and gives
those august bodies generous earIuI
of accurate information and logical &c
duction on indian affairs-and he IS
always listened to with attention ana
About eight years ago the dearest
wish OF his life was to be an engineer
He went TO Dartmouth for that purpose
He could see that The poor indian was
swiftly being JOckeyed out of his ag-
ricuIturaI lands and that if he hoped
TO establish any credit at the bank ne
would have to dig for minerals IN the
new reservations Meyers was oog
poor himself, and when the Harrisburg
club OF the Tri-State league offered
him more money than he had ever
seen at one time in his life he couldn't
resist the temptation to give up col
lege and get the money. He told him
self he could go back to school, but he
never did. .
made more money as q ball player
than he would have made as an en-
gineer in the same period Of time.
The chief is popular with bail play
ers. He is ready to fight any time for
justice and fair play and he is so good
natured that he isn't seriously annoyed
when the fans perpetrate that bum war
Whoop every time he comes to bat He
can always tell when anything is funny
whether the laugh is on him OF not
He hits a baseball about as hard as
Hans Wagner and he is especially dan
gerous in the pinch, which is mighty
Picks Up Speed.
He will probably be a better catcher
in the worlds series than at any time
before in his service with New York.
When he came TO the club he was over
weight He has steadily pulled him
self down, and with every pound he
lost he increased his speed He isn't
Milan or Cobb on the bases now, but
he gets around in more sprightly
manner every season and re can get
under foul balls with the best of them
now.
Earnest in his work, the chief Is
earnest in his play. His idea OF a great
little stunt on a rainy afternoon is to
search out the best art gallery in what
ever town he happens to be and have
a gay time roaming around among
the pictures and statuary- He also de-
votes a good deal of spare time to
keeping in touch with indian affairs
He has studied his people and their
history and knows what he is talking
about
Willingness to Fight.
One day in Cincinnati he asked the
writer to go out to the art museum
with him We came upon a bronze
an indian turning to shoot an arrow
at his pursuers.
There's the idea" he said, pointing
to the warrior. They never learned