Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-07-18
By j. w. Heisnan.

90 many college players are break
- ing into professional ball these
days, and so many Of them with
! great success, that the thing no
! longer occasions the surprise and
comment that used to ensue, Some
thing like rs years ago, when I was
attending a New England college, !
can remember with what dumb
foundment we learned one day that
one Of our varsity players had re-
ceived an offer from Boston. II
tickled US nearly to death!
Among Southern colleges. Tech
early took the lead in this respect
by sending the great Henley straight
to the big show. Unless my memory
fails me badly, it was to the Ath-
letics that Henley went, and it was
about thirteen years ago. Even at
| that early date, when hardly any
| other professional managers would
| look at a college player, Connie Mack
| had his eyes wide open as to their
possible usefulness
When Henley first went to Tech
| he played first base, and he played
| it we'll He was about 8 feet l inch
| tall. but very slender. His arms were
very strong, and he had fine free
shoulder swing. Rather a handsome
chap this Henley, and a good jovidl
! fellow Came from the little hamlet
Of Jasper, I believe. in North Georgia,
the section that also sent Craig Day
and Dewitt Poole to Tech-two other
! awfully good players and pitchers,
who, however, never went into pro-
| fessional ball.
After seevral years of usefulness
| in the big league Henley was sent
! to the Rochester club, where he put
I in couple more years of good work.
| But for some reason his health was
steadily failing him and finally he
! had to give it up. Just where he Is to-
went to Florida for while in search
of improved health, and perhaps he
! found it. at least we all hope so.
At the time Weldon was at the
zenith Of his glory as college pitcher
Mercer was turning out some exceed
| ingly strong teams. Their mainstay
on the mound was the unfOrgotten
Will Gum, now a successful architect
| in Macon. II will have to be given
| up that Gum vas some gun him
| self when il came to making noise
| like a pitcher. and endless were the
arguments of that day in rah rah cir
Giles as to which was the better. /
am not going into a history of the
| friendly feud, but II is worth OBJ
serving that when the two teams
! finally did face each other at old
Brisbine Park, with their respective
stars down on the score card to do
the hurting, there was some crowd
present to witness the ceremonies,
and some little excitement was had
| The game was won by Tech, score,
80 to 0.
A MOTHER great picher that Tech
"A turned out about the same time
| that Henley was absorbing all the
| limelight. was little Jimmy Lavender.
now with the Chicago Cubs, II would
perhaps be more correct to say that
Tech turned Jimmy out, or that It
turned out an engineer, not that II
turned out another pitcher, for. at
that time, Jimmy didn't play ball at
all, at least he never went out for
the varsity; and so II is merely an
accident that his youthful career was
in any way associated with Techs
Lavendar was born and reared in
South Georgia. He had seen a picture
or two of a baseball before coming to
Tech, but didn't care enough for the
game to even come out and try for
the team. It was after leaving Tech
that his acquaintance with the pellet
grew into a thing Of beauty; and
after slamming the sphere around
corner Lots for g. short time. it. was