The Alaska citizen., 1913-12-22
By cRRfsTY MATHEwsoN.

Many boys are scattered all "y.r this country whose ambition i, io b break into the big trarucs. and prob ably few of taem know how 1t can be done. Getting Into the big league Is largely matter of luck THrr" is no doubt in my mind that many star bail players sttH have the sand hUrs in their hair in the bushes" be- cause they have never been discovered But th" question IL How Is a youn.; fellow going to let th" bis l.Arr.o only way that I can think nf k for him to get in touch With some bush league manager near whrr" l." lives. If hc is any znn3. and IL" bus league leader knows lis business h. will a. least EtHe the yonn@Ster chance to train around with the team in prar- ttce. The great trouble is that many bush leacue managers do not know their business There are only few ' of Mike" Finn. for instance.
 If the younEstcr makes hit with the bush league leader. I would suE- Cest that he ask this man to recom- mend him to some scout of the big leagues. This is the only course by which younsstor can take the ini-
 
 To write to your favorEt~ manager Is foolish. All well-known managers re. so many letters from the prospective stars that they have not the time to pay attention to them
 But. as have said. getting into the big league is largely d matter of luck. Nearly all the great stars have come in through lucky break Take the case of John Honus Wagner. for example.
 Wagner played arounl the country from one place to another for year or so. and nobody though much of him because he looked clumsy when he worked He still looks clumsy Everybody knows now. however that le is not clumsy. but is exceedingly fast in his awkward way Before his logs started to go hack on him he used 10 cover ground about as rapidly as any man in the big league
 Harry Pullman. who was the secrc- tary of the Louisville club years ago and president of the National leaeae when he killed himself heard of Wae- ner on one of his trips to New York, the big Dutehman having signed np with the Passaic. N, I. team at that time. Rumor reached Pullman that Wagner was destroying lot of fences with his hitting, so he went oyer to Passaic one sunday to take a look at Honus in action. Pullman kn. V a ball player as soon as he could lav is eyes on one, and il took only one look tu make him appreciate Wagner.
 T want you to come to the big league" he told Wagner after the game.
 Honus has always been slow to make changes. He was getting a salary of sl25 per month with Passaic. think.
 Why should I?" asked Wagner. cautiously.
 Pullman, expeltinG this argument to clinch it
 "Rut get here all I need" said Honus
 That was A staggering answer to come from a ballplayer. but Pullman finally induced Wagner to go to Louis Nille and wired Barney Dreyfuss about as follows:
 Have found and signed wonder Am bringing him back with me"
 My own entrance into the big league was also largely matter of luck. and my sticking in it was due chiefly to a little trick a left-handed pitcher named Williams taught me while was playing with the Honesdale Pa. team. As a boy. I had played around Factoryyille. where l was born, and when only a kid had pitched for the town team when the regular pitcher was sick one day Later I played in Honesdale. near the home town, and there met Williams He was a left handler who got into the big leagle for a minute or two once. and got right out again. He wouldn't do.
 Williams had a curve that broke away from richt-handed batter in stead of toward him. as is generally the case with southpaws curve This was a slow ball that he could not control. so that he never used it ex cept in practice when he wanted to game. He showed me how to throw this ball, and I would work on it for the fum of it, never expecting to put 1t to any practical use.
 When I was in Bucknell college played summer baseball with the Taunton. Mass. club. and there was a manager in the league named Phenom John Smith at the head of another team. The Taunton team broke up the year I played with 1t and forgot to