Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-07-06

In these days of wholesale base ball
a manager does not feel that ne is at
all well equipped for a pennant fight UNI
less he has four pitchers TO take their
turns on the slab. with the assurance
that they can finish the game. The staff
must also include substitute material for
emergency work. and to pitch to the bats
men of the regular team in practice.
OF the twenty-five players allowed to
, each major league team from May II to
August "a Of each season ten usually
are pitchers. leaving fifteen men to look
after the other eight positions. which
would seem to be plenty. by the way.
Consequently a pitcher who is asked to
work oftener than once in four five
days feels that he is entitled TO have his
picture printed often, and usually it is.
What would happen if some modern
pitcher should come anywhere near per-
forming the feat recorded by Charley
Radbourne in 1854 is staggering to con-
template. If Walter Johnson, Ed Walsh
or Larry Cheney should pitch thirty eight
consecutive games there would be a noise
which could be heard around the earth
and half way to Mars. Politics, Japan
and the vice investigators would be
crowded off the front pages back among
the classified ads while the papers We'd
with each other in throwing verbal and
PICTORIAL DOuQuetS dt tIt iiiiIlu WOiluCi
of the world.
Walsh's Record Is Compared.
When Ed Walsh hung up his best
record in 1903 by taking part in sixty-four
ball games we recall having written
three-column story with tabular
statistics. about the performance. Rad
bourne in 1881 pitched eighty games
practically a full game each time.
That feat made less disturbance in the
base ball world than happens nowadays
If a pitcher works on two successive
days goes through both games of a
double header in one afternoon.
There were fewer people interested in
base ball in those days, of course, con-
sequently there were not so many news
paper readers deeply engrossed in the
welfare and doings of their diamond
idols. The chief reason. however, for
the comparative complacency witt which
such performance as Radbourne's was
regarded was the fact pitchers were
scarce and lots of them were asked to
pitch every other game. Feats like Rad
bournes did not stick out with such
prominence as would be the case today.
Carries the Club Alone.
The team which had three good pitch
liable and a couple or three subs We're
plenty for the average team. In fact,
Radbourne's trick OF hurting thirty
eight consecutive games was made neces-
sary by the desertion of Sweeney, the
only other Providence pitcher who
jumped to the st. Louis team of the
Union Association That left Providence
with only one real slabman and an UNI
n
work. On many teams the pitcher who
was not on the slab played the outheld-
Imagine the howl that would arise from
the diamond heroes of these days II
club owners should try to cut down their
squads to twelve or fourteen players.
In Radbourne's day the schedules
were not quite as congested with games
as is the case under the present 154-game
arrangement, so that it does not mean
he worked on thirty-eight consecutive
days to pitch that many games in sue
cession. But the open dates were only
little more frequently than now. so
that the Providence star had to keep
going for several days at stretch
Pitches Eighty Games.
OF the eighty games pitched by Rad
bourne in 1854. sixty-eight were victories
and twelve were defeats. AS he pitched
full games, there was no doubt about
what pitcher ought to get credit or
blame for them Soon after the middle
of the season. when Providence was
making a winning fight for the pennant.
Sweeney jumped the team and went to
ST Louis. That put IL up to Radbourne.
and he began working every game the
team played. During the rest OF the
season he pitched thirty EIGHT games in
succession, and thirty-four of them were
Providence victories. Although he lost
, only four games in that period, his long
est run of winning without defeat was
eighteen games.
His work was responsible for Provi-
dence winning the National League pen
nant that year unuer John Morrill,. Al
times Radbourne was so Stln ana sore
when he reached the field that 1t was
necessary for the other players TO rub
his arm and shoulder muscles-a trainer
was a luxury undreamed OF In those
days-to loosen them up so that ne
could pitch at all. Needless to say. he
up before each battle. But by the middle
Of the games he would be himself again.
and his reputation apparently carried
him through the first part Of each game
until he could get going.
Radbourne was native OF New I OF X
state. and began his base ball career IN
Peoria in 1878. The Buffalo club OF
the National League secured him In
1880 and he went to Providence In
1881 The Rhode Island club remained
in the National circuit only until the
close of the season of 1885. but Rad
bourne continued pitching for different
teams until about 1891.
Ed Walsh's stellar performance IN
1908 attracted a lot of attention at
the time, and his record of working In
sixty-four championship games in one
season has not been equaled since
then. of those siNty-four games Walsh
pitched forty-three complete games.
one of them going sixteen innings and
another fifteen. He took part In
twenty-one games in which he played
the role of rescuer or was removed
before the finish. The records of that
season show that Walsh was credited
with thirty seven victories and fifteen
defeats.
Rescue Crew by Himself.
In one way Walsh came closer to
Radbournes record than any one else,