Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-04-30


and Bennett and they could play ball.
II was playing right field and John @.
Clarkson was pitching. lie was as me
pitcher as ever crawled into UNIFORM
There are some pitchers today, OToole'
Bender, Wood, Mathewson, Johnson,
Narquard, but do not believe any one
of them stood in .he class with GARRISON.
1--WE had two men out and they had q
man on second and one on third, ana
Bennett, their old catcher, was at the bat.
Charley had three balls and two strikes
on him. Charley couldn't hit high hati'
I don't mean Il Scotch highball, but no
could kill them when they went about his
knee.
II holered to Clarkson and said: One
more and we got EN-
"You know every pitcher digs a hole In
the ground where he puts his foot when
he is pitching, John stuck his foot IN
the hole and he went clear to the ground.
Oh. he could make them dance. He could
throw over-handcd and the ball would
go down and up like that. He - the only
man on earth l have seen do that. THAT
ball would go by so fast that ther-
mometer would drop two degrees. john
went clear down. and as he went to throw
the ball his right foot slipped ana the
ball went low instead of high.
II saw Charley swing hard and heard
the bat hit the ball with a terrific blow.
Bennett had smashed the ball on the
nose saw the ball rise in the air and
knew 1t was going clear over my head.
II could Judge within 10 feet Of where
the ball would light. I turned my back
to the bail and ran.
1.-THE field was crowded with people and
yelled: Stand back! and that crowd
opened like the Red nnanad Tor the
rod of Moses; l ran on, and as I ran l
made a prayer; 1t wasn't theological.
either, tell you that. said: God. II
you ever helped mortal man, help me get
that ball. and you haven't very much
ran and jumped over the bench and
stopped.
II thought was close enough to catch
1t. I looked back and saw it going over
my head, and 1 jumped and showed my
left hand out and the ball hit it and
stuck. At the rate was going, the mo-
mentum carried me on and I fell under
the feet of q team of horses. jumped
up with the ball in my hand. Up came
Tom johnson. He was afterwards may
or Of Cleveland.
"'Here is so, Bill. buy yourself the best
hat In Chicago. That catch won me T.
500. Tomorrow 20 and buy yourself the
best suit Of clothes you can md in Chi
cago.'
IAN old Methodist minister said to me
q few years ago: why, William. you
didn't take the 80. did you? said. You
bet did
Listen! Mike Kelley was sold to Bos-
ton for $4,000 He came up to mo and
showed mo q check for 5000. John L.
Sullivan. the champion fighter, went
around with q subscription paper and the
boys raised over $4,000 to buy Nike
house
.'rhey ssvs Mike deed to the house
and they had 8, 800 loft and gave him .
certificate Of deposit for that
HIS salary for playing with Boston
was N,To year. At the end Of that
season Mike had spent tho 5000 pur-
chase price and the =, 900 he received as
salary ana the S.5oo they gave him and
had q mortgage on the house. And when
he died in Pennsylvania they went
around with q subscription to get money
enough to put him in the ground. Mike
sat there on the corner with me Is years
ago. when I said: Goodbye. boys. I'm
through
"A G. spaldins signed up team to
60 around the world. I was the nrst man
he asked to sign contract and Capt.
Arson was the second. was sliding
to second base ono day. I always shd
head nrst, and hit = stone and cut q
Mganoent loose In my knee. got doc
tor and had my leg fixed up and he said
to me: William. II you don't 80 on that
trip will give you q good leg obeyed
and have as good leg today as I ever
had They offered to wait for me at Homo
lulu and Australia 6palding said: Meet
US in England and play with us through
England, Scotland and Wales I did not
CO.
ED Williamson, our old shortstop. was
q fellow weighing rs pounds and more
active man you never saw. He went with
crossing the English channel q storm
arose. The captain thought the ship would
go down. Then he dropped on his knees
and promised God to be true and God
spoke and the waves were still. They
came back to the United States and Ed
came back to Chicago and started sa-
loon on Dearborn street.
IT would so there giving tickets for the
Y. M. c. A. meetings ana would talk
with him, and he would cry like baby.
I would get down and pray for him.
When he died they put him on the table
and cut him open and took out his liver.
It was 80 big 1t would not go In . candy
bucket.
ED Williamson sat there on the street
corner with me rs years ago when said
goodbye boys, I'm through.
caught hit for IS '': years, drew $500 a year
on an average He caught before they
had chest protectors and masks and
gloves He caught barehanded Every
bone in the ball Of his hand was broken.
You never saw hand like Frank had.
Every bone in his face was broken and
his nose and cheekbones. and the shout
der and. ribs had all been broken.
Tive seen old Frank Flint sleeping on
table in stale beer joint and I've turned
my pockets inside out and said: You're
welcome to 1t old pal
''He drank on and on and one day in
winter he staggered out of stale beer
Joint and stood on a corner and was
seized with At Of coughing. The blood
streamed out Of his nose, his mouth and
his eyes, Down the street came wom-
an. She took one look and said: MY
God, is it you. Frank? and the old love
came back.
"she called two policemen and a cab
and started with him to her boarding
house. They broke all speed regulations.
She called five Of the best physicians and
they listened to the beating of his heart
one, two, three, four, fivs, six, seven,
eight, nine. ten. eleven, twelve, thirteen,
rourtean--and the doctor said: He will be
dead in about four hours She said:
Frank the end is near and he said:
Send for Bill
"They telephoned me and I came.
When I reached his bedside he said to
me: There's nothing in the life Of years
ayo care for now. / can hear the grand