Evening star., 1914-03-15
ENGLISH REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT BASE
BALL WILL EVER TAKE PLACE OF CRICKET


LONDON, March ., 1914.
| You fans who have seen the mayor OF
Greater New York, In all the crowned
glory of silk hat and frock coat, toss
| glistening base ball from his box half
way to home plate to the accompani-
ment of vociferous applause from the
bleachers and the plying smile Of Matty;
or you more fortunate denizens of Wash
inston who have been honored by view
ing the President of our land of base
ball rise from behind the Stars and
Stripes and hurl the spheroid to the wait
ing Walter-would you not consider 1t
a signal triumph for the principles Of de-
mocracy if you had seen the King of
Great Britain. Emperor of the Indies,
etc. etc, officiating in similar fashion:
his has come to pass. The bitterness
OF Bunker Hill forgotten, the sting of
Yorktown softened! More than what the
imputed activities of the Carnegie en-
dowment fund trustees have accomplished
toWard d>Anglo-American alliance has been
the effect Of the attendance of the king
at the ball game.
The American PLAYERS who are touring
the world made their entrance into Lon
don in a most unintrusive manner. When
the expatriated fan discovered from his
morning papers that the Giants and
White Sox had arrived in England and
were to play an exhibition game at Chel-
sea foot ball park, he decided that he
would not miss this opportunity of show
ing his patriotism and witnessing his ma
tiona1 game. With that dexterity only
acquired after long residence in London
he decapitated his second soft-boiled egg
and leisurely finished his coffee. He read
that the price of tickets was to be from
five shillings. which translates into $1.25,
for the best seats, down to sixpence.
which is Il cents. for the bleachers.
Ahngling his English silver, he strolled
down the Strand to book a seat for
the game. He noticed that the press of
people on the thoroughfare was denser
than usual. He also sensed that he was
going against the tide of humanity, of
which each unit hurried past him clutch-
ing a pink pasteboard.
Box Belonged to Is Majesty.
Only when he arrived at the booking
office and asked confidently for the box
behind the catcher did he get his first
shock. The clark with pitying smile
answered:
Sorry, sir, but is majesty as that
one
The king!' exclaimed the astonished
American; lis he going?''
Yes, sir; the Hamerican halnbassador
as made is royal 'ighness a regular
fan. SIR
The ticket seller smiled knowingly as
he used the American slang.
Give me the box behind first base,
then
''very sorry, sir; the Duchess of Marl-
borough as that one, sir. She's fan
ness, SIR The expatriated American,
finding all the boxes sold, made applica-
ton for the best five-shilling seat.
Very sorry. sir. but they're all
booked And after futile effort to buy
a seat he had to content himself with
general admission. London had gone
The newspaper venders, is the GUS
tom of the country. carried posters that
displayed titles Of special base ball arti-
cles. The "Swerves of Benz was one
my ystifying headline. The Times put its
sport with a long description. relieved by
a diagram which made the game as in
telligib.e to the INITIATED reader in as a
chart of food values. The Daily Mail
explained base ball in terms of cricket.
The only real resemblance between the
two games is that both are played with
a bat and a ball. yet the English papers
glibly told their readers that the catcher
was a wicket keeper, the pitcher
bowler. first base was cover point. and
a player caught between second and
third was in the slips. The write-up of
the lions Of the diamond could not have
been more enthusiastic II penned Dy some
corner lot base ball graduate. Whether
.Muggsy'' recognized himself as the Mr..
McGraw of the British press is doubtful.
Under that title he and Mr." Callahan
were presented" to his majesty. On
this occasion the intermediary of those
archaic court functionaries, the black
rod and the "gold stick in waiting were
dispensed with. The presentation entities
the managers to invitations to the Wind
sor Palace Garden parties. No doubt
they would shine at these gatherings
King George Tosses Out the Ball.
The king, following American prece-
dent, tossed the ball to McGraw and the
game was on. Twenty-Five thousand
Englishmen crowded the stands. They
were concentrated on the evolution of
every play The diamond had been laid