El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-08-05
SPitBaU Falls Into Disuse;
Pitchers Find Il Is Harmful
Since Experience of Jack Chesboro and Ed Walsh Very
Few Pitchers Now Use Dampened Ball, Claiming It
Puts Kinks Into the Arm and Soon Ruins Hurl-
ing; Golfers Are Warnedto Quit Writing
By FRANK G. MENKE

jor league soil But he isn't doing It with
such reckless abandon as Of yore- JEFF
soon learned that the spitbal "kinked' the
arm, II used freely, and now he throws It
only in emergencies
There are several orner pitchers in the
big leagues who still throw the spitbal,
but they are throwing - just half dozen
times during the game Some OF the fans
believe they throw II oftener because OF
the deception practiced by the pitcher-of
putting the ball up hear the mouth and
seeming to Intricate It Batter saren't
fond OF spitballs. They hate TO see them
coming So the pitchers who have DIS
carded the use OF the campened tWister
very often bluff at pitching one.
The na,z,nr q n. 5pitbau comes as
good news to the infielders- In the years
when the spitbau was generally used errors
were frequent A pitcher would gloss the
ball freely with saliva and slippery elm or
tobacco Juice, a batter would hammer II 10
the iufield. the infislder would grab II and
start 10 throw. only 10 find that the slip
often when the infislder was able 70 get
the ball away in the direction OF the base
the ball would take wild slant and result
in a horrible error
II the guiding spirits in the world OF
athletics don't stop making rules concern
ing the athletes there won't be anybody
but reporters writing articles for news
papers
OTIS has been handed out by the United
States Golf association, which decided that
amateur golfers who were receiving money
for writing newspaper articles in which
they explained certain golf shots were guilty
OF professionalism
IN view OF the fact that most OF the
leading golfers in this country have been
doing that very thing, it would seem that
we haven't any more amateurs in our midst
that IS, none but the buffers
But the o s c. A isn't going to be
overly harsh on the feIioWs who have been
writing and posing amateurs at the
same time It probably VIII send word to
them that as soon as their present con-
amateur standing. but that no penalty will
be meted ont for their past offence. They
probably will be forgiven on the pretext
that they didn't know any better.
The fact that the golfing experts Will
stop telling the duffer just how TO play
the game ought TO be good news for the
duffer It even may save him from ending
up IN the mad house. As matters have
stood for a considerable period. the golfinE
recruit who tried TO learn the game BY
reading the varying advice Of different
golfiuE experts nearly always contracted
delirium tremens OF something on that or
der-and nightly little gol1ing wisdom
One expert would tell him the drive from
the tee was most iuportant-that he should
practice it. Another tod him it was the
approach shot that counted The next told
him II was all in putting Some told him
that in putting he should look only at the
ball; others pooh-Poohed that advice They
said he should look at the hole
Learn the game backwards; begin BY
putting" was one bit OF advice. The next
article he read told him that the fellow
who advised learning the game backward
was boob. the only way 70 learn was to
begin at the beginning.
II the beginner put his whole weight be-
hind a drive from the tee he found. upon
reading one article that he done noble"
Upon reading the next article he discov-
cred he was wrong. He shouldn't have put
his whole weight behind the drive. Such
an act might throw him off his balance,
and when in such a perilous condition. he
might slice, OF pull. or foozle. or do q lot
Of other equally awful stunts.