The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-08-24

New York, August 22.-fou have To hand it to George Stallings. He is the miracle man of the game, the presto, change ex- pert He takes boobs and turns them into star bah players There, in a nutshell, you have nine-tenths of the reasons why the Boston Braves are "up there the greatest sensation a National league race ever knew. That's why they are now favorites in many quarters to capture the pennant from John McGraw's Giants, fol- lowing their heroic climb from the cellar up to the point where they are the talk of the country
 He who has been in position to see the Giants play to any considerable extent during the last five years must realize the wonders Stallings has worked in Bos- ton. In the season of 1910 young pitcher named Rurolph was on the pay roll of the New York Nationals. He was deemed too small to stand the gaff of pitching at hard clip through full nine-inning game and also lacked some of the other requirements of being big league pitch er-that is, according to McGraw.
 Rudolph Impresses Stallings Stallings who was managing the Tan kees, New York's American league en- try, that year saw Rudolph pitch parts of games for the Giants and said: q like that kids looks" Then came the now famous treason of Hal Chase, which re- suited in the demoton of Stallings by the Tanks, after he. had run the team from the cellar to second position, and Stallings got job as manager of the Buffalo club of the International league. One of his first moves was to acquire Rudolph, who did good work for him the next couple of years, but without attracting the attention of any big league clubs.
 A year ago last winter James E. Calf ney, who had just purchased the Boston Braves, signed up Stallings to manage his team, and Stallings brought Rudolph along with him from Buffalo. Little Dick Rudolph is now hero down Boston way, being the shutout sensation of the year, and has won his last nine games.
 Hank Gowdy, long, lean, lanky, tow headed Texan, who used to play on the Dallass team catcher Of big Jeff Tes- reau, was taken up to the Giants by Me- Graw in the latter part of the summer of 1910. He hung around the Polo grounds doing odds and ends of substitute work and looking like one of the worst ball players that ever wore spikes. Finally McGraw traded him in 1911 to the Boston club, along with Art Devlin, the ancient third baseman, for Charley Herzog. Everybody in New York laughed when Herzog immediately began to play sensa- tional ball for the Giants and Manager Johnny Kling of the Braves kept Gowdy on the bench most of the time, Devlin also being practically useless because his legs had gone back on him.
 GOwdy Develops Fast
 When Stallings arrived last year he saw the good qualities In Gowdy. He had another very good young catcher in Bert Whaling, but used the two about share and share alike. Finally Whaling was hurt this spring and Stallings told Gowdy it was up to him to do the bulk of the work, since the other catcher of the club, Rariden, had jumped to the Feds. Stall | ings put his mind Gowdy and taught 1 him the fine points about the job of catch | ing, the old position of Stallings him. | self, and Gowdy developed rapidly, after | having practically lain dormant during | all the time he had been in the big show up | to that moment. Gowdy now is one of the | best catchers in the league, and will be | recognized generally as such if he gets a chance to peg out Eddie Collins in the worlds series.
 Josh Devore was regular outfielder of | the Giants for thre years, but was re- garded as the personification of incapabil- | ity when McGraw traded him to the Gin cinnati Reds early last year. Joe Tinker, | then managing the Reds, also could see nothing good in Devore after trying him awhile, and sold him to the Phillies Then, about six weeks ago, the Phillies asked waivers on Devore, and Stallings gra bbed him. Devore is playing the game of his | life with the Braves now. He is a game | little cuss just made to order for team of the kind Stallings is driving.
 Rudolph, Gowdy, Devore, all former l Giants, turned down by John McGraw are playing bang-up ball for the Braves
 It looks as if part of the Stallings sys- tenn is to copper everything McGraw does John surely made mistakes in the case of these three men, and, oh, wouldn't they look sweet to him in Giant uniforms now, particularly Rudolph?
 Castoffs Made Into Stars | Stallings has made star players out | of other castoffs, among them Pitcher | C'Big') Bill James, who was sent back to the minors by his predecessor, Kling | Pitcher George Davis, once of the Tan | kees. is another youth on the Sailing.
 roster who is called a find by Stallings | though the latter has been saving him fol | later use in case James, Rudolph an( Lefty George Tyler break under the strair of pitching two games apiece every week 1 Outfielder Ted Gather and Utility Inf1eldel | Whitted, from the Cardinals in trade fol Hub Perdue are making Miller Huggins
 regret that he ever let them get away from him.
 Another one of the Stallings develop.
 ments this year is big Schmidt, his firs
 baseman. We saw this overgrown gawi perform against the Dodgers and Giants
 back in the early spring and wondered why Stalings ever let long Hap Myer.
 get away from him last year. If ever {
 fellow looked like an incompetent it wal Schmidt. He was clumsy on takint | thrown balls, couldn't throw himself ant was as slow as molasses in January wher trying to run the bases.
 Last week we saw the Braves clean III
 the Giants three straight games here Schmidt had as much to do with the vic
 tories anybody else. He hit the bal
 squarely on the nose. and hard. He rar
 bases like blue streak, considering hi
 immense size. But best of all was hi
 fielding He hopped around that old frs
 bag like Freddie Welsh. outpointing Willi,
 Ritche He picked 'em out of the ail
 at full length stretch dug 'em out o
 the ground and whipped 'em across thu
 diamond on line when necessity demand
 ed. Schmidt was not the most graceful | player in the world to watch Neither 1.