Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1914-01-28
ALWAYS DOING THINGS
CAPT. FULLAM'S RECORD
New Superintendent Of Naval
Academy Not Appointed
Through Amy pull
CAPTAIN GEARlNG'S TRIBUTE.
Says a Better Qualified Naval Officer
for This Post Could Not be Found.

| Those who have met Capt. William
Freelsnd Fulam, U. S. NJ, who has
been appointed to the superintendent
| cy of the Naval Academy as success
sof TO Capt. John H. Gibbons, and
those who know him best realize that
bis appC intment did not come through
any pull" with the powers that be.
His record is the best proof OF that,
and is doubtless the one thing that
led TO his selection as tire head of the
institution where the future admirals
| of this country are trained.
From the time Captain Fullum was
graduated from the Acadt my. in the
class of 1877, up until the present
time he has been doing things in
every assignment he has been given,
and has always stood ia the fore
front. He is regarded today. esLe-
cially by the younger men of the ser
vice, as being, in point OF military
bearing and equipment, an ideal naval
officer. He is an efficient disciple
marian and one of the best drillmas-
tiers in the navy.
Though he makes every one OF
those under him walk the chalk line,
he is said always to have teen popu.
lar with those who have been respon-
sible to him The Captain is So
years old. He was born in Roches.
ter, N. Y, October 20, 1855, the son
of u. s. aud Rhoda f. Fullam.
The Sc who look at him closely will
see that several of the fingers on his
right hand are slightly crooked.
For Captain Fullam is hero.
Not because he led his class at the
Academy: not because he saw service
in the war with Spain, on board the
New Orleans; not because he is a
wizard in mathematics, an author and
a naval man of nationwide promi-
nenct. OF course these circum-
stsn noes. and the fact also that, while
in charge of the Naval Training Sta
tion ia Chicago, he was picked by
Secretary of the Navy Daniels az an
aide, add lust~r to his laurels.
But he won his spurs, nearly tire,
decades ago, for he helped to or
ganize the navy's first baseball team,
and caught behind the bat in m an,
victories aud few defeats, san,
| glove, sans mask and sans pneumatic
chest protector. And they threw thu
ball just as hard 10 those days as they
do now. Therefore, il goes withoul
saying that any man who passed
| through ons or more seasons behind
| the bat, having his unprotected hand.
pounded by volleys of balls as hard a
concrete or nearly and knowing
| that a mistake might mean broken
nose or shattered teeth, is OF the
stuff that makes heroes,
OF the few now associated with tn
Academy there are few in Annapoli
who were midshipmen with Capital
Fullsm. OF these, Captain Gibbons
is one aud Capt. Henry G. Gearing,
u. S. NJ. retired, is another.
81 re.olect well when Capital.
Fullam used to play baseball" sale
Captain Gearing, with smile. "Hs
was always enthusiastic about ath-
| letics. So. when our supt riors sug.
gested that the athletic side OF the
| Academy be emphasized, he was one
of the first TO take hold and organize
a baseball team. And he was
splendid player. He took the hon
orable and dangerous post behind che
plate and won renown as a man who
| was not afraid Of the hardest OF
| pitched balls. At first, il must b.
remembered, pitchers were required
to deliver balls underhand, but in the
days of Captain Fullam and myself g.
midshipmen they had begun to throw
the balls, and believe they threw
them harder than they do now. It
took real man to stand behind the
bat"
Captain Gearing expressed his ad.
miration for Captain Pullam, not
only for his athletic prowess, but par
ticularly for his attachments and his
notable fitness for the post of super
intendent. 81 do not believe bet
ter man for the post could have been
found, he said. "Captsin Fullam
is a splendid scholar, is disciplinar-
ian of the best kind, thinks for hin
sc II and has had experience that fits
him peculiarly to become superinten-
dent Of the nations naval training
school"
While Captain Gearing recalls CAP
tain Fullam as a midshipman of less
than twenty wears ago. there are
many officers at the Academy who
came into contact with him only .
few days ago, and these regard hin
with admiration an esteem. Tbe
mental picture left behind when he
left the Academy in 1905 to take ac-
tive service, after being instructor
in applied mathematics and head Of
the department Of ordnance. is: A
man Of about feet IL inches in
height, sturdy, erect and we'll pro-
portioned, with a clean-shaven face.
crisp, curly gray hair and dark eyes
that looked out upon the world with
level gaze.
| In his senior year in the Acad
envy, when he was cadet lieutenant.
commander, he had charge, by vir-
tue of his office, of the work Of
drilling the battalion of midshi D.
men. Even at that early age hs
was imbued with.the idea that I
w.an uhorid he nc mod = ooi