Evening journal., 1914-08-17
TRAPSHOOTTNG
GENERAL SPORTS
MAY be Last Season For
Rucker in the Major

mas FURNISHED SO many ihio a. he'o
the present seaeon-is very liable to
be the passing of Nap Rucker.
The great Georgia kithogue isn't
vet ready to own up that he must
hang his war togs in the closet, and
is making one last desperate attempt
10 cure himself of the thing that has
SO greatly handicapped him last sea-
eon and this year has practically put
him hors de combat. "Deltoid Burs-
tits" is the medical name of the Of
Fiction which has Rucker on the hos
pital list. It is an afliction OF the
nerves of the deltoid muscle, brought
on by constant strain.
For the last two weeks Rucker has
been undergoing an heroic baking
process in the hopes that the muscu-
Ian contraction he is suffering with
will be cured. Nap says "the old
SOM hone seems to be loosening up"
frt the doctor will not yet al
low him to throw the ball Several
times in the last two years Maps
arm apparently came around into
shape. but each time he suffered
recurrence of the trouble.
Friends of the wonderful pitcher,
and Rucker will be remembered as
one Of the greatest southpaws Of the
game. fear the Alpharetta Marvel
never again will be able TO NOV
down the batsmen with that wonder
ful form he displayed uD to last sea-
son. II is too bad that Fuckers
break came at a time when Brooklyn
apparently has a first division team,
and needs only pitchers to make it
penant contender. With Rucker in
from the Superbas would be right up
front today.
OF an ideal build for a pitcher, an
ideal disposition, both from a man
agerial as well as n players stand
point the big southpaw at his best
was one of the greatest figures in the
game The greatest batsmen in the
National League feared him, and none
could boast that he ever was able to
get Fuckers number.
Born in Georgia.
He was born in Alpharetta. Ga,
where he still lives, on September 30,
1884. He throws left-handed. bats
right-handed, sleeps on his right side
runs with his left foot and is ambi-
dextrous in eating soup. He stands
six feet above sea level at the ocean
edge, weighs around 21O pounds until
the rubber shirt gets in its work in
the sadsome spring. no, no, when he
has to reduce flesh, but touches the
beam around $50 after he has round
ed to form.
Rucker is a star pitcher as a result
of an applied accident. He began
his baseball career on a sem-pro
team in Alpharetta, and he would
probably have remained there oil
thereabouts had II not been for the
accident which came to pass wheT
he was with Augusta, Ca, in the
South Atlantic League, in 1905. his
first whole season among the regu
lar baseball folk.
He always had been possessed OF
exceptional speed and control, the
latter being entirely out of the or
binary for a southpaw. but he wa:
not a world-beater, and his friends
did not expect him TO become one
Ho was making more money pitch
ing for Augusta than he could make
picking blackberries to sell by th'
hucketful at the country store. anC
frequently had chances in his travels
around the State to hear Hoke Smitl
deliver crossroads speeches, which
combination he thought was enough
1oy for one Cracker boon and bred
Things we're thus until one day h,
cut loose in a manner different from
what he intended He thought he hat
made a wild pitch and was the mos
surprised man on the grounds when
after rising about ten feet, the bal
suddenly shot to the earth, and wa
barely caught by the catcher. tn
batter swinging some three feet o
more above It.
Mos. pitchers would have though
liule about the incident. but Rucke
realized that in some way unknown
to himself he had struck a new de
livery. and ne set TO work to find ou
what he had done. In few day
he learned how the high drop wa
thrown. hut it was three months bC
lore he had control enough and con
fuence enough TO spring it in
game
Having assured himself that he wa
master OF the trick, he began to us
q right along, and TO this day il /.
perfected by his major league experl
rncc. the most remarkable and dc
,cptiyc delivery in baseball when
breaks right.
hhAhil = OAnfl attributes as
pitcher would give him standing a
major ieaguor. but Il IS that drol
which he does not hesitate 10 us
when the count is two and three an
mon arc en- bases. that has caused tn
fans to rank him among the great
est left-handers baseball has eve
known.
In addition TO his other merits.
n Ruckcr is one of The hardest an
most willing baseball workers an
takers extant. He lieves and dream
BASEBALL, is always willing to hea
some new thing. or tell some ne
story. His willingness was we
illustrated last year when he too
nart in Al games for a total of q
innings
liest Year in 1911.
Fuckers best year was 1911. whe
nc won p and lost 1S. for a pc
centage OF 500, with a team that ha
winning. percentage OF .427. TT
now-fangled education does not shal
mp well when youth who got Il
ludiments in a little red schoolhou:
can pitch l23 points better than b
team plays. Among his feats of de
ring-do was shut-out game again
The Boston Nationals in 1908, his Sc
J end year in the league, and his fal
ming of sixteen st. Louis Cardina
in one game of the 1909 strife
Reverting to Fuckers history for
minute, ii might be remarked that b
fore going to Augusta in 1905, whel
he had Ty Cobb for a playmate. an
whence he was drafted by Pat Dor
van for Brooklyn in 1906. but did M
Teport until 1907. q Nanoles