The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-06-29
Veteran Hank O'Day
 Has Had Long
 Experience in Baseball

Henry O'Day, whose name is fanni- liar wherever baseball is played, has been connected with the great Anneri- can pastime as pitcher, umpire and manager for more than thirty years It was twenty-seven years ago today that Hank broke into the big league as a twirIer for Washington, then in the National League. O'Day had previously pitched for clubs in Toledo and Savannah, and he had been play ing ball in Chicago, his native city, even before that. In fact, Hanks dia,- 1nond experience commenced before the National League was launched in 1876.
 Nobody knows just how old the celebrated Hank is-that is, nobody but Hank, and he would never tell. O'Day was always averse to discussing his personal history, and when ap- preached in regard to such matters he switched the conversation to the we'll known weather. It is certain that sO'Day is well past the ha1f-century mark, and that he was born in a little house the West Side of Chicago, then just beginning to put on city airs. His father, Dan O'Day, had been municipal employee in New York before going to Chicago, where he set tied on a farm in the outskirts of the town. The elder O'Day was a, plumber by trade, and afterward returned to that occupation, as being more profit able than farming.
 Hank, who had three brothers and a couple of sisters, was given a fairly good education, and was then appren- ticed to steamfitter. Hank and his brother Joe early became enthusiasts on the subject of baseball, then a comparatively new game, and spent most of their leisure time playing on the West Side lots. Hank was still on the sunny side of twenty when he broke into the professional game with a Toledo club.
 O'Day made his premiere in the big show with the Wasaingtonians, then owned by the Hewetts, but in 1889 he joined John B. Days New York az Egregatfon of ball tossers. Hanks most celebrated performance was pulled off that year. The Giants won the Ma tional Legaue championship that year 1 and played a post-season series with the hated Brook1yns. Hank pitched in the first game, and won it. New York lost the second contest, and Hank went back in the third and fourth. pastimes and copped both of them. The New York club of that year was managed by Jim Mutrie The pitching staff, in addition to Hank, included Timothy Keefe, We1ch and Crane Buck Ewing was the principal catcher, and John M. Ward was the sl1ortstop.
 
 1in1e1igf1t as a pitcher, and after spending a year 'or two in Nebraska and Iowa he returned to the national pastdn1e umpire. For about a score of years he was one of the most distinguished of the diamond arbfters. He gave up the job of umpiring to as sume the management of the Cincin- natt Reds-a case of jumping out of the frying pan into the fire. Last year Hank tried his hand at pi1ottng the Cubs, and under his management the club made a surprising race, only to slump on the home stretch.
 In his long experience as an umpire Hank had many narrow escapes from pop bottles and other forms of sud- den death. It was Hank who called Mer1zle out when he failed to touch second in the famous decisive game between the Giants and the Cubs in I 1908-- On that occasion O'Day escaped before the mob knew what he had done; otherwise Hank would have be- come first class candidate for a 1 funeral.