Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1915-03-17
BY JOHN n. GRUBER.

Among the Indians in base ball only
la few have acquired fame. However,
from Louis SockaleXis. the original cop
per-colored star. down to Jim Thorpe,
who gained worldwide renown as an
athlete, the Indian has been popular
with the American public. There has
never been Il Japanese or Chinese ball
player in the higher ranks, so that 1t
is not possible to draw a comparison.
Japs and Chinks have been coveted by
one or the other of the big league
teams, but it was always the player
who backed out, impelled. no doubt, b.
fear of the hot and unreasonable COM
ments Of the fans. They hide this fear
under the guise of Inconsistencies
OF the In,iians In base ball. John T.
Meyers, now catcher for the New York
Giants, is one of the most successful.
They say, and 1t has never been con-
tradicted, that his name is assumed. and
that Tories" is his wild" cognomen.
Maybe that accounts for the IT. in his
otherwise civilized name.
Meyers was born in Riverside. Cal,
July 90. 1882, and as the missions out
there are careful to register births the
figures should be reliable. He was a
husky lad IN his baby moccasins. and
grew larger and stronger mot wicked
aud malicious. as WAS generally the
case with the nations Wards). played
with white boys and learned the game
of base ball. He was never known to
cover any other position but that Of
catcher. being Il big boy from his in
fancy.
Meyers wandered east by invitation,
entered Dartmouth College and pre-
tended to study. In 1906. he played his
fsrst professional game. with the Har-
;risburg team of the Tri-State League.
HOY, h tS Nm 20 ar
mouth In 1907 he was with the Butte
Mont. team, where he displayed pro-
ficiency that entitled him to higher
sphere of action. He was accordingly
dra fled by the ST Paul club for the
season: Of 1905.
Purchased by Giants.
The chief fell plumb into a crowd of
old-timers' at st. Paul. At the head of
the team was Tim Flood, and who has
never heard of Timothy? A fine second
baseman was he, who had swung his
bat in many major league battles. But
Tim was not success as a manager.
his team finishing in last place. Phil
Geier, who entered the National League
with Larry Lajofe in 1896, both going
from Fall River to Philadelphia, played
in the outfield for ST. Paul, as did also
John Dunleavy and Lefty Davis. All
made good records In the National
League In their day, and all were now
on the down grade. Meyers and Joe
Laughlin did the catching for the
Saints. They succeeded Joe Sugden
and Tex Erwin. Tex being recalled by
Detroit. and Joe being sent to Van
couver. Laughlin was obtained from
Cincinnati by st. Paul in 1907.
In spite of the poor showing made by
st. Paul. the New York club purchased
the release of Meyers from the Saints.
At the same time it also bought the
services Of RUDE Marquard from In
dianapolis. Vanguard cost the Giants
$4,000 and Meyers $4,000.
Vanguard was called into service by
the Giants before the close of the sea
son of 1908, but Meyers was not asked
to labor until 1909. He caught for the
first time in the National League April
Il, 1909. and Marquard was the pitcher.
There were $1,000 people IN the Polo
Grounds and Vanguard was at his best,
made so, to some extent, no doubt, by
the sturdy behavior Of the Indian
catcher. The Giants defeated Phila
delphia, 4 to 1. Earl Moore pitching
for the Phillies. Only three hits We're
made off Marquard, who struck out
eight men and gave but one base on
balls.
But this was not Meyers first APP
pearance in Giant uniform. When he
Joined the team the boss catcher was
George Schlei, with Arthur Wilson and
Fred Snodgrass to fall back on. The
opening game was played April 10,
and Brooklyn won it. to 0, Schlei
catching Leon Ames. Meyers was used
as a pinch hitter and made good, get
ting a single off Irving Wilhelm. This
feat made the chief solid with the
crowd right from the start. The game
lasted thirteen innings, and the Brook
lyns scored all their runs in the thir-
teenth off Ames. for whom Meyers bat
ted after the disastrous splurge by the
Dodgers.
The New York club obtained Schiller
from St. Louis that year. 1909. n o.