Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1915-11-07
BALL PLAYERS ODD BELIEFS
Fear Of the Jinx Runs Strong
Among the Stars Of the
Diamond.
PECUIIAR1TIEs OF SUPERSTITION

Everyone OF us fears something or
other The henpeckod man fears his
wife, the spendthrift Ia In mortal dread
OF an empty pocketbook and the base
ball player fears the Jinx. And the feat
OF the Jinx accounts for the peculiar &C.
lions the ball player will so through IN
order 10 offset Il, from scratching his
left ear 90 putting his risht hind foot
In his left-hand brooches picket In order
TO get a hit
When one considers the peculiar kinks
OF base ball Il isn't difficult to see why
ball players should be prone to enter.
taining superstltions.
For instance, man lopes out there
one day. pulls his cap over his left eye
steps IN TO the plate and gets hit. Say
that during that game he keeps his
cap In the same position and gets three
hits. The next day he comes out and
can't buy a hit. lie wonders what's tho
matter with him. He remembers that
on the previous day he had his cap
pulled over his left eve. He wonders II
that had anything to do with II. OF
course, he knows Il hadn't; but Just the
same, when he next advances to the
plate he pulls the cap over his left eye
FOR luck'-as he expresses IT,
Now Wen say. that this time. his
third or fourth trip to the plate he gets
hit. II he reasons II out he knows
that the hit and the cap over his left
eye were merely condolences, but some
whore In his head the idea takes shape
that the cap pulled over his left eye Ia
lucky, And thereafter when he gets up
a. hae he q. al a.. ~
ton. There you have the formation Of
ish superstition.
All Players Have streak.
All ball players have some supersti-
ton or other. In this spaAm, the last
CONFUSION OF my expiring series, I shall
tell Of some that came under my notice.
George Smith. formerly Of Cincinnati
and Brooklyn. had an out-and-out super
stition. He carried a rabbits foot some.
where In the pockets OF his uniform
and four-leat clover in little sacl
pinned 20 the top OF his stocking. II h,
| couldn't get hit he'd work the rabbits
foot for all Il was worth. I don't know
II II ever got him anything. but he Ger.
i teinly believes In II. II would have beer
easier TO convince the public that an um
! pire IL human being than 60 have talked
Smith out OF his mascot hobby.
Knabe, the present manager OF Tn,
Baltimore Federal league team, had 9
peculiar superstition, which. I suppose
he still shines up ana uses upon oc
casions His dope was never to wan
IN front OF the umpire and opposnl
catcher when on his way to the plate
He always made a complete circle arount
them. He probably knew that was tn,
only way player could ever get around
an umpire, 80 he took advantage OF Il
Anyway, this decentralization took plae,
every time Knabc advanced to the plate
John Riley, the old first baseman Of
the Cincinnati club. used to get his hit
by means OF the holes in his belt.
don't mean to say that he lassoed tn,
hits with these holes, or that II was b,
! means OF them that he got the pitche
into hole. what do mean Ia, tina
he believed these belt holes had some
thing tn do with his hitting powers. Ac
cordinEly. as his batting became goo'
or bad. he shifted his belt buckle.
Suppose he went out today with hi
belt fastened at the fret hole and go
three hits. In that case he left II there
II he didn't get q hit at all he'd nov
the buckle up to the second hole. Il
| that didn't kill the jinx he'd move Il al
to the third. There, Of course, he'd hav,
to stop, for there were only three hole,
In the belt. II he hit we'll with the buckl,
at the third hole he'd leave It there. II
he did not he'd shift II back to No.
again and begin the process all oveI
once more II was quite a sight to. So,
John miss three good ones. growl like
a bulldog out OF the side OF his mouth
ana then hitch his belt up to the mex
hole. He was laughed at, OF course
but he believed what he believed.
BAtty ON BATS.
Old Bug" Holidays superstition wa
bats. He kept about twenty-seven OF them
In his locker, and ~ another player &c
much as laid his hand on them Bug
yelled murder, When wanted to have
some fun with Holiday ia pretend tc
pick up one n his numerous bats on my
way to the plate. The minute I got neat
Bug would be up on his toes. II touched
one. as I often did, he'd grab II away
from me. and say some things not in tho
book OF rules. And II he failed to get q
hit with that bat during that game
wowl--he'd ride me for a week.
was presented with q wagon tongue
bat one time that just suited my genius
II was heavy. OF a good length and strong
enough to knock out funsoes with can
non balls. One day this bat disappeared
/ suspected where II went. but / abided
my time. Finally. after a certain game,
when the players had left the club house,
broke open Holidays locker. There was
the bat sure enough Il had been
smoothed off and ssndpapered until II