The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-05-19
GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF 1915
 SENDS LEADERS HOME WITH
 FAT JOBS IN THEIR POCKETS
"Big Ed" Walsh, 34 Today,
 Still Hopes to Come Back

Pennsylvania is a great and pro- ducttve state. The best of most everything is produced in old Pennsy. Take ball players, f'rinstance. @ Honus' Wagner, Hughie Jennings, Jake Daubert, and a, host of others of scarcely lesser fame. have added luster to the infields and outer gar dens of our best baseball circles. Pitchers? Well, Christy Math ewson is a native son of Pennsylvania. And Eddie Plank. And Edward A. Walsh. There's a trio of twfrling stars for -Mathewson, Plank and Walsh. All Pennsylvanians, and proud of it. Some state. what
 Although Large Ed Walsh is still a kid, compared with the ancie hero of Gettysburg, and is some months the junior of the Old Master |, he was the first to hit the slide. Walsh was born at Plains, Pa, thirty-four years ago today, Mays19, 1881, and if he is ever going to pull that 'tcome back, stuff it behooves him to hurry His failure to come back last year was largely responsible for the rotten showing of the White Sox. Early this month he was attacked with the grip in Los Angeles, and his re- turn to Chicago was further post poned.
 wasn't a. .twirIer in the American League that had anything on. him. In the Windy City they called him ''the greatest pitcher in the history of baseball, ''z which was partially Chi cago enthusiasm; but was not so far off at that.
 Walsh is a graduate of the Wilkes Barre coal mines. He spent most of his happy, care-free youth down in the intestines Of the earth. and it was only on his occasional excursions to the. surface that he played ball.
 rYL- =1CI~ 4E, 1 letter day in Wa1sh's baseball career Ion that date,'' according to the great pitcher, s'I was tickled by a. chance to play third base for the Downing gton5 Pa.y nine. When the time for the game arrived the regu- lar pitcher was sick, and was of fered the job. Winchester was the opposing team, and eDowningtown had not beaten them for fifteen years so it looked like was up against it. I toi1ed harder than ever had in the coal mine, and we led 'em by one run in the eighth inning The last of the ninth came-on1y three outs and we win-the first victory in fifteen years.
 'eThe Winchester shortstop came up. He can hit, and he knows it. fed him fast one-bang!he is on the next man, when he hits a hard chance to our third baseman, who tries for, a double. and is too late. The next man hits an easy fly back of third, but our leftnelder drops it. Groans! The whole crowd is shouting like mad. look, and see a rabbit racing across the field. Bun ny races around the field, until at last, scared stiff. he drops in the pitchers box I'm not superstiti oIIs, but knew right then that it was a good luck sign, and that was going fO I1,a down to work, and struck out the next three nen!''
 The very next day Walsh received his first offer to play professional ball with the New London club of the Connecticut League. From there he went to Newark, in the Eastern, and in 1904 he was drafted for the White Sox. Ever since, it is rumored Ed has carried a rabbits foot If so, it hasn't been working lately.