Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-01-06
Granddaughter
HAsBIGBOOST
FOR LOCAL BALL
Praises Chinese Players and
Gives Lai Tin Flatter!ng
Mention

From Guelph. Canada comes hlE
boost for snort in Hawaii, and ihe
Mercury of that town has such nice
things to say about baseball in the
islands that the use Of. the term pos
session" as applied 10 Hawai- is read
lily forgiven The attitude of the can
adams towards Chinese ball players
is evidently quite different from that
OF the Grabbed Portlanders.
The following is from the Guelph
Mercury of December II:
As an American possession il is nat
ural that the Hawaiians should have
taken most kindly of all the Antipo-
dean countries To our national game
baseball. They seem TO have taken
it with their Americanism. play ii cley-
erly and have developed an army OF
fans" which would do any American
possession credit Honolulu, the capl-
tai city of the group of islands. has
dCZen regular teams. half OF which
can play good stiff game of the best
amateur variety. The mixed nation
atty Of the inhabitants finds a genial
blend in the delights of the game, and
members of the English, German ana
French colonies alike play baseball
with all the avidity of the born Amer
lean. The true enthusiasts at the
sport, outside the American-bOrn con
tingent, are the Chinese. They are an
athletiC-lOving lot and play the game
with much skill and thorough under
standing of its fine points.
This the University of California
team found when they made a visit to
the Hawaiian Islands as the prize for
winning the amateur championship of
the Pacific Coast. In the city OF Homo
lulu alone they played with eight diff
ferent clubs which were considered
by the athletic critics and authorities
of the island competent to meet them,
winning six of the nine games in
which they participated. Their most
successful opponents were the team of
the Chinese Athletic Union, made up
entirely of full-blooded Chinese.
Fifty-fve hundred people saw the
first game between the Chinese team
and the boys from the Berkeley insti-,
tuition, which the Chinese players won
by score of 6 to 4. I-at Tin, leader
Of the Chinese team, who plays at
shOrtstOp. worked his players so we'll
that they seemed the strongest in both
attack and defence. So elated were
the Hawaiians over this victory that
at a second game played a week later
over 1000 people were on the grounds
to watch the game, which went to 10
innings
With the score at ) to ) at the end
Of the ninth the Californians went to
the bat and by heavy hitting and clev-
er base running put two runs to their
credit and apparently had the game
"cinched." But the Celestials had
plenty OF sand. for they came back at
the Berkeley boys, and four players
in row, all under 20 years OF age,
piled up slashing single. three-bag-
ger, a bunt, and two-bagger, and be-
fore the side was out had scored the
three runs necessary to win by a score
of s to Is The Chinese spectators
came to the game prepared to see
their fellow-countrymen win, and the
successful team, when the winning
run was scored, was greeted with
salVo Of 10000 firecrackers as we'll as
the cheers and other characteristic
demonstrations of a true baseball
fan
Capt. Lai Tin of the victorious team
is known in Honolulu as the speed
demon" and holds the Hawaii record
OF 10 ID seconds in the hundred-yard
run and the broad jump record for the
islands OF % feet In the two games
against the University of California
he had "a chances for put-outs and
assists playing at shortstop and at
the second bag, and accepted every
one of them. He visited United States
both in 1912 and 1919, playing third
base on the Honolulu Chinese team
which toured the country. I.ai Tin
has been signed by the Chicago club
OF the American league for next year.
The II. p. Nelson Piano Co.. of Chi