The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1916-07-14
old Time PITCHERS
Some of the Former Stars Who
Won Fame on the diamond.
THEIR FEATS OF ENDURANCE.
SpaIding All Alone Twirled the Olc
Boston Nationals to Victory -Four
Years In Succession - Radbourne's s
Great Record-Some Sad Finishes.

Years In Succession RadDourne's
Great Record-Some Sad Finishes.
What becomes Of all the great pitch
ers who thrill the baseball pOpulacc
for day. That depends upon thc
age In which they lived. If man
won his fame In the period from TWEEN
~ TO forty years ago he probably Went
back penniless to manual labor whence
he came, or else he found an early
grave. But If he was fortunate enough
to make his baseball fame within the
last score Of years he may still be-
drawing a good salary from some club
treasury. Or lie may be enjoying pros
perity us successful business man.
A. G.. Spalding was one Of the few
men who won nation wide fame Oh
the diamond in the earlier period, was
absolutely unspoiled by It and then fol.
lowed It up with even greater fame in
the business world. Spalding jumped
into the llmelight as seventeen-year
old boy with the Rockford Qll) club
way back In 1867. Talk about the ell
durance OF the modern twiring giants
Just consider what this original iron
man did In the early seventies. Dur
Ing that period he was a member of
the Boston Nationals, and he won the
league championship for his team four
years i'm succession. He was Boston's
only pitcher, and he twirled every
game the team played, though In
those days games were scheduled only
every other day and the season was
shorter than It Is now.
Old timers love to dwell on the prov.
ess of Charles Radbourne, who shone
with quite as much brilliance as Spald-
Ing until consumption cut short his ca
reer, about twenty-five years ago. Rad
bourne was member OF the Provi.
ney deserted that club I'm midseason
only Radbourne was left for slab work
But that didn't bother Radbourne, for
he not only jumped right In and did
all the pitching, but made new
worlds record by winning eighteen
straight games and the championship
for Providence. This Gameness, how
ever, cost Radbourne his life, for his
health broke under the strain, which
was generally credited with having
caused his consumption.
From day laborer to the worlds pre-.
mier pitcher and then back again, Is, I'm
brief, the history Of Amos Rusie. who
from 1899 to 1894 thrilled the baseball
world. Rusie had narrow escape
from being cast into the utter darkness
Of oblivion before he could get started.
The first day he entered the big league
he was weighed by Bancroft the man
ager of the Cleveland team, and found
wanting After watching him pitch
one game Bancroft let him go, But
John II. Brush. owner Of the Cincinnati
club, had faith in this youngster, gave
him his chance, and suddenly the re
crult blossomed forth into the greatest
pitcher of his day. But prosperity and
the applause of the unthinbdng crowd
were too much for Rusle.
Then there were Tim Keefe and John
ClarksOn, about whose respective mer-
It's the fans are still divided. In 1888
Keofe won nineteen strai ght games for
New York, while In 1899 Clarkson
pitched seventy-two games for Boston.
winning forty-slX of them. These two
men, whose exploits were heralded
from one end of the country to the
other, were radically different In tenn.
perament Clarkson utterly ruined his
health by not taking proper care of
himself and died In an insane asylum.
But Tim Keefe retired with money In
the bank.
Probably more printers ink was
used TO tell of the exploits of the &c
centric Rubc Waddell than any other
baseball player that ever lived. Rube
was always good for story, no matter
what he did. On the diamond this
man was forever breaking records, first
I'm jumping from one team to another
and then by making new strikeout rec
when he called I'm all the outfielders
and then retired the side In order. But
CONSUMPTION finished his broken down
constitution.
Cy Young belongs 10 n different
school of pitchers He was n shining
example OF baseball longevity founded
upon clean living. This marvellous
man. who broke into major league
baseball I'm 1890. pitched every season
for twenty-five years. record still un