davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-08-01
>AL GOOD BALL PLAYERS GAIN FAME BY CLEVERNESS

continue to invent schemes which re- quire something other than natural delivery of the ball it is going to re- suit soon in legislation which will force the pitcher to work without a glove, thus depriving him of his best means for practicing deception.
 That is the only way they will ever successfully curb the illegal and freak deliveries that are complained about" says Bill For, to a pitcher who has to resort to tricks with the ball, a glove is as necessary as a jimmy is to a porch climber.'
 7 The tendency of baseball legislation has been toward the abolition of the freak devices of the pitchers. The ban has been placed on the emery ball, and only the spitball of the breaks remain ing legal. Primarily the object is to keep up the hitting. A pitchers battle
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-08-01
CONFIDENT RECRUIT" BUT HE
 WAS LET OUT.

JIMMY CALLAHAN, manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, said that he liked to see a young ball player confi- dent and self possessed, but that he had one recruit while he was manae- ing the White Sox who had a little too much self confidence.
 T remember" said Jimmy, that this fellow was highly opinionated and that he thought he knew everything that came along. In fact, he knew so much about baseball that we decided the big leagues hadn't caught up to his stand- ard and that we ought to struggle along without him.
 "He picked up a scientific paper one time and read the account of one of those big wrecks they were pulling off on one of the eastern roads a few years ago. In this same paper was the that a reward was of- fered by the railroad of $10,00O to any one who would invent a device that would absolutely prohibit wrecks.
 This fellow didn't waste a minute. There was telegraph office in the lobby, and he promptly wired to the railroad: "T accept your offer. Send on thst check.'"
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-08-01
SIMPSON LEARNED HOW TO HURDLE
 FROM NEWSPAPER PICTURES

ROB SIMPSONS recent record
 wrecking hurdling brings to mind the young westerner's debut in cham pionship competition. His appearance at the national title meet held on the fair grounds at San Francisco is now recalled. Except for a friend or two not a person of the 12,000 spectators in the stands on the eventful Saturday of July last year understood Simp- sons temerity to race against Fred Murray and Fred Kelly over the 120 yards high sticks.
 Simpson knew he couldn't lick his skilled competitors. The idea of beat ing Kelly and Murray was furthest from his mind. He was there to learn the art of hurdling, and after the race Simpson was lucky to finish third he lost no time in studying the forms of the men he idolized in his pet stunt.
 That evening he purchased the final sports editions of all the papers he could lay his hands on. In one of them he spotted corking picture of the final of the high hurdles. He saw the way Kelly ard Murray chopped over their hurdles, shaving them so close that they almost appeared to sit on them. Kelly, in fact, was so close that he knocked down three of the hurdles and was disqualified
 Simpson thought awhile. He asked some of the boys who were guests of the Olympic club at a banquet to show him the difference in the style of hurdling of Kelly and Murray and his (Simpson's) manner of going over the sticks.
 Sure enough one of them informed him that, while Kelly and Murray leaped so close to the hurdle that they would brush a match stick off. Simp- son allowed a liberal stretch of day light between him and the hurdles. The result was that while Simpson was having a glorious time in the air Kelly and Murray were going away from him.
 Simpson spent three hours going over the photographs in the company of Harold Smith, the sprinter and Michigan captain; Bachman, the Notre Dame weight man, and Arlie Mucks, champion discus thrower of Wiseon- sin universityJ The four made a critical examination of the pictures and studied out where Simpsons form diff fered from Kelly's and what Simpson should do to acquire Kelly's form When the party broke up Simpson said simply:
 I've got the idea When I get back to Kansas will put up hurdle on the farm and practice the rest of the sum- mer." \
 Results show he has changed his style for the better. Today he is the acknowledged champion hurdler of the world. Perseverance in the case of Simpson triumphed for the good, and athletic fans the country over are marveling at his wonderful form and the great records he is establishing.
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-08-01

concrete walk is apt to have all the roughness necessary to make it ideal for the emery bali delivery.
 Baseball can get along without these freaks" says Bill Donovan. "A. good pitcher doesn't have to use such tricks. Look down the list of great pitchers and how many of them were .spitball or emery ball pitchers? Not many. There are only few men who stand out prominently who used such deliveries. Ed Walsh, Tesreau, Rus sell Ford and two or three others make up all the pitchers who ever were suc- cessful with the freak stuff Such men as Mathewson, Johnson, Addie Joss and the dozen of other stars of the game never -resorted to it, and you will hear about them long after the other fellows have been forgotten"
 It was Russell Ford of the Yankees who introduced the emery ball into the big league, but it had undoubtedly been in existence in it's natural state around the town lots for years, and, like the electricity in the lightning, just wait ing for Benjamin Franklin to come along and hitch the harness to it: No doubt many a kid has pitched a freak curve with a scuffed ball and wonder ed how he did it.
 Ford became the Ben Franklin quite by an accident. He and Ed Sweeney were battery mates in Atlanta. One day he got hold of ball that had just struck rough spot and noticed that it took weird curve. He got to experi- menting and then kept his secret. As he couldn't depend on bouncing the bali against a rough spot he substituted the emery paper and kept it in his glove.
 He had great year with the Yankees in 1910 and no one could understand how he got the peculiar curve on the ball. When they began to inquire he arranged so that the emery paper was attached to ring on his finger and came off when he pulled the glove off. Consequently when one examined the glove there was no evidence However. they finally got on to Ford, and he never had big year again. He didn't have enough of the natural stuff to get by on, and when they took his trick away from him they ruined him.
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-08-01
ROBERTSON CAN SPEED ON
 PATHS

F Dave Robertson of the New York Giants ever is of a mind to go against the circling the base record. which is now held by Hans Lobert at 3 minutes 4-15 seconds, Gotham ex- perts are of the opinion that he can beat the mark easily.
 Robertson will make Ty Cobb, Max Carey, Clyde Milan and other base run ners celebrated for their speed look slow. He probably could not only lead any one of them by ten feet in going around the bases. but he looks foot faster going to first than any man in the big show today.
 Bert Shotton of the St. Louis Browns is streak going to first. He pulls the average inf1eld in ten feet when he is at bat. That is necessary because on an ordinary bounder the infield cannot complete the mechanics of his play the fielding and throwing of the ball. fast enough to intercept Shotton at first when playing back.
 Robertson is faster than Shotton. A race between the two on the bunt and run to first would be entertaining.
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-08-01

THE golden west has given to the athletic world another family of strong athletes.
 | Searching through the records one fails to find anything to approach the l remarkable prowess of the Augustus, Robert Lindley. Fred and Frank Mur- ray household. Robert, Fred and Frank are genuine chips of the old block. for father Augustus was an ac- complished football and tennis player in his younger days.
 The eldest of the three Murray boys, Robert Lindley, twenty three years of age, holds the national indoor tennis title and metropolitan singles cham pionship of 1915. Twenty-two- year old Fred is accounted to be one of a few of the greatest murders ever known.
 At the recent intercollegiate cham pionships he flew" over 12O yards high sticks in fifteen seconds, establishing a new college mark. He was crowned national hurdles champion at San Francisco last summer. on which oc- casion he lowered the colors of Fred Kelly and one or two other accom- plished timber troopers.
 AoAAh, AAiCICCh yCdl6, tlTcdlcuS u become one of the best hammer throw CTS in the college ranks. With the graduation of Fred the Murray name will remain at the Leland Stanford, Jr., university, as Frank is taking up an engineering course. Frank has thrown the sixteen pound hammer over 150 feet.
 In baseball the name of the Della hantys will live long in the memories of fans, and football enthusiasts never forget the Poes, while the Corbett brothers ruled supreme in their par ticular lines of endeavor Jim being former heavyweight champion and Joe Corbett champion pitcher of the old Baltimores.
 It will be years before another com bination such as the Murray family represents will be developed
 The Kolehmainens are a remarkable family of distance runners, flames be- | ing the acknowledged amateur cham pion from five to fifteen miles, while | Willis is one of the best professional marathoners in the world.
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-08-01
LINpLEY MURRAY.
Press Big Help to Stecher

JOE STECHER. the phenomenal
 young wrestler brought from ob- livion by the revival of the mat game says many of his matches have been won for him by newspapers.
 "On account of the dope written about me am known as the chap with wonderful leg scissors hold" says Stecher. Tt has been written that have a squeezing pressure of several thousands pounds in my legs and that the hold use is deadly. In fact. the leg scissors has become as famous as the Gotch toe hold.
 Consequently every wrestler meet is on the lookout for the scissor grip, and he leaves openings for other holds.
 'T have not used the scissors in half
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-08-01

may be an artistic triumph, but it has been shown that the public wants to see base hits. The fan demands action in his baseball, just as he does in his drama and his best seller, and base hits make for action in baseball.
 Those who have been in regular at- tendance have probably noticed the fre quent examinations the umpires make of the ball. They stop the game while managers and players gather and give the little sphere the curious up and down. It is not a practice designed to prolong the game. The umpires are acting under instructions not to per- init the use of anything that resembles the emery ball.
 It is the modern concrete stand that makes the precaution necessary. It affords a rough surface that scuffs the ball. A ball that has been hit against
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-08-01

'NURl nttaen Knot of serious thinkers ss46 whos meet 4Noccasionally on rainy dAySto pick flaws in the national pas time were discussing pitchers and their ,nefarious and unnatural devices for deceiving the batter when we drew quite an important prediction from wild Bnp' Donovan, manager of the Yankees and, esteemed member of the knot S
 wild Bir' was considered one of the greatest pitchers of his time, and he points with pride to the fact that he Bsined his success entirely by the use of his natural advantage. Therefore he aoohs down with professional scorn upon the spftballers and the emery ball artists and regards them as mere trtclxsters, who cast taint upon the real art of pitching.
 It Is Bfll's opinion that if pitchers
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-08-01

Simpson went too high in the air in the Frisco race. Every time he came to a hurdle he seemed to hesitate and leap high.
 At the Penn relay carnival some time ago, where he raced over the 120 high in 15 seconds flat. on the grass. he exhibited an entirely new form of competition.
 Six feet three inches in height, Simp- son has an ideal build for a hurdler. In many ways he resembles Forrest Smithson. the daddy of them all a few years back. He has mastered the tech-
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-08-01

my bouts. know and use other holds. just like other wrestlers do. Half the time l do not have to think about pS- ing the scissors. because my opponent, in protecting himself from the grip. lets me slam on the half Nelson or some other good hold"
 Stecher is just big boy. only twen- ty-two years of age. In street clothes he looks like schoolboy. but beneath his little checkered cap are moro brains than the average wrestler has.
 Stecher is called the 'boy in over- alls." He was raised on farm near Dodge. Neb.
 "The unexpected counts in wrestling. boxing. baseball or business." sayu Steche<. ,.s. .i,l
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-08-01

been sweetened down there would ap- pear to be strong likelihood of his being a valuable member of the Giant pitch
 ing squad. And Pie Way has also gone to McGraw's team. Way is a husky youth, who has speed, control and curves. He may develop into big league star. Watt, the Columbia cap- tain, has signed with Detroit, and Andy Coakley says he has no doubt that this player will make good in big company. Watt he says, is one of the closest stu
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-08-01
Photo by American Press Association. GEORGE SMITH, NEW ADDITION
 TO GIANTS TWiRLlNG STAFF.

other on big league managers from whom they expect a handsome gratuity in return for student ball players should be suppressed, and promptly.
 "Go to a college game in which play CTS who stand out above the average are competing and you will see scouts from professional hines watching every move of the men whom they expect to sign, studying them and sizing up their points as though they were live stock. The whole atmosphere is disgusting, and if the abandonment of the whole policy of professional coaching would ameliorate conditions it would be well to bring this about"
The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-08-01

N unusual number of college
 baseball players have entered
 the big leagues this summer
 q A How many will be prominent by the time the big league season ends 1? n the usual average obtains the suc- cegsfM ones will he ina minority. Yet, again, some of the neophytes have dis played ability on the university dia- mond which bespeaks at least certain amount of success. George Smith of Columbia, for example. After he has
The Seward gateway. (Seward, Alaska) 1914-1917, 1916-08-07
SEWARD TEAM TO
WORK EVERY DAY
Manager Hoben Calls Out All Players
For 6:30 p. Nj.

This evening at $50 o'clock and
every evening of the week the Sew
ard ball players will appear on the
ball grounds in uniform for practise
in preparation for the big games
which are scheduled to begin next Fri
day with Anchorage. Quite bit of
money has already gone up but the
betting has only really begun and if
anything should ever happen to our
champions good bye to the smeIter.
Seward is, however, the favorite with
Seward. 1t is going to win.
The following is the notice publish
ed today by Manager H. V. Hoben:
"NOTICE:-All ball players are
notified to report in uniform at the
grounds at 6:SO o'clock this evening
and every evening this week, weather
permitting"
The Seward gateway. (Seward, Alaska) 1914-1917, 1916-08-07
Cars Break Away
On Five Mile Rush
Giant Dump Cars Race Madly and
Crash Into Crane.

Two of the great big iron dump cars
started going today at Mile Five, rae
ed down the track at a terrific speed,
passed over Resurrection river, shot
in towards the city and smashed at a
twenty-five mile speed into the big
crane just north of the machine shops
The front of the front car had its iron
work smashed, the center castings of
the crane were broken but the damage
done is not more than can be easily
fixed. The accident happened while
the two cars were standing on tnc
track at Mile 5 alone while the other
cars were being dumped. They were
filled with gravel at the time and this
made the speed all the greater They
broke away, it is said, because the air
brake had been set and the hand
brake had not been, so that when the
air got out there was no break at all
to stop them. They moved off gently
at first but were not seen until they
had got quite a momentum down the
grade at that point. The cars are
heavy and the loads in them weighed
many tons so that once the momentum
had been gained the cars went hard
er and harder and harder so that
when they went over Resurrection
river they had a tremenodus speed
which they maintained fine for the
next three miles towards the city.
Now, as the cars were ripping into
town, to give the other side of the
story like movie film, the big crane
was standing peacefully on the main
track north of the shops as the two
runaway cars tore across the big
trestle at the head of the bay with
tremendous speed. In the crane were
Red Pollack, the engineer, and Arthur
Gray, fireman. The crane had stopped
working and both men were oiling the
machinery with heads down as the
racing cars flew to the encounter.
Arthur says the first thing he knew
about it was when Pollock shouted to
jump. 1t was too late and Arthur
says that crash was something fierce,
but the crane stopped them in fine
shape. If no crane nor something Of
equal bulk had been on the track the
runaways would have done something
on that dock that might make a more
exciting story, but as it is the harm
was very little.
The Seward gateway. (Seward, Alaska) 1914-1917, 1916-08-07
THE FAIRBANKS SHOOTING

FAIRBANKS. - Up dmtil late
hour last night the marshaPs office
had received no report concerning the
success of Deputies George Berg and
Pete McMullen, who are in the Pedro
dome district looking for Louis Go
eyttc, the man who shot and seriously
wounded Dick Creighton and his VIE
Saturday morning. Both Of the ia
jured people are in st. Joseph's hos
pital, where they are resting as easily
as could be expected under the cir
cumstances. The woman's injuries
are not serious. The bullet from the
% calibre high power rifle used by
Goyette penetrated her body near the
base of the spine. Creighton is more
seriously injured but was able to talk
yesterday. One of the bullets fired by
Goyette hit him in the neck and rang
ed upward through his mouth and
jaw, knocking out several teeth and
shattering the jaw bone. The shoot
ing took place in the presence of
Martin Smith.
Goyette and Creighton were mining
partners who have been working in
quartz together at the head of Little
Eldorado creek for the past several
years. Ordinarily speaking, they
have done we'll as the result of their
operations, according to those who
claim to know. Both, however, are of
a quarelsome nature and have
never been able to get along amicably.
No cause for the trouble eliminating
in the shooting can be assigned, un-
less it was the inability of the two
men to get along together.
Mrs. Creighton was formerly known
as Eliza Peterson. She and Creighton
were married only a few days ago.
Citizen.
The Seward gateway. (Seward, Alaska) 1914-1917, 1916-08-07

NEW YORK, August THE lead
ers of four hundred thousand uniociz-
ed railroad trainmen of the United
States have cleaned up the work Of
ballOtting and tabulating the result
and all is prepared for the threatened
strike unless heroic efforts to prevent
it are successful. The strike will tie
up a quarter of million miles of
The Seward gateway. (Seward, Alaska) 1914-1917, 1916-08-07
NOMINATED WOMAN
FOR NATL. CONGRESS

TOPEKA, August 7.-Complete un-
official returns from the First Con-
gressional district show that Dr. Eva
Harding, the first woman ever to be
nominated for congress, has been
named for that Office on the Demo-
cratic ticket.
The Seward gateway. (Seward, Alaska) 1914-1917, 1916-08-07
VALDEZ STRONG
FOR SHELTER
BIG CROWD PACKS LIBERTY
HALL AN COMMITTEE
FORMED.

A letter received by Derrick Lane
from Henry d. Reynolds this morning
tells that Liberty hall, Valdez, was
packed with an enthusiastic crowd at
lie meeting on Saturday evening
which had been called by Reynolds to
discuss the Seward smelter project.
A committee composed of Messrs
Dickey, Boyle, Rystrom, Townsend
and Reynolds was formed to push the
matter and Mr.. Reynolds declares nat
he found all Prince William Sound out
for the project unanimously.
The Seward gateway. (Seward, Alaska) 1914-1917, 1916-08-07
SAY RUSSIANS RETIRED

BERLIN, August THE Russians have been forced
to retire from their positions the Sereth We have cap
tred 600 Savs yesterday at Ruda and the Russians have
been unable to make an advance at any point along the
whole line Hndenburg and the Archduke Karl have di-
vided the eastern command between them and a new
movement is looked for Hndenburg has just frustrated
attempt by the Russians the Dvina river at the
extreme north of the eastern line 1t is also officially
ported that the British have started new battle Poz
ees but they have been repsed all the way from Overs
to FOurneauX.
The Seward gateway. (Seward, Alaska) 1914-1917, 1916-08-07
CARMEN
ALSO CALL A STRIKE

PHILADELPHIA, August "A
strike of the motormen and conductors
of the Rapid Transit Company has
been ordered by the Executive Com
mittee of the union of the local divi-
sion of electric railway employees.
They demand forty cents an hour
recognition of the union and the adj
justment OF other grievances. The
leaders claim that half of the 400
men will answer the call.
The Seward gateway. (Seward, Alaska) 1914-1917, 1916-08-07
CAME ON EVANS

The following arrived on the Evans
this morning:
From Seattle; Dave Williams, 7.
Cunningham, Jno. Lynch, /. Koehler
NJ. Solner and wife, Miss NJ. Harris
NJ. c. Donovan and steerage.
From way points; r. Weber, b.
Landauer, S. Landauer, G. Landauer.
The Seward gateway. (Seward, Alaska) 1914-1917, 1916-08-07
FRENCH CHECK GERMANS

PARIS, August THE French fire checked two viol-
ent German attacks last night the northeastern district
of the Verd sector The German attacks have been re-
pulsed at ThiaumOnt, EaX and Chaptre and these re-
pulses came even before the enemy able to debouch
from their positions to the attack The first attack was
launched against Thaumont after an artillery lombard
ment but the French fire caught the attackers quickly and
threw them back on their positions.
The Seward gateway. (Seward, Alaska) 1914-1917, 1916-08-07
ALL IN SAME POSITION

THE HAGUE, August 7.-Opnion here and in other
neutral countries be that the positions of the war
ring powers in Europe have undergone no material
change in the last year of fighting Many OF the leading
newspapers express this opinion in reviewing the result OF
the second years warfare which ended in the beginning
of the month Those papers speak of the future outlook
and prospects when speaking of the fact that no real
change is evident
The Seward gateway. (Seward, Alaska) 1914-1917, 1916-08-07
CHISANA
STRIKE IS A FAKE

In letter to Judge Finnegan this
morning Commissioner A. McGettigan
of the Chisana district says that the
report of a strike in that country
some months ago is not genuine
There will be some work on Foley and
Notch creeks, this Fall, the writer
says.
The Seward gateway. (Seward, Alaska) 1914-1917, 1916-08-07
ANOTHER FIRE NEAR
BLACK TOM BLAZE
Fifteen Cars of Munitions Destroyed
and mcendiarism Suspected.

JERSEY CITY, Aug. T. Another
spectacular tire occurred last night in
the railroad yards a quarter OF mile
from the scene of the great Black
Tom Island blaze and fifteen freight
cars filled with munitions OF war
were destroyed. The police believe
the fire was an incendiary one but no
clue has been obtained that gives the
least hope that anyone will be arrest
ID.
The Seward gateway. (Seward, Alaska) 1914-1917, 1916-08-07
MAXWELL WINS MARATHON

TACOMA, August eddie Rick
enbacher Maxwell was the driver OF
the machine which won the Monta-
yesterday, The race was
for three hundred miles and for a
purse of four thousand dollars.
machines took part.