The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-01-16
ADVENTURE WITH PAIR PANTS

ADVENTURE WITH PAIR PANTS I could not be induced to put on a uniform and my brother, Al, laughs to this day a the sight of the Steuben- vile, O., gang trying to show me that baseball pants should be turned inside out and donned through the knee band and not the waist. My only real eX perience prior to that time was with a semi pro team, led by "Shad" Gwil- liam, and my only chance was when he was short a man for trip and would say: "Oh, if some other fellow fails to show up, we'll take Al Wagner's s brother"
 This is how I got to Steubenville. My brother was with that team and he was the real star of that period, while I was only a proud brother. glad of the privileeg of sometimes making a trip and doing the trainers duties or carrying water. I went there as a pitcher in 1895 and in my first game they played me in the outfield l muffed thre flies and hit home run, i but the homer did not get back the runs caused by my muffs and I quit the team and went back to old Car negie on freight. Al came after me hot footed and l rejoined the club. One day, while pitching, l hit seven men, walked 12, struck out 15 and demoral- ized the Akron club. After l had l broken one mans ribs, they insisted l that I be taken out and threatened court injunction to prevent dan gerous man like me from pitching.
 AS THE TEAMS BARBER I had "a catcher during my pitching career named Pete Lavelle. The story was sprung years later that Pete had to use beefsteak in his glove to hold me, but Pete is living today, and he VOWS he had other use for sirloins then than to use them in a catching mitt.
 I don't want to get in wrong with old timers antedating my period, but l can say this that Pete I4avelle was l the first catcher I ever saw call for a pitchout. He perfected the idea with
 me while we worked as battery and he had wonderful arm.
 I also was the club barber and would shave the team every Sunday morning.
 Brother Al always was first and La velle came next. He had beard like
 barbed wire and always insisted that the kids with "peach fuzz" on their faces could walt.
 Great stars migrated from the olt; Tri-Sta league long before my time.
 I can still remember George England, who played with the Mansfield club with Ed Delehanty in 1887. With one arm. England, a pitcher by right, could play good game in the outfield when needed and he could bat for a high per- centage. There is good story of how the one-armed star one day walked 1 into the office of John Gruber, vet 1 eran sport writer in Pittsburg, and | sad
 "John. I am going to write a Tri- State ball players name on the wall. Next year he will be in the National league and the greatest ball player in the business.'
 The name that England wrote was. Ed Delehanty"
 In that league also were Cy Young, Ad Gumbert and other great ones of baseball history.
 MAKES TWO BATTING RECORDS I signed my first baseball contract with Steubenville in 1895. A year later Pittsburg sought my brother Al, but he had joined the Toronto club and thought he had good thing. Al urged that they take me and I accepted a
 contract But they did not allow me to go south and tried to send me to Kan sas City.
 I refused to go there. as it was too far from Carnegie, and by way of com promise, they sent me to Paterson in the South Atlantic league. Things then began to work out swiftly for me. A big part of the year I played first base and did lot of hard hitting. l also played in the outfield. I heard that a big league scout was after me, and while the thoughts of advancement
 buzzed in my bonnet, I made two bat ting records. One was off Con Lucid, the old Hartford star, when I made six hits, since equaled by Beaumont of Pittsburg and Cutshaw of Brook 1yn. I was up against Lucid six times