El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1916-02-01

= rs q matter Of doubt with me to
this day whether it was lucky or
u not for me the day Billy Hulin
took a liking to my playing while I
was with the kid gang in coffeyville,
Kan, and got me to report to him in
Pueblo. Colo, the following spring,
which was in 1900.
Things shifted so rapidly after I got
to Pueblo, and so many things hap
pened, that I was in a daze for a long
time, but finally all Of my troubles
were Strengthened out. and I sure felt
that 1 was safely headed for a big
league berth.
After I got home to Kansas City my
folks naturally were glad to see me,
especially as I had grown some and
was in fine physical condition. I had
been out in the open all summer long
eating like a young horse n getting
plenty Of sleep.
My father took me to one side after
my first meal with the legs stretched
out under the old family dining table
at home and started to give me some
fine old advice.
"weu. l hope you're through now
with this f~oOlishness," he said. We've
been expecting that you would get sick
of it and settle down to learn some
business here
Seventy-five Per Looked Good.
Visions Of the old job Of pasting
paper for my old boss, the paper
hanger. drifted before me and from
that my minds eye flOAted over to that
offer Of SIS a month from Pueblo.
Then I thought it best to put father
out of his misery about me.
But they tell me I'm one Of The
most promising young players they
ever had around here, and Pm just now
beginning to make good at it."
started IN qrrup with him aTharp
isn't a thing 1 could do arOund here
that would begin to bring me in SIS
a month. Besides that. 1 like being
out in the open air. Just see how it
has built me up" and / stood up and
threw my perfect &c" out. rapping it
vigorously to show how solid I was.
~Make Good Or Beat tt
Ny father was a hard-fisted man
and he looked me over carefully, but
with a cold eye. I know be didn't
like the business I was trying to break
into and was trying to find a good
crushing argument against it. At the
same time he saw the merits of my
arguments and he hesitated.
"All right. if that's the way you feel
about it, Joe" he said finally. But I
want to tell o this much. You can
go out again next spring n try it,
but if you don't make good. you
needn't look TO US for n sympathy
VI dllN hElN-
That amounted to a statement that
I would have to make good or not re-
turn, n 1 agreed that the PROPOSE
ton was all right,
1t looked black for me when 1
started to report to Pueblo in the
spring. 1 didn't even have time to have
one breakfast there because Billy
Huiin turned me over to George Te-
beau. at Denver. Hulin told me 1 was
to have a regular berth in the noun
tain town. But Tebeau had his own
ideas about that.
Charley Reilly was manager OF the
Denver team that spring and it so hap
pened that Charley was a pretty good
thlrd baseman himself. I didn't know
II at the time, but that should have
neen the office for me to get another
Job somewhere else.
Played Great Game.
Well, they put me in the first game
OF the season n 1 was a regular
Wnlrlwind at third base. / got every
thing that came my way and several
chances b a didn't. / was all over
the held like a man with about seven
PAIRS of hands and legs like a spider.
l smashed the ball hard and generally
was a sensation.
Inc next day the papers came out
WIN big boosts for the kid from the
Dushes- They said 1 acted like a mar
vel Ihat L was a regular find and
sood enough for a~nybody's ball team.
eve. etc OF course when 1 read all
Inls l a tickled right own to the
trUuud and began to frame Up a lot
OF thlngs in my imagination
bul IL really was the worst thing
mat could have happened to me right
az mat particular time and under the
circumstances There was the man
aSer on the bench and ] was the kid
VINO was going to take his lob Fine
Tor the manager to think about. Ell?
shifted to Second Base.
reilly went back to third base. OF
ootISe; and they decided to give me
q IrIai at second. Inasmuch as 1 was
q PeILectly green hand at the bag
had fun J , row what to do. I looked
10 al all So they dragged me off