The daily Alaskan., 1916-08-21
OLD TIME PITCHERS
Some of the Former Stars Who
 Won Fame on the Diamond.
THEIR FEATS OF ENDURANCE.
spaldfng All Alone Twirled the Old Boston Nationals to Victory Four Yeara In Succession - Radbourne's Great Reeord--seme Sad Finishes.

Boston Nationals to Victory Four
 Yeara In Succession - Radbourne's
 Great Reeord--some Sad Finishes.
 What becomes of all the great pitch. CTS who thrill the baseball populace for 6 day? That depends upon the age in which they lived. If a man won bis fame in the period from twen- ty 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 bis baseball fame within the last score of years he may still be drawing a good salary from some club treasury. Or he may be enjoying pros perity as a successful business man A. c. Spaldlng was one of the few men who won nation wide fame on the diamond in the earlier period, was absolutely unspOiled by 1t and then fol- lowed it up with even greater fame in the business world, Spalding jumped Into the limelght as a seventeen-year- old boy with the Rockford GILL club way back In 1867. Talk about the en. durance of the modern twtrltng giants! Just consider whut 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 in 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 1t Is now.
 Old timers love to dwell on the prow' ess of Charles Radbourne, who shone with quite as much bTilllance as Spald. ing until consumption cut short his ca- reer. about twenty-five years ago. Rad bourne was a member of the Provi- dence team, and when Charles Swee- ney deserted that club in midseason only Radbourne was left for slab work. But that didn't bother Radbourne, for be not only jumped right in and dld all the pitching, but made a 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. in brief the history of Amos Rusie, who from 1889 to 1894 thrilled the baseball world. Rusie had a narrow escape from being cast into the utter darkness of oblivion before he could get started The first day he entered the big league be 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 T. Brush. owner of the Cincinnati club, had faith in this youngster, gave him his chance. and suddenly the re cruit blossomed forth into the greatest pitcher of his day. But prosperity and the applause of the minimizing crowd were too much for Rusie.
 Then there were Tim Keefe and John CIarkson, about whose respective mer. It's the fans are still divided. In 1888 Keefe won nineteen straight games for New York, while in 1899 Clarkson pitched seventy-two games for Boston winning forty-siI 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 ec- centric Rube 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 in Jumping from one team to another and then by making new strikeout rec ords. Probably his greatest feat was when he called in all the Outfelders and then retired the side in order. But consumption finished his broken down constitution.
 Cy Young belongs to a different school of pitchers He was a shining example of baseball longevity founded upon clean living. This marvellous man, who broke into major league baseball in 1890. pitched every season for twenty-two years. a record still un' eoualed. Ledger.