The Alaska citizen., 1916-02-07
OF A SPORTING NATURE

1 started Rusie went to the box. And on that black day. and with that who remember to have seen Fergu- son pitch-pitch. mind you, not toss the ball through the frame of that cigar box four times out of five trials
 Looming large in memory's field are those two great lefthanders of the sos, Mat" Kilroy. of the Balti more Orioles. and Toad" Ramsey, of the Louis vile Colonels. Until
 Ga little more than a decade 1ater) the eccentric "Rube" Naddell ap- peared upon the scene, these two great pitchers occupied absolutely undisputed the spot light thrown upon southpaw performances.
 Ramseys great forte was in strik- ing out the batters. Kilroy has never been approached in the mas ter art of keeping the base runner from getting a lead off first base.
 Pop" Anson loves nothing else so well as to talk about that famous pair of pitchers, Larry Corcoran and Freddy" Goldsmith. For many seasons they bore the brunt of three-fourths, or more, of the con flicts engaged in by the original White Stockings of Chicago. Cor coran needed a spur; Goldsmith aress," says Pop"
 Another Great Pair. There was another great pair of pitchers whose names should be bracketed-"Bob" Caruther5 and 'Davy' Fouts. of Chris" Von der Ahe's old St Louis Browns-win- ners of many pennants and of little ball in play, what he did to lus I'll net forget; no, not in q million years"
 An Ai-Around Player. Many time the remark was made: If poor Charley Ferguson only had lived"
 Poor FergusOnt He was in the spotlight only long enough to be picked up by a practically unani- nous public as not only the great est pitcher who, up to that time, ever lived. Tut the great1st all around player as well.
 One of his methods of testing his control of the ball was to place on end on a stool at the plate the frame of a cigar box. Then he would go out into the pitchers box and try to pitch the ball through the little oblong space thus present. ed There are living today men worlds championship or two For month after month and for season after season these two men did almost all the pitching for that famous team managed by the be- loved Charles Comiskey. One eX- tra man-Hudson by name-was car ried on the club roster only f.r emergencies. Pitchers earned their salaries in those primitive days of the game. When Fouts was in the box, Caruthers would be guarding right feld-and guarding it well. Next day it would be Caruthers' turn to pitch, and Fouts would trot out to right He, too, was a fast and sure outfielder. So it happened again and again that in a fourgame series in Gn way-frOm-home city the people In the stands saw but nine of Comiskeys men in action; whereas, now, they sometimes get a glimpse of as many as twenty-five.
 From a viewpoint purely senti- mental no pitcher of the old days can claim a place in advance of Jimmy" Calvin. He was chub- by, good natured man. who ever was talking of his big family of ! boys back home Maybe it was for the latter reason more than for any other that he was so immensely popular around the circuit and why he was always given a rousing cheer
 when he won a game, no matter where the battle was staged.
 Personal recollections of Calvin
 include a game in Cleveland, in
 which Calvin was given a merci- l less beating The score was Cleve- land, IT; Pittsburg, 0, Calvin was the last of the visiting players to req h the bus He was tired. He sat on the floor, and with legs dangling cut behind, yelled to the l driver to go ahead. A mob of tantalizing fans chased along in the dust behind. Calvin only smiled
 at their jests and jeers. Finally one
 big, red faced fellow ran up close
 and shouted:
 You're nothing but big four flush pitcher"
 Perhaps so,' was the quiet re- tort, but don't have to walk home. The old Fan in LeSlie's.
 tho nraSeDt wear It cOntemplaLGS