The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-01-09
HE'S NO FARM LAD
Not a Cow Pasture in Ward
Where COmiskey Was Born.
Old Roman Tells of His Life at
st. Mary's College.

Charles COmlSkey- the owner VI eHo
Chicago White SoX and the -Noblese
Roman of baseball, was not born and
raised on 4 farm near St Marys, Kan,
as many have supposed He was not
born on farm at all. and, ACCORDING
TO his own statement. there was not a
farm anywhere in the Chicago waro
in which he first saw the light or DAY
In a lengthy article in Sporting
News, George S. Robbins gives an ac-
count of the life of Comiskey. as told
to Robbins by the "Old Roman" him
self. Comiskey relates that he was
an ardent devotee of baseball from
early childhood and that he cannot
remember when he first started to
pIaving. The one fault that his father
found with him was that he spent too
much of his time playing ball with
other Ioafers, and the pater undertook
to get his boy out OF the oaseoal
habit when he was yet a lad.
However. with all of his associates
playing ball this proved too much of a
lob for the old man, and after the
death of the lads mother. his father
sent him to st. Mary's college to get
him out of the baseball atmosphere
But baseball was already a popular
sport at ST. Marys and it was there
that the foundation for the famous ca
reer was laid.
Experiences at College.
Comiskey's experiences at St
Mary's should be particularly interest
ing to readers of the State Journal,
and therefore they are reproduced,
lust as he told them to Mr. Robbins,
as follows:
AT St. Mary's college, where my
father sent me-" said the odd Ro-
man." II went into a new world for mo
"a world of books and higher
thought But I soon found that base
ball was played there and I was happy.
TT was at St. Mary's that 1 first met
Ted Sullivan, who was one of the
most enthusiastic baseball fans 1 had
known up to that time. Then there
were my brother Jim. VIII Stark, Tom
Ward and several others who talked
in terms of base hits and diamonds
not the South African kind. My broth
er Jim and Will Stark played on one
team and Ted and 1 on the other. 1t
was while playing on this college club
/ that Sullivan and I were DRAWN to-
! gether. Ted usually played at short,
| but occasionally pitched. l pitched,
caught and played anywhere 1 was
most needed. My brother also filled
in anywhere, but caught most of the
time.
In those days the pitcher hurled
| underhanded and was compelled to
pitch below the knees AS the game
developed the pitcher hurled with the
hand below the hip and above the
| knee, then above the hip and below
the shoulder and then anywhere he
chose.
Il entered st. Mary's when Is years
old Ted and Jim were oIder.than I.
They were in advanced classes and !
was a freshman. I was sent to school
to master the books. but was most
concerned about learning and teach
ing the inside points of baseball.
There were two teams at st. Mary's
at that time and great rivalry sprane
up between these clubs. Practically
all our games were played within the
school We played without masks OF
gloves in those days. My brother Jim
who was catcher, was subjected tC
danger owing to the lack of protection
but the backstops in those days never
f1inched- They were accustomed tt
take punishment One day, wheT
catching, Jim received a bad bump or
his hand, making it swell almost dou-
bic its natural size, but he went or
with his work
Studied Nationalities.
students came to st. Mary's from
all parts of the world and I had an op.
portunity to study different nationasli
ties as well as books, but L put mos
) of my time on baseball. There was {
; settlement of Pottamatomie Indians
near st. Mary's and several of the red
= skins attended the school there None
however, played on the ball club
NO, don't know how many gamei
L won al st. Marys. There was no rec
ords of games won and lost in the col
leges in those days and besides W,
played all our contests within tn,
school The rivalry, however, was 81
q bitter we had all the enthusiasm tina
d comes from spirited competition w
fought many close games and spill
about even.
i Will Stark, who chummed witt
Jim, Ted and myself at st. Mary's.
now dentist in Kansas City, wher
he has practiced his profession sew
eral decades He followed in the foot
steps of his father and from all ca
near is just as good a tooth puller a
ne was a ball player in the old schoC
days Stark played against Ted an
me and appeared mostly at secon
base, but occasionally at shortstop. II
81 was versatile player and could Gov
er any position with equal ease.
The dream. of my youth to ente
the bigger world of baseball were nc
to be realized at ST Mary's and talk
with Ted, Jim and others only spul
red me on toward the professions
field.
My brother Jim never played out
side of St Mary's- He didn't seem S
much wrapped up in the game as TIE
and l. Several years later Sullivan
remembering our experiences at CO
lege induced me to take up the profe.
sional game. 1t didn't take much al
y gument to persuade me to folio
2 him"