Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1918-10-23
OLYMPIC GAMES PARIS NATIONS AFTER WAR SANCTIONED BY H. CA
How Pitcher Kelly Used to
Put the Shot With Tcothpick

, men hop lively when he selected
| them in his target practice.
Was Remarkable Shot
Flipping shot out of the mouth
] with a toothpick, is by no means q
new discovery. Some of our grand
| fathers performed the trick when
| they were little boys. If they didn't
many of them surely can remember
| how one or two of their young
J schoolmates could fire a buckshot
| or tiny pebble, by the aid of match,
! penholder, or other slender piece OF
wood, held between the teeth. Many
of these youngsters became SO adept
at the stunt, that they could drive
their little projectiles with such ac-
curacy as to cause considerable an
noyance to the teacher, or whoever
else might. be the target.
When it came to being a crack
shot, however, the crown belongs to
Kelly, in the opinion of anybody who
ever had the good fortune to watch
him when handling his favorite wea-
pom. He would place several shot
in his mouth at time, for convent
ence. When he was ready to use
one of them, he would roll it with
his tongue until it settled in a sort
of depression on the top of lower
tooth, pressing down against 1t, the
shot was held rigidly in the desired
position.
Inserting the toothpick between
his teeth, with the point back OF the
shot, he would swing the pick around
with his finger, until another part
, of the small wooden stick rested
against tooth which was still FUR
ther back. This formed lever,
ni1k had hnpn
bent back as far as il would go with
out breaking. the marksman would
loosen his bite. The stick would
straighten out the instant the shot
was released. Ii this manner, the
shot would be precipitated into
space. Kelly, by constant practice
became so clever that he could per
! form feats of manksmanship Whlch
really were remarkable.
Strong Motive Power
One feature of Kelly's success as
a ooth-shooter lay in the fact that
he made his own toothpicks. He
would procure a silver of hickory
or other springy wood from which
he would whittle out half a dozen
| or more shooters. They were sllght-
! " larger than the ordinary tooth-
/ pick, and much more powerful, but
! when protruding from a person
mouth. nobody in the world would
| have reason to suspect one of these
( to be a weapon of warfare. one day
when this bali player was busy cary
| ing a batch of these picks, Manager
Fred Clarke exclaimed: Has any
! body here seen Kelly?" George GID
SON promptly replied: Yes, Cap,
4 he's out on the porch making some
! new bats"
Kelly made an ideal shooter. lie
I could look his victim squarely in the
face without cracking smile OF
/ batting an eyelash. He had counte-
nance that seemed as innocent as a
/ slab of newborn custard pie. He
usually carried a toothpick in his
mouth and he was the last person to
be suspected of playing a trick on
! ANYBODY. If someone happened to
glance at Kelly Immediately after
! having received a singing little
smack on the neck, the ball player
would be found gazing steadily in
some other direction, idly lingering
the toothpick which protruded from
between his teeth.
When it came to hitting the bulls
eve, Kelly was there with both feet
He could ping a straw hat at a dis