The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-02-02

was in the National League. The drop curve completely baffled the heavy hitters that Anson had on the pennant winning Chicago team in the early sos. But the muscular snap required in the delivery of the drop curve, which was the only suc- cessful ball Derby could pitch, ruin ed his arm in one season, and he nev- CT again did anything noteworthy.
 Another Detroit pitcher who achieved fame was Charles H. Get zien, whose delivery was preferred to as the "pretze1 curve" although it was nothing more than speedy and sharp drop.
 Larry Corcoran, one of Anson's mainstays in the box, was perhaps the first ambidextrous hurler in the history of the game. Corcoran was a stocky little Irishman, with good control, sharp curves and an excel lent head. If the batsmen made free
 with his right hand delivery, Larry would shift and send the ball with his left. Corcoran's father never took
 any interest in baseball and knew
 little of the game but one day was
 induced to attend when his boy was pitcher. The Colts fielded ragged
 ly and runs piled up. A disgusted
 fan who sat near Corcoran here re-
 marked:
 "Corcoran never was properly SUD-
 ported.''
 You're a liar," said Larrys fath-
 CT; "that bye has bin supported by
 me iver since the day he was born"
 Of all the old time pitchers few
 gained the reputation achieved by
 Grasshopper Jim Whitney, who shone
 on the Boston team from 1880 for
 several year. More than six feet tall
 and with arms like an orang- -outang,
 he lowered over the batsnen at the
 50-foot pitching distance, and his ter rife speed, which was his only asset,
 made him feared and dreaded. In l those days the pitchers box was six |. feet in length and the pitcher could i stand at the rear line of the parallelo-
 gram and as he. started to pitch the
 ball, begin hop, step and jump to
 the front of the box, When Whitney
 gathered himself to hurl the ball and
 leaped into the air with a menacing air he was a fearsome object. The batters called him GrasshoppeI Jim because of his tactics, but he was generally feared and was effec. l tive for many years. The antithesis of Whitney was roly
 poly Jimmy Calvin, who started witt the Buffalo Club in 1879. Galvir
 never made a jump in his life. He stood fat. smiling and cool and toss ) ed soap bubbles to the batters. Hit ters accustomed to speed could no } touch Galvin's delivery and he wa: 5 very effective for many years. White SpectacIed Pitcher Lee Meadows of the St. Louis Car
 dinals has occasioned much aston ishment by wearing spectacles on tht 7 mound. Away back in 1878 Will White, wore glasses in the box wher he was with Cincinnati. It is not o1 l record that Will was ever hurt Whit was not much of a pitcher, depend
 ing on change of pace.
 l Amos Rusie was doubtless th, : greatest pitcher discovered in tn, @ early nineties. His signing with tn, l Giants in 1890 saved the Nationa n League team in Gotham city durin! l the Brotherhood war. Rusie was l giants very powerful and with al = iron arm. He used a wide curve fo e the most part and sent in the bal n with greater speed than any pitche e ever attained with that sort of deliv
 cry.
 n Under the coaching of Buck Ew l ing, the. greatest catcher New Yorl O ever had, Rusie developed into 8 world beater. But he neglected hi t physical welfare, with the result tha e he cut short what should have bee = a most brilliant baseball career. e Coming down to modern times on : finds some famous deliveries, but the }. are qualifications of deliveries of tn $ past under other names, Take Math e ewson's 'fadeaway," perhaps tn , most discussed delivery in baseball It Despite reports to the contrary ther : was nothing mysterious about tn $ fadeaway; it was a fast ball with d downward break, made unbeatabl l. by Matty's remarkable control, hi c of pace and his close study of riva e batters. The fadeaway also befud
 dled superstitious batsmen (and ther t are no more superstitious creature 7, than ball players) by it's suppose : mystery. Cicotte's shine ball worke n the same way last season. Caldwell $ in his prime in 1914, used a deliver