The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-06-04

of s2,100, or S105o each. saw Breiten- stein pitch better ball than Jim Vaughn is pitching now, for Sl.0JO a year. Brett had everything that Vaughn has ana in addition could hit bit and field like fiend. Also he pitched every other day and. betimes, played the outfield. He finished up for other pitchers, went in in pinches, etc. He got S1,500 in 1S94 and, l believe, was getting S2co0 when he was traded to Cincinnti about 1895. Eight years of first-class pitching and getting 5000 year! Always with tailend. hopeless team. Breitenstein had lost his fast ball and was declining when he joined the strong Reds yet he put a no-ht game to his credit and did very good work for Buck. Ewing. But he had shot away his youth and his speed for Von der Ahe for less than what is now considered living wage.
 I never saw Breitenstein really hard hit. He would lose hard games because him walloped and driven to cover, as I have seen even Waddell hammered and driven to cover. Even against the Orioles, which McGraw says were the best team he ever saw, Breitenstein pitched tremendous ball He had noth- ing whatever behind him in the eight seasons he spent in St. Louis. They SN1fl lOoh cllEs HIS pet CdltueT away from him about 1sS6 He did not have good catcher thereafter until he re- joined Peitz in Cincinnati
 I have very acute recollection of a tremendous duel between Breitenstein and Ed Delahanty, the greatest hitte, that ever stood to a plate. somewhere about 1897. It was a stiff game of ball. the Phillies had a complete nine of hit. ters who batted from 300 to .42o Del, Sap hOp Cross, Joe Sullivan, Billy Hallman and Jim Clements When Pack | Taylor pitched every man on the nine was bet ter than 300 hitter. In 1894 there were five Phillies in the first six hit ters.
 It was a bitter game. About the eighth inning Philadelphia had great chance, it's last to win. Del was up with men on The greatest batter of all time against the greatest left-hander, if not the greatest y-hander-Rusie was in his prime then-in the league.
 Fouls were not strikes then. Del and Brett battled for 15 minutes. The fast one was hopping" for Brett and Del was lucky to get piece of it as it jumped by. Brett pitched and pitched and Del, hitting in that incomparable style of his-he had a fence for every ball-fouled and fouled and fouled. He did not mean to foul, but the fast one was hopping and he hit under it, lucky to get a piece of it.
 Finally Del won. He got weary swing ing and just pushed his bat, shoulder high into the ball. It was a pretty hit just over second base and it won the game.
 It was the greatest pitching and bat ting duel I have ever seen I have seen Modecai Brown buckle in during worlds championships 10 pitch to a good batter in a pinch but I never saw Brown pitch to any man as Breitenstein pitched to Deehanty that day. The men on bases were worn out starting and going back on fouls.
 Now, this great pitcher. good man and great umpire is dropped because he could not handle Norman Elberfeld! Fudge. No umpire ever did. ever will handle the Kid in any satisfactory way save to put him out of the game when he became intolerable. That is the only way to handle Elbere1d. Endure him so long, then to the shower.
 I admire the Kid greatly. He was not a great ball player in a physical sense, his hands were always bad and his legs shaky, but he was clever inside his head and he was game as they can be made game. He belongs to one element of the old game that made it dear to those who love a fight. Breitenstein belongs in the other crowd that preserved it among the possibles The game of today approves of the latter, admires but can