The sun., 1919-06-08
TURNER TURNS IN
INDIAN UNIFORM
Famous ''Cotton Top" Retires
After Fifteen Seasons With
Cleveland Club.
WAS A PIRATE IN 1901
Little Blonde Star Last Of the
Old Guard to Fade From
Big League Screen.
WAS A PIRATE IN 1901
ny sHORTsToP.

from the big league trail this season.
Or should we say an old familiar shock
OF cotton hued hair? For we refer to
old Terry cotton Top Turner, who for
fifteen years was fixture on the Cleve-
land American League team. No more
famous crop OF hair was worn In the
big leagues than the crop that adorned
Terry as he dug them up in deep short
or raced up the third base line to COB
BILE up slow hit grounders.
Turner really Is the last OF the old
guard to TO. The last few years have
seen the passage OF the entire group OF
stars who shone so brilliantly In the
late sos and the early years OF the
present century-wagner. Latoie. Wal
lace, Leach. Crawford. Plank, Evers,
Bender. and now Turner.
II 10 true that Turner was q consid-
erebly younger man than the other men
referred to. Turner is only 81. Lajo,e
had been playing big league ball seven
years before Terry won a regular berth
with the old Cleveland Maps in 1894.
But In the average fans mind Turner
Is associated with these older fellows,
and fans got to such q stage that last
year they were calling Terry "oid
Grandpop." II seemed as though
Turner had been with the Cleveland
team for a century.
Started Career I'm 1907.
As a matter of fact, Terry orig
inally started his big league career with
the Pittsburg Pirates in 1901. But the
Pirates were champions In those days.
and Turner. then only 10, had little
chance to break into the game. Turner,
Mt the time. was a first baseman, as he
played first base for Greenville in the
Interstate League in 1900
In 1902 the Pirates released the lit
tie fellow to Columbus in the American
Association. He played there two years
and won fame as a third baseman.
Cleveland needed no third baseman, as
Bill Bradley, then in his prime, was
guarding third base for the team. How
ever, place was found for Terry at
short between the famous stars. Brad
ley and LaJoie. and II wasn't long be-
fore Terry's fielding was on a par with
THAT of this illustrious pair.
Turner played shortstop for Cleveland
until 1910 when he was shifted over to
third base. where he continued to play
fine ball In recent years Turner has
not been considered a Cleveland regular,
yet he got In "a games last year and
hit .24s.
Ames the Veteran in Majors.
The real veteran OF the National
League now is Leon Ames, the former
hard luck pitcher OF the Giants, who
came to New York In the fall of 1908
and has been in the National League
ever since. with New York, Cincinnati
and st. Louis clubs
Ames. however, is a younger man
than Dode Paskert Of the Cubs and Gin
Cravath of the Philles. Paskert will
be 3s years next August; Cravath was
81 last March, while Leon Kalamity
will not be 81 until the coming August.
Paskert, however, is not associated
in the popular mind with the old group
o. players mentioned earlier in this mar
rative Most fans may be surprised to
hear that Dode is an older man than
Turner. Paskert, however. did not
come into the National League until
the fall OF 1907. when Cincinnati pur-
chased him from Atlanta.
While Cravath Is an oldtimer, he Is
putting in only his eighth season as a
National Lacquer. reporting to the PHI
iadelphia club In 1912. BY that time
Turner already was we'll past his crest.
Cravath put in parts of the 1908 and
1909 seasons in the American League
with Indifferent success. as he was
passed around from Boston to Chicago
TO Washington, and hit only .1s4 in
1909.
Cobb's Fifteenth YeaY.
Nothing shows better how time fies
than the fact that Ty Cobb. the Georgia
peach. Is putting in his fifteenth season
In the American League and going as
we'll as ever. It is strange how Father
Time ages some players SO much faster
than others. While Cobb came into the
American League only one year after
Turner. no one would think OF kid
ding Cobb about side boards or call him
Grandpop.
Cobb still is looked upon as a young
fellow, and he is The Giants have four
infield regulars older than Cobb. Ty
was only Is when he Joined the Detroit
team in 1905 and is now only 80 years
old. II Cobb cares to stick to his pro-
fesslon he should have no difficulty in
rounding out a score OF years in the
American League.
Hal Chase OF the Giants came into the
big leagues a few months before Cobb
Hal Joined the Yankees in the spring Of
1905. and Cobb Joined the Detroit club
In August Of the same year. Chase. who
looks almost as boyish as when he first
came into the league. has been in har-
ness longer than any regular player now
IN the majors.
Chase IL Tkirty-six.
Chase is now 80. and whether he will
be able to stick five years more in the
big leagues Is question. He IL field
ing as well as ever, but his batting eye
is not sparkling with its former vigor.
Outside OF Cobb the only big league
players who seem to have a chance at
sticking in the majors for twenty years
are Eddie Collins of the White Sox and
Stuffy McInnis OF the Red Sox. both
OF whom were dug up in their teens by
Connie Mack. Collins came to the Ath-
letics in 1905, and is therefore In his
fourteenth year In the American League
Eddie was SO years old last month. BY
sticking to baseball until he arrives at
the present age OF Dode Paskert he will
reach his score OF big league years in
1895 ........
McInnis Is only % years old, but al
ready is in his eleventh year as a ma
1or Lacquer. He was only Is when Mack
plucked him on the Gloucester High
School team in 1909
II is doubtful II Red Ames can aticle
the necessary three years to put him in
the twenty year class. Sherwood Ma
gee or the Cincinnati Reds must 70 four
more years to get into this select COM
pany, which Is the goal of all major