The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-08-30
NICK ALTROCK MAKES BIG HIT
 WITH FANS AT POLO GROUNDS
Comedian One of the Most Interesting Characters
 on the Diamond.

AoL ms l'HllIi lH as young as III lIN days when he first pulled on a spiked shoo and went forth Co make his bid for the reetinE fame of tho baseball diamond
 T1o does moro than that. He makes the players laugh, and he makes tho uTnpires laugh despite their stern vIs- agvd attempt at dignity, And more than making the rootcrs laugh, he is proving day io and day out that he can smile and smile when cveryJhfnr goes dead wrong. Nick AltroClz stands today as ono of the greatest drawing cards tho national game knows. For whom tired men won't cheer they will laugh.
 Nick stood forth yesterday on tho Polo Grounds. the one bright spot iu a day of SsDa torial darkness and de- feat. The Yankees defeated the visi- itors two games. but Nick seemed to be impvrviuus Co tho lash of diEaD- pointmcut. protected from tho p1nrs of defeat Every duty that ordinarily falls Co the lot of player, umpire, announcer and ErOuudkeepcr Nick arrorated Co himself Ho was tao crew and tho captain, too, and inc first class yruwau of tho lawmakers and he was Ca knockout.
 Tommy Connolly stood with roluc-- ant feet upon tnN vorgo of enforcing his imperial powers upon Nick t0 inc first game. Tho time came when Com molly. finding himself without a sup ply Of balls. opened the little box near the homo plate and stopped over to got himself a ball. Nick prauced over and kuceuug before the umpirer with can in hand, handed the uGv pir1 sev- eral.
 But Nick had a dark purpose in his
 f=,.1aFH Ia was obsoqulous. But when Tommy extended an expectant hand Nick allowed the ball to drop from hls clutch. so that Connolly by involuu- tary action sought to pick it up. This was repeated several times until at last Nick handed the ball to the umpire, and then, leaping to his feet. landed a rcsOuudiug open handed elap on ConuoT1y's iufnted chest pro tector. Tho crowd howled in Elee and Tommy flushed red as a turkey cock before he saw the humorous eide of tho situation.
 A First Class Announcer.
 When it was necessary 10 announce something Co the crowd, or when it wasn't, Nick always kept the spec tators informed. His native easy wifi stgurI e responsive chord Tn the
 
 was chearrd. He gave decisions with the umpircs in l way that was mirth producing. His stentOrian shouts ''FoooowwwyviU Baaawwwiu!" or his shouts. 'sTIe's outl" or whatever the umpires did, were side spiitting. He mimlclled the officials too. One in- Cfdent amused the crowd greatly Connolly had occasion to mop his brow with his handkerchief. but he immediately pressed his glove into service.
 AItrocl1 put on his customary wres- ting match between games and threw himself with a head lock after tuubliug around over the green for fifteen minutes. His boxing match found favor. But he has a new stunt He Initiates the pitching spec ialties of the leading hurlcrs around the circuit. He showed Eddie Ci- cotte's sail ball, Dutch Leonard's slow bail. CovolcsSie's curve and topped off the performance with Walter Johnson's floater. Nick put every thing he had into one that sw7clled into the catchcr's init like a thunder bolt He was hailed for that.
 Some of the fans expressed their appreciation by cheering, others by clappins their hands and some in more EiHhlt manner -fANl''g .I7 NA's sod 10 Nick in some EOudly amounts Dollar bills flew as thick as smaller coins. and Nick picked him them up. frural soul
 The fans know Nick now as the comedian of baseball. He is not a clown and should not be called one. His humor Is clean and spontaneous and his retorts Co tho salli0s of the crowd are the sort that one would expect from a gentleman. There is nothing coarse about him.
 But. however well known he Is to- day. he wag just as famous in the season of 1906. Then he took his turn Iu the middle of the diamond with a fast ball that buzzod by and a curve that made them throw away their bats Nick was n smart, brainy pitcher. TIo had to be. for a White Sox batting rally in those days con sisted of a base on balls and an in- field out. The leading hitter of the old Sox for while was Frank Isbell with a mark of .2T9. Teams today make ten hits in a game, The Sox made ten in a week and cheered.
 It was in 1906 too that the White Sox met and defeated the famous Cubs of the days of "F5vers to Tinker to Chance" glory. Nick could pitch in those days, and indeed he has not entirely forgotten the art today When baseball was rocked to it's foundation by the work or fight order last year Nick turned too and pitched with a will lie did some good work, and in ono contest on the Polo Grounds lost by one run. He has his serious side, that seemingly light hearted boy grown to mans estate hut he leaves it in his locker when play time begins.
 It has boen suggested frequently that Nick be piaced upon the pay roll of all the clubs in the American League, each paying pro rata share of his salary. he proposition is look ed upon with favor too, fer Nick Is popuiar all over the circuit. A Wash dngton newspaperInan said this morning that all through the West arm trip of the Senators the fans called for AltrocS, forgetting the great Johnson.
 Ghiftv