The Washington times., 1921-09-24

4
they were in the game. After the,
one morning to discover that they B
One OF them once wrote a jocular-
note to a club owner In which he in.
formed the magnate that he believed
he had a direct claim against him for
damages. while l was playing on
your team" he said, my weight was
about l75 or 1870 pounds. ] never had
much trouble to keep within the limit.
and you will recall that could run TO
| f1rst base in as good time as any OF
| them.
Now that I am out of baseball /
find that have jumped up the scale
| so far that none OF my clothes TT. As
| TO the unusual and constant exercise
there can be no doubt that this Is due
which / took while working in your
behalf, think that you should reim-
burse me for the extra clothing which
/ have had to buy since leaving your
club"
To which the owner Of the club re.
piled equally as facetiously: "If you
can convince me that you have re-
stricted yourself to two meals a day
and never have had more than one
helping of meat and one of ham and
eggs daily since leaving the team, I'll
consider the question Of making good
TO a fat man."
Possibly the most active, agile and
/ invariably alert ball player who was
unmistakably fat was Cupid" Childs,
once the second baseman for Cleve-
land. 1t wasn't a matter of being
chunky with plenty Of flesh tissue, so
far as he was concerned. He was
| plainly and unmistakably fat, and he
mourned It daily in the hot summer
days. He could perspire freely enough
TO drench the neighbors when he
shook himself and might lose three or
four pounds on the ball field. but he
would get UP the next morning and go
! to the nearest scales only to find that
| he had II all back again.
Was Christened Cupid"
( Childs was short. and no nickname
! lor a ball player was more appropriate
than the Cupid" which was bestowed
upon him. He was the essence Of good
ilumor. Life was a merry verse and
he sang and joked and told funny
stories all Of his baseball days, and ate.
He would not diet, and probably 1t
would not have done the slightest good
IL he had. Yet he was not q glutton.
He liked ice cream. Had they been
able to make as many fancy ice cream
dishes in his time as they do now he
would have perished perhaps an ice
cream addict.
Childs could run the bases ss
fast as two-thirds OF the ball play.
ers and faster than the other third.
When he iegged II to first two short.
fat legs churned up and down more
rapidly than many a pair Of long
slim legs. He could beat most ball
players going to first base, in spite
/ Of his size, and that was why he
once tied Dan Brouthers for the
' batting championship Of the Ma
tional League. He could run faster
than Dan. There was quite q rivalry
between them the year they were
both going well.
You can hit them over the fance,
you big spindle shanks." said Childs
one afternoon to Brouthers, but
can beat them out down to first
base. and that's where I'll beat You
out" He didn't. They were even
| Steven when the season finished, but
both were at the top Of the league.
! Childs was in perfect physical con-
dition despite his weight. lie had
skin like ivory and neither tanned
nor burned. His first name was
Clarence, which he aborliuated, and
they called him "Paca" in Baltimore.
son was on and the baseball sea.
son off.
Another Fat Man.
! Cleveland had a fat catcher once.
His name was Briody. There have
been stout catchers, but Briody was
a fat catcher. His hands We're so
fat that the hall slipped into them
without making any noise. II was
just as IL the ball hit felt slippers
like the noiseless runabouts which
father wears when he is home.
Briody, like Childs. was quick and
active on his feet. He could not run
fast as far as Childs could run fast.
He was good for about seventy feet
least a little cessation Of the move
ments Of the piston rods that upheld
Briody's bulk.
He could throw. however, and
whatever he may have lose because
of his bulk he made up With a very
good arm. II a runner strayed an
eyelash from second Briody would
spear him off the base. and he was
one Of the few catchers upon whom
1t was dangerous to leave third.
| Cleveland also had fat catcher by
the name Of West in years gone by.
That catcher really was q marvel. lie
had legs as thick through as one Of
Babe Ruth's home runs and he could
60 to first base with his 200 and
goodness knows how many more
pounds avoirdupois. as fast as Pen
Young can go. He couldn't start as
quickly as Pep can start, but he
had the speed when he got under
way.
Foul flies which were hit high
in the air and had to be picked off
the grandstand, were meat for West.
He got fatter on them than when he
first began to play baseball. Like
Briody. he was q good thrower.
One afternoon in a practice game
Cub Stricken, of Cleveland. who was
as small as West was huge-Cub
was timer than any ball player play.
ing now, and could give cards and
spades to most of the so-calied second
basemen today-stole home, or tried
to do SO.
West got the ball, and as Stricken