The Connecticut labor news., 1921-09-02
RUTH'S HARDLUCK AT
 LOSING HOMER NOT IN IT WITH OLD TIMERS

Babe Ruth may imagine he is play ing in hard luck when he thinks about that home run he made up at the Polo grounds a few weeks ago only to have 1t disallowed because some misguided bug reached for the ball and knocked it back on the field, but the circum- stance wasn't marker compared to what Monte Cross once suffered i'll the old park in St. Louis when Chris von der Ahe owned the team, says an old fan.
 Chris had made a regular Coney Is- land out of his ball lot Out in left field was shoot the chutes and pond stretched across center and into right field big enough to hold a regatta on. Running around the outheld. with a judges stand just behind home plate, was a race track. uarter mile run-around where a string of goats used to lope at night by electric light.
 Monte had come down town one morn ing from his home out near the ball grounds to buy pair of shoes for him. self. As he walked along Broadway he ran into Bill Counihan, then connected with Havlin's theatre and now running his own houses over in Plainheld and Perth Amboy. Monte explained to Bill why he was down town so early.
 "You've been in pretty punk batting slump lately, Monte,' said Bill. "Ill tell you what I'll do. Make a home run this afternoon off that Baltimore bunch that's coming to town and I'll buy you the incest pair of shoes in St. Louis"
 "You're on said Monte.
 Big Charley Esper went on the hill for the Orioles when the game began He had Chris team handcuffed. He was fn 10O-hit fOTTl9nC until along about the seventh inning, wher Chris more or less disheartened athletes began to touch him up.
 Morgon Murphy peeled off nice bin gle, and little Bill Sudhof duplicated it Tommy Dowd followed with a solid smash, and so did Tuck Turner. UT came Monte, thinking not SO much about winning the game as that pair of shoes at the expense of Bill Counihan. He pasted the first ball Esper served, and away it shot on line to far right, about three feet over the head of the Baltimore second baseman, Keelcr, running like . greyhound. was right after 1t, though it was plain he had no chance in the world to get it. That ball was winging it at least out to Tower Grove park.
 Suddenly it seemed to drop, but still Keeler was too far in ever to make { catch. Unto the horse pond! shouted the grandstand "Good-bye, ball p
 On and on sped the pill, with the pant ing Keeler in pursuit Monte Cross wa putting on everything he had and wa fairly burning the base paths as h' rounded second Then what did tha crazy ball do but de scribe curve plain ly visible from the grandstandS and hea' straight for a post supporting the rail around Chris race track.
 It hit the post about six inches iron the top with crash that almost splln tered it. Up 1t caromed into the air Z feet or more, with Bill Keeler bound ing like a habbit right after it. Witt such mighty impact was the ball hit tha it went not only up in the air but bouncet back into Keeler's waiting mitt, at leas three yards away from the troublesom post
 Quick as a flash Keeler turned an fired the ball to McGraw at third base and it was there waiting for Mont when he arrived. Tim Hurst, who wa un1piring, was at first inclined to sen Monte back to second in safety, but h allowed the out.
 It was a noble effort on Monte's par and surely he was the sorest player i the whole 12-club league that afternoon and why shouldn't he have been-to b chiselled out of homer just because demented piece of horse hide should sa into a bit of timber not four inches wide wallop man couldn't have repeated i a thousand years. But the unfeeling M Counihan added insult to injury H went over to cheap-john store in Mar ket street and purchased one of the sick est looking pairs of shoes the dealer ha on his shelves He sent one of them Monte, with a note saying he'd send tE mate as soon as Monte hit the DO: again.