The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1922-07-20
fsY HudH RUTHERFORD

Jack Pickett died the other day in
Chicago. Few Of the present generation
will remember Jack, who for moro than
nifty years has been in baseball. In his
day he was one Of the greatest OF third
basemen. a great hitter, and fsure
known TO the fans almost as well as
Ruth or Hornsby now Is. He played In
field for Chicago, for Baltimore, Brook
lyn, Philadelphia, Brotherhood and Troy
later with other clubs went to Minneo-
polls, and for q time was manager IN
minor leagues.
But his great work for baseball was
after he ceased playing. He always was
crank about his bats, and that In
day when players. or the majority OF
them, grabbed any bat that came han
diest. He made his own bats, and he de-
signed bats for the others. remember
when he was with Minneapolis one
spring. He took bats shaped them, got
the right balance. and fitted every player
with the sort Of a bat he believed they
could handle best He made good hit
tiers out Of fellows who never had been
able to hit much. He more than doubled
tho batting averages Of the pitching
STAFF merely by filing the bat TO the
player.
He retired from baseball after man
aging team over In Wisconsin al
Green Bay, and went to Spalding's bat
factory. where he was employed until
his death. During that time he de-
signed more bats than any one In the
world. He made special models for al!
PLAYERS. and prescribed the kind of bats
they ought to use He was the doctor
TO whom the players ran when they Tell
into the doldrums OF hitting. and lie put
an end 10 more batting slumps than any
one ever did.
Ball Players Queer Birds
Ball players are queer birds, Jack
remarked once. when they are hitting
,hey think they know all about bats
hut the minute they slump they plane
the bats. Hitting slumps are due 70
two things: First. players start SWING
ing wrong without realizing II. very
few of them every study stance and
swing the way golfers do. and they
change the swing or the step without
knowing Il. After a slump lasts Few
days the player commences TO worry
.nd fret. After that his lack or base
hitting IL due to imagination more than
to ANYTHING else. Then / prescribe
change OF bats, Mt them with one that
feels good in the hands, and they start
"EittinS IL chiefly confidence any
! how. when a fellow gets to thinking
he can hit he can hit. remember IN
! ing Ed pelehanty once. Del WASH
bIt particular about bats. He could
swinq any one he grabbed and hit with
! n. But he slumped. He said MS WOOL
milo was worthless. I grabbed one OF
nis hats that I thought he handled best
| and took Il with me. I sandpapered H.
mnde II look like new. ans Drought II
/ b,clt and the next day Del started MT
| ting them against the fences. He swore
Il was tho greatest bat he ever mad
which goes to show that confidence
! Is the big part. ,
THE heaviest bat I ever built Tor
! Arson. II was made with nicKors
/ core. but over that was double lay
or Of split bamboo No one else IN INC
! league could swing IT. but Arson his
Yearly 500 with that bat while he useo
Il. Some Of the old timers were cranks
n hout their bats. Pete Browning was
the worst. He used TO scrape and oil
his bats every night and hang them
out tho window OF his room to season.
The great old Louisville Slusger bat
was designed from one Of Pete's CLUBS
A wild Bicycle Kids
lack and I once took a famous h'cy-
| ria ride. With us were Pete Cassidy
and ArtIe Ball. We rode from Hot
Springs, Ark. over the mountains past
! Potash Sulphur. Coming bact that
night We were racing. About SIX mies
! out Of Hot Springs the road ~ihas
down a mountain at a stiff grade. and
VIC were going at top speed down that
| WREN CassIdy's wheel got beyond con-
troll. He hit a tree and went down
fortv feet over a bank. Then Jacks
wheel got loose. His feet were OF the
pedals. and the runaway bicycle went