The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-11-07
By FRANK G. MENKE

In0y We prayed some InFlllllB games
through all the baseball years-but
none has ever eclipsed in the spec
tacular, the weird, the tenseness AMI
the scalp lifting of that final one in
the World Series of 1912.
That single combat had packed IN
to it more that was tragedy, more that
was astonishing and more of breaks"
and uncertainty than any that's been
played since the sport began.
1t happened in Boston-and the IT,
900 who saw it had the vision indel-
IDLY imprinted upon their brains.
They played best out of series
in those days but one of. the combats
had been called on account of dark
ness. With the combats three each
the gladiatorS squared off for the final
and deciding tussle with Mathewson
on the mound for the Giants and Hugh
Bedient, then fledgling, pitching for
the Red Sox.
Scores First Run
New York scored the first run of
the game in the third. Josh -Devore
walked, went to second on Doyle's in
field out, galfoped to third on Snod-
grass in field out and scored on Muir
rays double.
Boston tied it up in the seventh
Stah1 singled to center. Heinie Wag-
ner walked. Olaf Henriksen batted
for Bedient and doubled, scoring
Stahl
The score remained IL as the
Smokey Joe" Wood pinchpitching for
Bedient
Then things began to happen.
Murray doubled. Merkle picked out
a fast one, shot it for a single-and
Murray scored what looked like the
run that would decide the game, the
series and the baseball championship
of the world.
But
Fate ruled otherwise.
Pinch Hitter Produced.
Wood was the first up for the Sox
in their section of the tenth. But as
he started for the plate Manager luke
Stahl called him back and Clyde En-
gle romped forward as a pinch hitter.
Engle connected with one of Matty's
slow ones and the ball scared away
to the outfield Straight and as true
as a die it sailed to Fred Snodgrass.
The Giant outfielder never had to
move a step for it. He simply reached
out his hands, the ball dropped into
them-and out it dropped again.
So it was that Snodgrass made the
most famous-or perhaps most infa-
mous-muff in all baseball history.
Engle was on second base before
Snodgrass, astonished almost to a
point of paralysis, could pick up the
ball that lay at his feet,
Hooper, next man up, flied to Snod-
grass, but Steve Yerkes, the Red Sox
second baseman, worked Matty for a
pass.
Two on-one out-one run needed to
tie and two to win worlds champion
ship
Then came Iris Speaker!
Break Decides Combat.
And. likewise, came the play-or the
(which really decided the
combat: an error of omission by three
Giants which was infinitely more re-
sponsible for the teams defeat than
was the Snodgrass muff.
Speaker lifted a high foul which
scared into air at point about 10 feet
short of first base and about five feet
out of fair territory.
It was Fred Merkle's ball. He start
ed to set himself for the catch when
Chief Meyers, the Giant backstop,
\ Numbered along toward him, making
motions like man about to catch a
/ high foul And, from the box, raced
] Mathewson.
/ Merkle, thinking Meyers was set to
make the catch, moved back. Myers,
/ having noticed as he was tearing
along that Merkle was set to catch the
ball. stepped back. Matty, thinking
one or the other surely would make the
catch, stepped back.
All Miss Catch
HAnd so the ball, fell to the ground
Within the little circle which Merkle,
Meyers and Matty formed.
Given a new lease on life, Speaker
singled. scoring Engle with the tying
run and sending Yerkes to third. Then
Larry Gardner drove out terrific sac
rifice fly to Josh Devore-and Yerkes
scored with the run that gave Boston
/ another worlds championship.
They can say, if they want, through
all the years to come. that the muff oil
i Snodgrass' made Red Sox triumph
/ PILES! PILES! PILES!