Baraboo weekly news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1912-197?, 1925-07-02


porded in q remarkable degree to
a bat.
The champion fast base runner
was lie Grand Lippitt. ] believe
he was the quickest and most sup
pie man l have ever seen, in fact
cat was not in the same class with
him, and where he won out in rum
ming the bases was his ability to
turn the corners. There were
many who came for miles around to
contest this feat with him, but so,
far as / know he always won out.
If | remember right Mr.. Lippitt's
best time in running the four bases
was thirteen and a fraction sec
onds.
Mr.. Lippitt's playing was always
fast and highly spectacular, and
was what has been generally known
as Grand stand plays. He was
very expert at stealing a base, and
was always ready to take chance.
Nothing seemed to suit him better
than to be caught between bases,
and his remarkable agility usually
helped him to win out of the pinch
If he happened to lose, he was a
good loser, and laughed with the
others. He always played the left
or long field, and at that time it
was the most conspicuous and re-
sponsible position of the nine. He
! was the first man to attempt to
catch those long high drives on the
fly, it being generally considered a
safer play to wait and get them on
the bound. For this feat he was
always loudly applauded.
The long distance thrOwer was
o. D. (Ottie) Brandenburg, now of
Madison, and he surely could throw
a ball remarkable distance. The
visiting teams from the neighboring
towns usually brought along what
they considered their best thrower,
and at the conclusion of the game
there would be throwing contest;
but none of them, SO far as | ever
knew, made good.
| don't remember just what
Mr.. Brandenburg's record throw
was, but it was not far from, four
hundred feet. If Oscars modesty
will allow him, feel almost sure
that he can tell us exactly in feet
and inches, just what his best throw
was, and when and where.
At this time the longest throw on
| record was 1873 yards, feet and
some odd inches, which was made
by a professional player by the
name of Hatfield. This was. a
trifle over 400 feet, so it is worthy
of note that Mr.. Brandenburg only
lacked very few feet of equailing
the best record.
These three men all left a rec
ord, and if any of the present gen
GRAFTON of ball players fIink shat
they can outclass them, the field is
open to them all. Even Happy
Felseh will not be barred. The
bases are, | think, still ninety feet
apart; the new courthouse is where
the old one stood, and no doubt Mr.
Brandenburg can furnish the figur
es for the long distance throw.
Another Baraboo man who won
considerable local fame as a bats
man was Reuben Baldwin, and this
article, | consider, would be quite
incomplete without some mention
of him.
He was not one of the original
bunch of players, but had drifted
into the game little later on, along
in the early seventies, and many
of the older local fans will be able
to recall the many times he turned
the tide of battle and apparent de-
feat into victory by a vigorous and
effective use of the "stick' at just
the right moment.
Baldwin was what is generally
termed a "lOng geared, rangey fel-
low" and this enabled him to swirg
bat with unusual force, and in
cidentally his lanky appearance
won for him the sobriquet Of Hun
cry Reube''. Under ordinary con-
ditions, Reube did not seem to
care much whether he hit the ball
or did not, in fact he appeared en-
tirely Indifferent and even sleepy;
but when a critical situation hap
pened to develop, like with two out,
the bases full, and Reube's turn to
bat, his whole attitude changed, and
he suddenly was very much awake
to the occasion, seemingly having
reserved his energies for just such
an emergency There were always
a few preliminarfes to attend to be-
fore he was ready to do any slug
ging," and Reube carefully looked
over the collection of bats before
he made a selection. The next
move was a generous application of