, 1925-01-26
Fifty Years
OF Baseball
BY JOHN b. FOSTER
Special Correspondent OF The
Casper Tribune)

Cusper lIlDunel
Copyright, 1926, by the Consolidated
Press Association
When Fred MeIke forgot 10
uouch second base" in the game
played between New York and Chi
cago on the Polo Ground IN Septem'
Der 1908, the baseball world turned
upside down for the time being. That
game has been more m~ishandled in
subsequent description Of it and in
tho cling Of the story than any
game OF its eventfulness played In
the National league.
The situation was this. Merkle was
on first base. Mccormick was on
third and Bridweu TT hat for New
York. Bridwell batted a line drive
that went TO the left field side OF sec
ond base and from there straight to
the outfield. It could not be fielded
by any man on the field because II
was out OF human reach. Mccormick
scored what was pre-, umed to be the
winning run. Merkle ran more than
half way to second base and then
turned off the field, and Bridwell
ran all the way to first base and
touched 1t.
Hoffman. who "A playing center
field for Chicago. discovered what
Merkle had done and not Evers. as
has been asserted time and again,
Hoffman yelled to Evers to get the
ball and hold II on second base
Meanwhile an emissary had started
for Merkle to drag him back from
the club house to the field and did.
Merkle touched second. Joe McGin-
nifty. suspecting that Hoffman did
not wish the ball for any white
mans purpose. Judging by Joe's
standpoint. got hold Of 1t and threw
il into the left field bleachers where
1t was effectively out OF play for the
remainder OF tho season.
Still whooping for a bail the Chi
cngo players got one from their own
bench and hurried 1t u to Evers
who held the ball on second base and
then o'Day was asked 10 tell The
world what he thought.
While this had been going on the
crowd. which was not overwholm-
lngly large. had bolted from the
stands to the field TO see what was
taking place and TO listen TO the dia-
logue which threatened TO become
more and more interesting. O1Day
paced out to the infleld and then
suddenly wheelad around and hust-
led for tho umpire's dressingrocm at
top speed.
The scorers and tho reporters
wished TO know whether the run
counted. and through an emisBary
got word from O'Day that It did
count. That wal all they wished TO
know for II It counted New York
won. That night o'Day and Presi-
dent Pullman OF the National league
consulted and after their dellbera-
lions wero finished issued a state.
mcnt that anything which had been
previously presumed waa very bad
presumption and that tho run aid
not count.
That threw the game into the
councils Of the board OF directors,
New York claimed It on the ground
that the umpire had said the run
counted but as the president OF the
league was bigger than tho umpire
his overruling decision took prece.
denco.
President Pullman had not said
prior TO this game that he would rule
a force play II tho incident ever
came up again. because this. BY the
way, was a REPETITION OF what had
happened In Pittsburgh where Chi
cago had made n similar claim. and
when both umplros had said they
had not seen anything. Bmsiio did
not see In New York but O'Day did.
New York was not given the game,
nor wRs II taken away. but Il was or
dered to be played over because a
tic and then Il was Lost. because Cy
Seymour forgot TO play q deep out.
field as he had been instructed to
play. Cy had notions OF HE own
about tho manner IN which baseball
should be played and possibly was
thinking OF them at tho time.
Merkie did not forget TO touch sec.
ond because he did not have the
slightest Intention OF touching sec.
ond. When he knew that Bridweil
had touched first and that McCor.
pick had touched home plate he con.
sldered the game over. exactly as
hundreds OF others had considered
tho game over before him. He bolt
ed second base because he couldn't
sec the slightest a $ why he
should have touched the base. ex'
cept for a technlcality. Good sport
would have given the Giants the
game. II they had won II they might
have won the pennant but that lie
only surmlse, because II they had
won they might not have had as
much success after that as they did.
They fought like blases for the re-