Evening star., 1925-01-12

A FTER the trips to Scranton an
~ ball fields appeared cheap ar
4 - the labor of our hands. Fac
to put the diamonds in shape. A 81
home plate The bases were made
A few handmade benches served as
We did just what boys all over
like them, we proba bly, got more on
work hard in order to play than
niade-to-order ball field. We apr
sweat for it.
Once the field was ready In the
Spring, it wasn't idle from the time
we quit work until dark, II the
weather was good. We played until
it was almost impossible to see a
batted or thrown ball / marvel now
that some of US were not seriously
hurt by being hit. l can't recall of
one of US ever being knocked out.
Sunday Games Big Events.
The Sunday games were red letter
events in the mine district, They
served the useful purpose of giving
men who worked hard all week a bit
of recreation in the sunshine. Miners
don't get much of it After a week
in the bowels of the earth they en-
joyed a chance to watch ball game.
1t was almost their only chance for
outdoor entertainment.
Consequently. the weather reports
We're closely studied every Saturday
ton, wherever the men gathered the
day before a game, dealt with the
prospects for sunshine or rain on the
morrow. The sky would be scanned
many times. the direction OF the wind
noted and the old-timers questioned d
on the possibilities of base ball
weather. 1t was counted a disaster
when the games had to be called off.
They were bitterly fought contests,
All of them. Partisan spirit ran high.
There was intense rivalry among
Hamtown, Browntown, Sebastapool
Avoca, Duryea and Exeter, the towns
in the league. What the teams lacked
IN skill they made UP for in spirit. This
was hard base ball school. Thanks
to Tony Walsh's advice, learned you
couldn't say quit and get anywhere.
Applause With n Banana.
An incident IN Browntown on a
Labor day will illustrate how intense
was the feeling among players and
spectators. We had the home club a
run down when they staged a batting
rally. I accepted an easy chance and
started double play that retired the
side without a score. Some one in
the crowd hit me with a banana. 1t
struck me on the ear and made me
fighting mad. L wanted to pitch into
the whole bunch. Luckily for me, the
Hamtown players, grabbed me. Other
wise, I'd probably have been a hos
pital case
Browntown tied the score later
We went into the ninth inning with
the game deadlocked. I led off with a
walk, was sacrificed to second, and
took third on an infield out. We had
a weak hitter up. The Browntown
pitcher had him in hole. ! had read
of Ty Cobb pulling the unexpected
and decided to try some inside stuff
myself, disregarding the rules.
/ picked up the feed bag, which
served as third base and tore for
home while the pitcher was winding
up. He hurried his throw to the
catcher. figured the ball would beat
me to the plate. was prepared for
such an emergency. AS Natsie Lotus,
the catcher, made ready to tag me,
] struck him in the face with the
homemade third base.
Then the Riot Started.
He dropped the ball and I was safe.
Then the riot started. Natsie got to
his feet, splitting sand and shaking
It out of his hair, eyes and ears. All
this didn't prevent him diving for
me. We rolled over and over on the
ground. The other players and some
of the spectators were mixing II up,
too. Cooler heads in the crowd finally
separated the belligerents. I came
out of the affray with a cut lip,
bleeding nose and a black eye.
A few weeks later l received my
first serious injury in base ball. We
couldn't afford sliding pads in the
mine district. Because of this my
base ball career was nearly ended
before it really began L scraped
big piece of skin off my hip in slid
ing over a rough stone home plate
and used the accepted treatment of
our locality. This consisted of COW
ering the wound with tissue paper
so as to help form a scab.-
The injury festered badly. Mother
called a doctor. He ordered me to bed
Immediately. 1 stayed there three
weeks. Blood poisoning threatened
and l just escaped a case of lockjaw.
Before playing again l made sliding
pads, using a couple of bath towels
and string. They were crude, but
effective.
How to Conquer Fear.
When my hip was fully healed and
l got back in the game l was a bit
timid in sliding After 1 had been
thrown out several times because OF
this Tony Walsh took me in hand.
STANLEY. forget that hip" he or
dered. IF you lose. your nerve be-
cause of that injury kiss yourself
goodbye as ball player. You'll get
worse knocks if you ever make the
big time"
He stood over me and made me
slide repeatedly. The first few times
I had to call on all my will power to
throw myself at a bag without hesi
fancy. After that 1t was easy. L
learned then that self fear is one of
the hardest enemies a man has to
conquer, but that, like most other
troubles. it is largely imaginary.
Firmly met, it soon vanishes.
Copyright, 1921
Good Lessons