New Britain herald., 1927-06-18

fly the umpire whether he wanted high or low ball, and If the pitch CT failed to deliver what was called
 for. the pitch was declared a "balP' whether 1t cut the heart of the plate
 or not.
 The storytelling circle travelled
 from the first New Britain baseball
 park to Traut's park. From there il
 went to Eantschler's park and on through the old New England and Connecticut Leagues.
 Another great game that Cashin
 pitched in those days was one against the team explained by Claude Gilbert. later of the Lyceum theater fame. Cashin won this con- test 3 to 0 with Mart Welch behind the bat. The only man to reach sec
 ond was Gilbert himself and he got there because of his speed on the cinder paths. He was 10 second man and fast runner.
 Mart welch caught the entire game that day without an error and then in the afternoon, he went into
 the races and won the handicap hands down.
 cashin kept on pitching and he did so we'll that he was singed\ by Bridgeport in the Connecticut League in the days when Danbury had team in the circuit. He later went with the Philadelphia Nation- als, but his lack of sense and his cute trick of crossing up his catch CTS soon brought his downfall. One day when playing in Danbury. Cashin was pulling all sorts of stunts. He would turn around to catch a man off second and would throw a curve ball to the folder. He became so exasperating that Frank Cox. who was managing the team in {; days, remonstrated with him but Cs.hin's answer was to ask him who was pitching the game, Cox or himself.
 The old New Britain baseball lot used to be in the space which Is now occupied by the New Britain Ice Corp. plant in the rear of the old Humphrey House which is now the Stanley Hotel. Here was where Tom Burns first made his reputa- tion.
 There used to be lively brook flowing down where the Railroad Arcade now stands and it circled under the hotel and around the baseball lot. There was high back stop there and Burns. who was catcher. often jumped right into the brook after foul flies.
 Tom first joined the Auburn. N. r., team before becoming member of the Phillies. It was there he first changed positions from catcher to shortstop and finally to third base where he became famous.
 While the group was talking a bit of history that is unknown to almost all of those who follow baseball i'll this city was revealed. Bill klem. National League umpire, rated as the best in the world and the first choice each year as arbiter in the world series, was a native Of Berlin and lived there many years.
 An amusing incident is told of how he came to be, an umpire. Tom Burns was we'll known in places in New York state as a baseball player and one time a team there needed a player badly and they asked Burns to get them a man. Klem, 1on good umpire, but Burns got him to answer the call for q joke. klem did, but when he arrived in the New York city. 1t was found that he wasn't so "hot" as q player. An umpire was needed and after much Klem agreed to take the job. He did and he worked the game SO we'll that they wanted him to stay around and work the gam' :.
 Klem. however, decided to re- turn home. He then began to um- pire games about New Britain and in this section. His work attracted the notice of men who were inter- ested in the New England League and they prevailed upon him to ac- cept position as arbiter in the cir cult. He did so and lasted two sea sons when he jumped straight into the National League and has been there ever since.
 Klem in those days had a nick name Wild Bill' which. when call ed to him. would quickly get under his skin. In the league games, some of the players were put wise to the fact that he didn't like the name and they started to call 1t to him. The result was that there were a large number of players put out of every game and the managers put tho ban on calling Klem Wild Rjll."
 A few years ago, a party of New Britain men were in Florida and they stopped next to a house in which Klem was living. Eddie Nc Enroe discovered that he was there and he went out one afternoon and at the top of his lungs. Hello. Wild Bill Klem." Klem shouted down stairs. By Gosh, here's somebody down there from New Britain" and he came out to greet a party of his old friends.
 Another big leaguer who made his home in New Britain years ago | was Bill Terry, pitcher for the i National League club. His lncle was q contractor here and | Ferry used to spend his winters ..t lis uncle's home.
 Matty Egan revealed that his dia- nond ability was not alone restric- | cd to playing shortstop where he ,avorted in the days when the post | office didn't occupy all of his atten- Ian Aa alsa ,afiaia&