The Washington times., 1933-12-26
BY GARRY SCHUMACHER

recorded many superlative pitch
ing featS. Strength Of arm, speed
and cunning achieved perform
ances that are truly amazing in
contemplation; strikeout and no
hit exploits are recorded that &C
tually tax the imagination.
But only once, through all the
years, through the thousands and
thousands Of games that are filed
away in the musty records OF the
game, was absolute pitching per-
fection reached-only once was a
game played in which neither Of
the competing pitchers allowed q
hit through nine innings.
Strangely enough, memory must
be prodded to reveal the details.
Many lesser exploits are freSher
in mind. To find out when the
feat was performed, and by whom,
most Of us find it necessary to
pcheck the record books.
War Shelves Baseball
There is an explanation of
course. The double "no-hitter" was
pitched on May 2, 1917-and on
that day and date America was
engroSSed in more important
things than baseball game, even
a record-breaker. The draft Selec-
tion, the Liberty Loan drive, the
'FU' boat threat--the wonder is
that baseball attracted any atten-
tion whatever.
Yet any list of great" ball
games, any resume of the rec
ordS Of the game that claims to
be at all comprehensive, must
include this superlative prefor-
nance, this intensely grip
ping and unrivaled pitching duel
between the mastodonic Hippo"
Jim Vaughan, of the Chicago
Cubs, and the bear,like Fred
Toney, Of the Cincinnati Reds.
Neither is pitching immor-
tai, q Super-Star with an all
time ranking, but that day cir
cumStances allowed them to ex-
Gel anything any Of the pitch
ing masters ever entered in the
records Of the sports.
FlawIess Pitching
Toney was the eventual VIC
Tor, l to 0 in ten innings, but
over the regulation nine inning
route, the two we're locked in a
dlle that demanded protection,
that asked from them and re-
ceived a pitching demonStra-
tion devoid of a single flaw, OF
o solitary mistake.
Between the two performances
Toney's was slightly the better.
Not only did he carry on
through to win in the tenth,
but an exhibition Of that type
taxed his pitching equipment
beyond all normal limits. Toney
was in no sense the no-hit type
of pitcher; his trick was to win
the ten and twelve hitters.
Big and burly as he was, Toney
could not bring devastating speed
to bear on his batting opponents,
no curve that overwhelmed and
handcuffed them. He had to
trick them, fool 'em with change
of pace, slow curves, control. OFT
the field Toney was somewhat &C.
eentric, dull-witted, slow thinking,
but like so many of that type he
possessed an instructive cunning
that allowed him to master prob
lemS more intelligent men were
unable to grasp. On the ball field
he, was naturally smart" more
keenly aware Of what was going
on than many of those who de-
voted a lifetime to a study of the
games intricacies.
Strong Arm Necessary
Yet for a "no-hit" game a strong
arm is a more necessary requi-
Site-blazing speed and a sharply
breaking curve. In the last anal
ysis batters can't hit what they
can't see. The tricksters can be
successful, Of course, winning
pitchers. They can fool some of
the hitterS all the time-but very
few, ever succeed in fooling all
the hitters all the time. And to
achieve a no-hit game, that's what
they've got to do. Fool every
hitter every time.
No such considerations entered
into the left-handed Vaughan's
performance. No thought, no
deep-rooted strategy. Power and
strength were his pitching assets.
He was a mastodon, a curly
headed, laughing giant, and when
he wound up and threw, the ball
became a streak of light. A fast
Sball-he had one! To follow it
was a trick; to hit tested the
batting eyes of the greatest hit
terS.
And this afternoon the Gin
Cinnau players couldn't meet its
test. Not for nine innings, any
way. He struck out 10 of them,
restricted the others to a sue
ceSsion of simple infield chances.
Twice he slipped to the extent
Of granting a free pass, but re-
covery was immediate. Both the
passes were cancelled as quickly
as they were issued; double plays
erased both the runners from the
paths. One error was committed,
a bad throw by "BunionS" Rollie
Zeider after he had fielded an
(T chance.
- TOney Works Harder
Meanwhile Toney had to work
harder extend himself to hold