Ifte San Francisco Sunday Call.
WHERE ARE OUR
OLD BASEBALL HEROES?
\ \f /HERE are our baseball fceroes
\ \ I «f yesterday? Where Is "Pop"
Yy Anson of Chicago, -Dan Brou
thers of Detroit, "Bock** Ew
tng. Johnny Ward. Charley Bennett and
§» score more? How the names come
back as you sit and thtnkl Where are
the old boys?
Who waa the beat known ban player
In the history of the national game?
There is a question about which there
may be some conflict of opinion. It is
not an unfair venture, however, to say
that It was Adrian Constantino Anson,
for many years the head of tb* Chtcago
club of the National league,
Sorfe.may think "Mike" Kelly en
titled to that honor. Others might se
lect "Buck" Ewlng. John Montgomery
Ward would not be without his follow
ing, for John Montgomery Ward was
something; of a baseball writer when
he waa la his prime,' and hla name was
appended to articles which were cir
culated from ths Atlantic to the Pa
cific There tnljrht be a following; for
<*«<**• Wricht or fer Harry Wright,
t or perhaps even for Albert O. fipaldlng,
who eventually became Anson's em
ployer.
Everything considered, however, it Is
probable that the name of Anson car
ried further and more conepl euously
asons baseball enthusiasts and among
those who were not full blown en
thusiasts than that of any other player
who had to do with the sport.
Aceon-wes. known in every city In
the west, whether he had been seen by
Its baseball clientele or cot. He was
known in every city In the east. Boys
were wont to purchase Anson bats, so
called, and treasure them fondly, ah,
very fondly, for to lose an Anson bat
was to lose almost the came Itself.
Anson's pictures were cherished, and
they were not In early days such good
photographs or good reproductions of
photographs as please the present gen
eration. Anscn's position at flrstj^ase
was Imitated, and to hit like Anson—
or at least Imagine so— was glory for
all time.
When Anson dropped out of baseball
he went into business in Chicago.
Prom that he gravitated to politics.
He, was popular with the Chicago peo
ple, and they decided to nominate him
for city clerk. He made a whirlwind
campaign and was elected. He served
his two years In the office, but politics
Is not baseball, and be was not re
nominated. Since his retirement into
civil life he has gone into business
again. Now he Is the proprietor of one
of the largest billiard halls In the
United States, located In Chicago, and,
true to the bent of his mind, Is dab
bling In baseball, for he has become
one of the backers of a club In Chi
cago's semiprofesslonal league.
Albert G. Spaldlng went directly
from the baseball field to the business,
offlce. There are gray headed men who
epe&k with veneration to this day of
"A1 M Spaldins/s wonderful success as
a. pitcher. He was a pitcher, too, In
the fullest definition of the word, for
In his day they tossed the ball to tbo
batter with the slow underhand mo
t'jpn which was the foundation of the
present school of delivery.
The great house of Spaldlng, a house
which provides ail kinds and descrip
tions of athletic accessories, has grown
«p under his management and has be
come so prosperous . that it caters not
only to the athletes of the United
States but to those of other countries
Wright and Reach
George Wright, one of the most
graceful and one of the most accurate
lnflelders of his day. Is a prosperous
merchant in Boston. He. too, deals in
athletic supplies. One of the standard
tennis balls of the world is manufac
tured by him. His brother, Harry
Wright, who acquired no less fame as
a manager than; as a player. Is dead.
His remains are Interred in a* Phila
delphia, cemetery, and above them Is c
beautiful monument to 'his memory,
erected by those who had learned to
admire him as one of the most lovable
characters connected with the American
pastime.
There Is a wealthy Philadelphia man
•who was once one of the most popular
players on the diamond. They called
him "Little Al" Reach. He is now Al
bert J. Beach, a member of the' firm
that manufacturers almost all of the
baseballs that are used 'in the United
States. When he retired as" an active
player be became part owner of • the
Philadelphia national league club.; Now
he Is out of that, - wealthy, contented,
enjoying himself and part owner of one
of the most > successful enterprises In
the Quaker City.
A while ago Anson was dlsoussed.
He was one of the original "stonewall
Infield." That term came in vogue
when Anson played, first, Pfeffer played
second, Williamson shortstop and
"Tommy" Burns third for • Chicago.
•There's nothing can get by this stone
wall," said the Chicago critics proudly.
Thers waa' little that could. "Only
two are left of- the wall— Pfeffer and
Anson. "Ned"; Williamson, .whom An
man considered to be the /greatest In
fielder In the world, died after; Intense
•offering frotn rheumatism. William- -
son agrsred a .tremendous tesrltory be-
--^. "- •
tween third and second base, and when
In his prime was a great throw/r "and a
fine batter.
"Tommy" Burns, who was given
credit for being the brains of the Chi
cago club on the field, after ieavlng the
Chicago team, with which he played
for year*, took charge of other baseball
nines, finally drifting Into the minor
leagues and managing In those with
success. Rheumatism seized upon him
and he succumbed after a game re
sistance.
Pfeffer, the "Dude of the Diamond,"
as Arlie Latham once wittily de
scribed him. Is still In Chicago work
ing in various capacities. Pfeffer was
one of the most graceful players in
the history of the cport, also one of
the best in covering ground around
second. Occasionally he meets Anson,
and the deeds of the "stonewall in
field" are recounted for the pleasure
and entertainment of others. Anson
was always inclined to feel "touchy"
toward Pfeffer from the day that some
of the Chicago critics said, with some
truth and some fun, that ."It was
Pfeffer's fielding that kept Anson in
the game." Before our fathers became
grandfathers there were some of them
who traveled 'hundreds of miles to see
the "stonewall Infield" perform.
Another great • combination was the
"Big Four." From the Atlantic to the
Pacific there was no ball player - but
had heard of them. They played with
Buffalo and were sold to Detroit. "Dea
con Jim" White was their senior. •, The
other three were "Jack" Rowe, Hardie
Richardson and "Dan" ~~ Brouthers.
"Dan" lasted longer In the game than
any of J.hem. Only recently he was
owner and manager of a team at "W'ap
plnger's Falls. Now he Is In New York
picking up odd Jobs here and there as
an umpire and looking for a place to
open business.
"Deacon" Jim White is In business
In Buffalo, "Jack" Rowe is a tobacco
dealer in Denver and Hardie Richard
son is in business in the western part
of New York. . "Deacon Jim" could do
almost anything but pitch. Ho had a
brother. Harry, also known as "Specta
cles" White, because he played with
glasses astride his nose, who could
pitch well, and who was a great fa
vorite in Cincinnati, when he was: a
member of the Reds. »
"Deacon Jim" Could Play Ball
"Deacon Jim" . could play a tolerably,
fair third base, and he wasn't afraid
to go behind the bat. even after he had
retired as an active catcher and the
modern pitchers were introducing all
sorts of curves 'and ' shoots. He never
used a mask, never wore gloves, except
toward the \ latter part of his career,
when he was induced to wear one aa
s> third baseman, and In his time the
chest protector was not known. The
"Deacon" turned/ his head to one side
as the ball came up and avoided being
hit by foul tips. • Furthermore, he hung
to the ball tolerably" well. \u25a0 He was not'
quite up to the standard of the catchers
who make baseball famous in these
days, but he was above the average of
-his time.
VJaek** Rowe was a fine Inflelder/
Shortstop was his position. ;So was
Hardie Richardson, who played second,
a fine flelder. Both could bat welL "Big
Dan" Brouthers was the/ hitter of his
time for i years, and while he was not
the a j*t export first baseman : in the
profession, he more than made up for
it by bis batting.
New champion Giants of 1888
and 1889 were about as famous a lot
of ball players as ; any who ever ' lived.
They owed a great deal of that to the
good advertising oX • their manager.
"Jeems" Miitrle, : now a resident \u25a0of
- S taten . Island, and also to the fact that
they, played ' wonderfully fine balL
"Buck" \ Ewing. king of them all. Is
dead. No better catcher ever stood:be
hind the bat. No sharper thrower ever
picked men off the bases. ,. He waa one
of the timeliest and most expert/ rlgnt
hand; batters' /" who X ever ] lived. I Anson
could outbat him,, but not until ;lat'e
years- did Anson learn to place* the
ball so well as Ewlng. In addition to
being a peerless catcher Ewlng was one
of the greatest all around ball players
In history.; Once when the New York
team "was ehort of pitchers he went \
into the^boxiand won the gamex on the
old polo", ground \u25ba; to . that city. Ewing
died but; recently, after patient suffer
ing, and \ls * burled In . Cincinnati, leav
ing a * fair. Income : to } hia family.
"Big Blll'Vßrown, whocaught'for the
i Giants,' is dead* So Is : "Ned" Crane,' the
Hercules of the diamond, and so Is
"Long John- Ewlng, -/'Buck's" brother i
although VLong- John" came after; the
time of?: the i Giants'^ greatest- fame
George Gore, who could hit above "300" "
and run above "600," as Ewins used to \
-, aay. Is a resident of \ New j York." He has
? held various .\u25a0 positions In ; city '.'depart*
ments. ; :. .:\u25a0-;:-. /\u25a0 . \u25a0 .- ;",•.-• •-....\u25a0
"Mike" Tiernan, i"SHent r Mike," who'
'. saJd little but ; knocked the ball \ over '-
\u25a0 the ; fence ; two or I three \ times a ! week
keeps a cafe In: New York.; Roger Con
nor, big and burly," and ; a marvelous r
"swlper? . of i Hne ; hits - when ; he. was a
first baseman V for the Giants, lives at
Waterbury, Conn.:?' Occasionally { he has I
dabbled in minor" league baseball. '\u25a0*< •"• \u25a0;
VJim" I O'Rourke, "-;"' the !'orator," .^ who
either knocked : the ball 'out of the ; lot %
or struck v out,i» -playing in, the Con
'\u25a0 Jf«ctlcut" league with i the i Bridgeport
team. He Is one of the pillars of the
league." In 1904,, when* the present
Giants won the | championship,' he;went
;to New York and Mathewson In
"a ' game : to show r the : old ' boys ' in \u25a0 the
city that he was 'still? In li^-.V./-« ;".; s
, John • Montgomery Ward, shortstop of '
I the ' team, Is a' successful | lawyer * with
a -' practice. - He * has- a beautiful «
country.: home*^ at Babylon,'- N."> Y^" : : and :
is , attaining i fame: as one of the '\u25a0 lead
ing i golfers of ; the United States; Ward }
;Is -well; to* do,' prosperoua and as j fond I
of baseball : as vhe ever ' was, , although,
his. personal ambition to become a high
class srolfer keeps him away from the
games to ieome; extent, - \u25a0. .".- • > >> v-<
;\u25a0; \u25a0\u25a0 "Mickey"^ Welch; the famous' drop ball
pltclier "and ; the > father - of --\u25a0 many., cbll-1
; dren. ' Is g prosperously; . conducting.*:: 1 a
hotel ,at Holyoke. Mass. : ."Sir rTlmothy*,^
Keefe,": aulet,. reserved' and* occasionally;'
wearing .' the' emlle^ that f /gathered at
either i end of -his :- mustache " when •' he
\u25a0 had \won; an .unusually, good: game,' Is In \u25a0
; retirement ; at V Cambridge," , Mass., /.with 2
i enough - to ( keep i- him • the , remainder ; of .'
his idays.; ; "Danny"' ; *' Riehardaon," vthe^
agile , second • baseman of the team. Is '%',
: to* do < merchant "of Elmlra,* N.%Y."l.ii
* - "/Another ,M championship \ 2\ teaim.' vV all '
» favorltes,j\ that : of ' : Bostoni".c has-been;
scattered; to ' the- Xour; points of -the
compass. . Some are dead, some are en
gaged in business, but there la not left
one of them in active baseball who was
a . member of ; the team when "Mike"
Kelly and John Clarkson were the "ten
thousand j dollar prize beauties."
"Mike" Kelly's Fate
"alike" Kelly, prince of spenders, the
greatest bohemlan baseball ever knew,
a wag and a Joker, a man with: a
kindly disposition but a. sharp tongue,
as more than one spectator ascertained
to his confusion when he attempted to
banter , the quick witted , Irishman, : lies
In a cemetery In New England. 'Strong
physically and alert mentally, he paid
the price,of high living by: shortening
his -years in the dazzling: rays of the
myriad lights that: burn lurlngly after
sundown. A book could be written of
the pranks and escapades of this Jovial
ball player, and among them all there
would be difficulty In* finding one In
which malice ever. played a part..
John .Clarkson, \ one of the greatest
pitchers who ever stepped foot on . a
professional diamond, who won more
games with. his brains than half of his
.contemporaries .could .win, with, their,
physical: strength,, left to go
Into .the tobacco business at Bay City,
Mich. There he was -very prosperous,
but; little .by little his system broke
down, lintil it -.was necessary to place
him in a sanitarium in Michigan.
"Charley" Bennett, next . to* Ewlrig the
greatest catcher/ in" the ' history of pro
fessional baseball, and by, some" con
sidered : to /be Swing's ' equal > if , not hla
superior, > was one; of the few, profes
sional ballplayers/ whomever met with
a' serious accident. Both his legs were
lost 'under.; the wheels of a railroad
train. strong constitution of the
man . pulled him through and he is alive
today, *a \ citizen :r: r of 'I Detroit, '< engaged
profitably In business and able" to: walk
around ' ; by the assistance -of
legs and canes. ; Furthermore/ he Is one
of : the most; popular citizens' of "Detroit
and the baseball park'ln that city was
named for him. - *' : '\u25a0:\u25a0"' . . . .
'\u25a0-"Charley" ; .-'•-'\u25a0 Ganzell, -the ' Boston
catcher,". Is •in business in ; Boston. He
ls:well;todo andstlll so fond of base
ball ; that the [ can't i keep , away ;: from it
when opportunity offers ? to } ."look the
players over."- \u25a0.,-\u25a0' '.' "- V
: ","\u25a0 VOld J Hoss" ' Radbourne, .one v of , tho
pitching f marvels . of . a i whole !«decad«.
( the 5 man r; who \u25a0_ helped \u25a0> Providence /\u25a0 and
Boston to win the championships, has
ibeenf gathered -\u25a0 to hls'^ fathers » and ; la
buried \ In' an ' Illinois i town. » Radbourne
originated fs the ;\u25a0 school of pitching *of
which .Clarke /Griffith and. others i.withT
moderate \ speed, \excellent control 'and .
almost i perfect i Judgment ' have "been
auch \ good ' exemplars. ;s ;* w \u25a0'-. ..< ;\u25a0'. - V- .?:
: first base
man \who /ever played i the < game,* grad
uated from a factory to a star position
among ? professionals -. and . slipped- back
from., the -Btar.j position to the "iNew
England, factory., 7- :..:„; ,' r \u25a0! "." .
\u25a0V.i'.Tommy'.'j McCarthy," daredevil on the
b*s»«. strong ; with the bat. and a v fair
1 field er, went j f ren \u25a0 Baseball ; to I the cafe
business and Is at present; proprietor. of -
a'jcafe^andjbowllrigalleyf In" Boston. \u0084
"Bllly" Nash, model thrower, almost
perfect third baseman, left his corner
of the diamond to become an umpire
and then drifted Into a position as
clerk. ;"-*>!
Hugh Duffy, clever In the field,
strong with- the bat in his early days,
with the face of a Dominican friar and
the sting of a hornet in his tongue—
so : much .so that he was called the
"angel child"— followed a successful
career as a player by a fairly success
ful career as manager, and today is at
the head of the Providence club of the
Eastern league-
James R. McAleer, famous from one
ocean to the other as the fleetest of all
outfielders, gave up active work on the
diamond to become an active manager
and is at the bead of the St. Louis
American league team at present.
-"Jimmy!" Fogarty, the idol of Phila
delphia and one of the first really good
men in sliding to bases,, was too frail
of physique to stand the strain* of a
severe athletic career and is In his
grave, one of the few ball. players to
die of consumption.
Where Browning Lies
Louisville's cemetery holds the body
of "Pete" Browning, one of the unique
characters of the national game's his
tory. He was one of the greatest bat
ters who ever stepped before a pitcher
and a player so simple minded that no
one thought to take advantage of him.
One of his performances, when he was
In his prime, while the Louisville team
was In \u25a0 Kansas City, was to rig up a
fishpole after a rain and calmly sit
in front of -the hotel and fish in the
deep pools of water in the street.
"jJavo" Orr.yWho had. tho reputation
of being able to* knock the ball farther
than any player In the American asso
ciation, and some say farther than any
player, who ever lived, la a watchman in
New York. A slight stroke of .pa
ralysis baa partially disabled him. but he
is just aa cheery as he; waa the day
of his greatest popularity on the field.
'Of allj the Idols and heroes of the
past none enjoyed a greater, reputation
for success and as a sturdy fighter than
Charley Coinlakey. What Anson was to
the National League as a first baseman
Comiskey was to the American associa
tion.' It waa Comlskey who revolution
ized the manner of playing first base.
Until he ,came" Into the limelight the
first baseman was accustomed to stand
almost on the bag that he might get the
; throws which were supposed-to be sent
to him in a tremendous hurry. Com
isky changed all this by playing far
behind the base and making the pitcher
share: the work. of first base. with hhn.
Now.! the "Old Roman" la one "of the
wealthiest . of all' the , graduated ball
players, and the owner of tho Chicago
American League club, champions of
the world.: . .; :
/. Arlle I Latham, I the clown of the dia
mond,, and -by far the /wittiest player
who ever -held ; a position with a pro
fessional team, retained. his grip on the
national game to the last moment. '„ In
fact, 1 i Latham Is the only, : player - who
waa ; ever ' signed for." no i other purpose
than to > coach. The Cincinnati club
engaged (him 'for that and nothing else.
Latham: declared; it was. the hardest
task that he ever undertook In his life.
Then | he , picked [up the umpire's burden
and he has been carrying it ever since,
sometimes in one league and.' some-,
times In another.. s
.Gleason. tho . St., Louis second ,base
man, is now a fire captain in that city
and one of the best in tho service.
- ; , George "Strlef. better known" as
"Daisy" itrlef, aa expert second ba»«
cum of lia time, la & Cleveland police
man.
"Sam" Wise. tie Boston third base
man, left the fire department of Akron.
Ohio, to Join the national leapt* and
left the national league to become a
fireman again.
"Jerry" Dennr, the greatest one
hand player that baseball ever na-w.
with the possible exception of Fred
Dunlap, keepe a hotel at Bridgeport.
Conn. Denny eonld play better with
one hand than one-third of the ball
players can play with both.
Dunlap, kins of the second buamea
In his day and generation, accumulated
a fortune and died In Philadelphia,
leaving real estate to hla heirs.
Oliver Tebeau. better known as
•Tat." a graduate of the Kerry Patch
In St. Louis and a ball player of the*
Comlskey type, aggressive and bent
upon winning, a successful manager
for Cleveland and at the head of th»
team when It won the second half of
the divided National league champion
ship season In 1133, Is rich and com
fortably situated In Si. Louis.
Ezra Sutton. one of the greatest of
the old time third basemen and one of
the • few ball players who had been
without support In his old ags. died
recently In a charitable Institution la
Massachusetts.
- "Bid" McPhee. the Cincinnati second
baseman, who played almost an of one
season without an error and who wa»
fairly worshiped up and down the rali
ley of. the Ohio river. Is a successful
business man In Cincinnati.
Dalrymple a Fanner
Dalrymple. years ago with Gta Chi"
cago club and the leader of the nation
al league In batting; was reported some
time ago as having become a farmer
In the west. His picture once adorned
the front of the baseball guide* and
was the admiration of all the younjc
sters of the early "eighties."
"Mike" Griffin, idol of Brooklyn, Is *
part proprietor of an upstate brewery.
Brooklyn went Into mourning when a
baseball trade sent Griffin away from
the city, and his name Is spoken with
reverence even In these days.
"Big Bill- Lange, the rangiest and
the fleetest man for his Inches who ever
played for the Chicago Nationals or
any other 'club, Is In San Francisco,
• wealthy and healthy.
"Jimmy" Ryan, beloved of the Chi
cago "fans" because of his sarcasm and
ability to bat and field, is in Chicago
engaged In commercial pursuits and
telling baseball yarns.
Paul Radford. the urst right fielder
to play the position and cover ground
so that it came to be looked upon as a
more important field than had been
conceded by some of the old time man
agers, is at the head of a mechanical
Industry In Hyde Park, a Boston sub
urb, and occasionally gets on the field
Just to see how It feels to be playing
.ball again.
"Ed" Delehanty, whose name was as
familiar as that of baseball, an out
fielder who had knocked the ball over
more fences than almost any player
who ever lived and whoso reputation
for making lons distance hits waa mar
velous, either was pushed oft or walked
off a train crossing from the United
States' to Canada and his body waa
swept oven Niagara falls.
John Corkhill, best of the center
fielders who ever played for the Cin
cinnati team and who was accustomed
to make some of the most astounding
catches in the most awkward manner,
is. a resident of Philadelphia and la still
able to play ball, according to hla ver
sion of the matter.
. "Cub" Strieker, the fast second base
man of the Cleveland team. who. it
was said, could touch a baserunner
quicker than any ball player who ever
lived, is also a Philadelphia:!. At a re
cent baseball dinner in that city he
said he wasn't quite sure about his
batting, but he believed that when It
came to running he could go around
the bases as fast as he did twenty
years ago and more.
'Joe - Quest, second baseman of the
champion Chlcagos. and knows as
"Little Joe." is down in Georgia, where
he is slowly dying of consumption on
the plantation of "Em"' Gross. The lat
ter la the catcher who mada a name
for himself in both Cleveland and
Providence. •'
Amos Rusle. "Little Amle," tho "Hoo
sler Thunderbolt." flew across the
baseball sky like a meteor. ' Not yet
of age. he pitched his first professional
baseball- for the Indianapolis club
against Cleveland in the latter city in
1389, and was sent back to Indianapo
lis that night to continue work In the
, mattress factory from which ha had
been' taken.
Yet John T. Brush had great faith
that Rusie would some day make . a
wonderful pitcher and took him from
the factory and put him on his Indian
apolis team the following spring. From
that followed Rusie's transfer to Net*
York and his. spectacular career In the
"big. league." He made \ a name for
himself from one side of tho United
States to the other, but living in New
York was too much of a butterfly ca
reer-for the hulking boy, and soon he,
began to falter. . Now he is piling lum
ber In a yard In southern Indiana for
$1.50 a day, arter prsccing baseball for
|150 a. game.
One of' the players longest to hold
his . career -in fast company was Van
Haltren. formerly of the Giants — "Old
Rip Van Winkle" Haltren. , who could
run almost as fast when he ceased to •
play with a major league team as he
could * when he waa a youth. Ha is -
back at his home In Oakland. He has
returned to his trade, that of a lather,
but he can't keep off the diamond when
warm weather comes around/ and still
Insists upon playing the outfield : for
Oakland. Van Haltren was a star out
fielder for more than 15 years — a won
derful record. / - "
Nor is the list 'half completed, nor a
third . completed, so far as .:. that goes.
"Doc" i Bushong. Brooklyn's great
catcher, is a Brooklyn dentist; "Chief"
Zimmer, the Cleveland catcher and the"
first professional to catch all the. games
of one championship season. Is ao um
pire in the Southern league, while WU
bert Robinson of the old Athletic*. Jolly.
fat and nimble In spite of hi* inches aad
weight, Is a betel keeper ta BsltUnw*.