Our Base Ball Club and How It Won the ChampionshipBrooks, Noah
General
Our Base Ball Club and How It Won the Championship
Brooks, Noah
Baseball stories
The gallant captain took his place at the bat, and hit a line ball
which was neatly captured by John Brubaker, who received a round
of applause, and Ida Boardman waved at him her parasol, with the
involuntary cry of "Good, John!" More fortunate than his captain was
Sam Morse, the next at the bat. He solved the mysteries of Charlie
King's in-shoot and hit the ball over Hart Stirling's head for one
base. John Handy then handled the ashen stick and sent a slow ball to
Ben Burton who fumbled it and allowed the striker to reach first base,
even so far forgetting himself as to neglect to throw the ball to
Stirling who stood ready and impatient at second base to head off Sam
Morse. Stirling grew red in the face, clearly losing his temper, and,
judging from the look he wore, the low murmur in which he gave a word
to the short stop was no pleasant one to hear.
The fourth man at the bat for the Calumets was Rob Peabody, who sent up
a short fly which fell into the willing hands of the second base man,
making two out for the Calumets with two of the bases occupied, when
Tom Shoff went to the batsman's square.
"Ah, this is my Jonah!" said Charlie King, beckoning to the fielders to
move backward, knowing Shoff's ability as a batter. In this judgment
Charlie was correct, for Shoff hit the first ball pitched, and sent it
sailing into the right field, out of the reach of the anxious fielder
there, and bringing in two runs and allowing Thomas himself to gain
the third base in safety, greatly to the comfort of the Calumets who
grinned among themselves as they saw all this from the bench.
Glenn Otto now took his turn at the bat, and it was evident that King
was out of humor, as he sent the sphere with such vehemence that he
nearly paralyzed big Bill Van Orman's hands. In spite of the heavy
gloves he wore, the unfortunate catcher's hands began to swell until,
as the Dean County deputy sheriff, from his distant post remarked,
"They looked like canvassed hams." But Otto calmly waited for a good
ball and when he got it, he gently tapped it, sending it to left field
for a single sending in, and Shoff made the score even at three and
three. Jamie Kennedy finished the first inning by hitting a short fly
to King. "Hurrah for the Calumets!" shouted some of the more excitable
spectators. "Three cheers for Tom Shoff and Glenn Otto!" cried another,
and the enthusiasm did not abate until these two complimented gentlemen
turned themselves about and doffed their caps.
"I don't think that that was very smart," said Ida Boardman, with as
much asperity as she was capable of showing. "Our boys have done much
better playing than that without making any fuss about it."
"Pretty good playing, though," said Albert Heaton, as he darted out to
send off a despatch to the anxious people in Catalpa.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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