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I
SPORTING PAGE,
DECEMBER 23
IMHINIIHMHMMHniMHMtllMMIHill
The Atlanta Georgian
PERCY H. WHITING
SPORTING EDITOR ’
[not Hews, bUt~views\
By PERCY H. WHITING.
Hero ia the All-Southern League team for 1908, picked by the
official averages:
ELEVEN
Pos. Name. Club. G.
AB.
R.
H.
TB.
SH. SB. PC.
PO.
A.
E.
Pet.
O—Hardy, Nash.. 92
283
33
89
117
8
18
.312
231
70
11
.961
C—S. Smith. At.. 102
402
39
118
139
19
12
.297
342
100
10
.977
lb—Meek, B'bam.120
441
50
150
203
16
18
.340
1183
73
23
.983
2b—Jordan, At... 127
458
61
116
149
17
19
.253
366
359
25
.907
3b—M'Elv'n, Nsh.141
617
62
148
193
9
19
.285
201
235
41
.914
S3—Atx, N. O. ..139
507
74
147
201
12
40
.311
280
426
45
.940
LF-—Pask'rt, At!.. 139
607
74
147
199
15
60
.289
296
30
8
.969
CF—Mlsw'rth, Bb.142
528
89
151
206
13
24
.280
368
23
7
.981
RF—Becker, Atl.,133
483
77
128
163
18
17
.365
186
14
8
.961
P—Fisher, Shr... 64
205
21
64
283
7
6
.312
15
52
7
.985
P— St’ckdale. Mfs.. 36
104
12
31
39
4
1
.398
30
77
6
.955
P—Spade, Atl 44
142
17
42
60
3
4
.293
11
74
9
.904
Keith, L. R.... 27
87
6
20
24
2
1
.229
11
72
3
.963
Team batting average.
,.296
' Team fielding average.
.962
At the end of the past baseball season in the Southern League
the dope dispensers of the league, to the extent of a dozen or so,
took a chance of picking an all-Southern League team.
Now that the averages are out, however, it is possible to pick
a team which really represents the best batting and fielding tal
ent in the Southern League of 1907, with no guesswork at all on
the subject.
This team was arbitrarily chosen. The man with the best
looking batting and fielding averages got the call. Of course, as
is proper in selecting a ball club, the greatest stress was laid on
ability to swat.
Atlanta draws five positions on this “automatic All-South
ern,” Nashville and Birmingham get two each, Memphis, Little
Bock, Shreveport and New Orleans one each. Montgomery is the
only team which does not put a representatives across.
'At batting this team would be a wonder. The team average
is .296, against the .249 of Nashville, the team that led the league
this year. In order to give good batters positions some few weak
fielders had to bo selected, and, in consequence,* the team field
ing average is below par, .962. That is only .001 better than the
fielding average of the league and .005 lower than the average of
Memphis, the team that led tho league at team fielding.
A team that could bat nearly .300 could do a lot of loose
fielding and get away with it all right.
That all-dope aggregation does not figure out so bnd, either.
Of course, the pitchers were selected for their batting and field
ing ability. If the best game-winners had been taken Castleton,
of Atlanta; Manuel,.of New Orleans; Keith, of Little Rock, and
iWilhelm, of Birmingham, would have been chosen. These men
averaged between .621 and .680 games won.
Among the first basemen Meeks was unquestionably “it.”
Douglas, of Little Rook, was entitled to second call except for his
bad fielding.
Of the second basemen Jordan’s work averaged up the best.
Lewee fielded better and Page batted better, but these men were
not well rounded performers. Page’s fielding was the worst of
the regulars.
Cross would have had third position, except for the fact that
tho team was chosen from among players who hnd been in 100 or
more games. Cross played in but 84.
It was a toss-up between At* and Ball for the shortstop job.
It has been a long time since the Southern League has hnd such
a pair of shortstops, for both of them fielded better than .925 and
both batted over .300.
The Southern League outfielders did not shine this year at
the bat. A dozen names appear on the list before a single gar
dener figures.
In left field thcro was, of course,! but one player—Paskert.
It did not take the averages to show that—though they DO
show it.
In oenterfield Molesworth had an equal cinch. At batting and
fielding he was tho class of the hunch.
Not a right fielded batted better thBn .265. Jesse Becker, of
'Atlanta, hammered tho ball at that clip. Carlos Smith hit .255.
Smith had the better fielding average of the pair, but the At
lanta man at least had the credit of doing his best, which was
more than Carlos—or any man on the Birmingham team—did last
year.
/ . . ■ ■
Our second-best-bet of the league looks about like this:
Seabaugh, Montgomery, catcher.
, Lister, Nashville, first base.
Dyer, Atlanta, third base.
Daley, Shreveport, left field.
Woods, Littfe Rock, catcher.
Page, Little Rock, second base.
Ball, Montgomery, shortstop.
Henline, Memphis-Montgomery,
center field.
/ Smith, Birmingham, right flejd.
Phillips, New Orleans; Ford, At
lanta; Spade, Atlanta: Zeller, At
lanta (picked because of best
pitching average).
In this team, as in the other, pitchers who took part in 20 or
more games, oatchers who worked in fifty or more and other play
ers who took part in 100 or moro games were counted.
Finish Fist Fights May
Be Pulled Off in Louisiana
New Orleans, La., Dec. S3.—The pull
ing off of the fifteen-round fight
tween Younr Terry, of Philadelphia,
and Young Phillips, of New York, In
8t. Bernard pariah, Saturday night, has
given rise to a report that finish
matches may soon be given In this
state. The St. Bernard forces say they
will revive fighting In that parish as It
wsa In ths old days when Everhardt
and McPartland fought there before
10,000, while 10,000 fought frantically
for admittance.
It la said fight promoters have se
cured the services of prominent attor
neys who have placed a new construc
tion upon the taw. This nsw construc
tion Is that as long ss the nffalrs
are called "glove exhibitions" they can
go any number of rounde. Prise fights
are not permitted, and neither are
fighters permitted to train In this state
for fights. However, "glove exhibi
tions” are allowed, and the supreme
court has ruled that the law can not
Interfere with chartered clubs In giving
such exhibitions.
What's In a name, anyway?
Saturday's was the first fifteen-round
affair given In this state In a long time,
aa all the local clubs have confined
their fights to ten rounds. The present
plan is to pull one or two fifteen round
. affairs, and then If there Is no tnterfer- with.
Harvard Will Not
Play Princeton
Boston, Deo. 21—At tbe oloee of each
football aeaaon a number of persistent re*
porta are circulated to tbe effect that Har
vard and Princeton art to reaume football
relatlona. anil meet each other on tbe grid
iron once more. Aa a matter of fact, these
reporta are utterly without foundation.
While the moat friendly relation* exist be
tween the two college*, there Is absolutely
no likelihood that they will resume football
games with one another for some time to
come.
Tbe reaaon for this Is that It would be
Impossible, so far as Hsnrard Is concerned,
to arrange a aultable date for a game with
Princeton, llarvard Is peculiarly situated.
For a number of years she has had games
on her schedule with Carlisle, Brown. Dart
mouth and Yale. These games are all hard,
and are a great strain for the team to
carry as It 1*. Were Princeton added to
these four hard gi
than the Crimson
LAVE CROSS TO
RAW SOUTHERN?
\ __________
J. Ed Grille Says Cross Wants To Put Out
law Club in Washington Made Up
of Southern Leaguers.
It develops that Lavt* Cross Is one of the. Cross Intends to mak*. up his team of aa
prime movers In the effort to place an out- j many local players, and men who hnv«
law cluli In Washington, says J. Ed Grlllo, 1 played on the local team, as possible.
In the Washington Post. j It In known that he spproflehed both
The Onion league, which at the present j Charley Hickman and Harry White of the
time only exists on paper, seems to have j White Sox, hut whether they entered Into
employed Cross Inst summer to manage thf **'“ *”*—“
local oluh, ami he dirt considerable mis
sionary work among the Southern League
players last season, and after the season
•losed enme to Washington and had
scheme is not known.
The following i« n Hat of pUyer, whom
CroBB expects to got for tho local team. If
It Is ever launched:
Charley Hickman. Harry White, Wyatt
Lee, Ueue Deiuoiit, Jack Carr, Charley
Moran. Joe Stanley, Law Drill and several
others well known.
PHIIBIN, OF PITTSBURG,
WITH ATLANTA IN 1908?
_ CHATTANOOGA HIGH SCHOOL ELEVEN.
Top Row—Erwin, manager; Mays, right guard; Gilbert, center; Swafford, right tackle; McAllieter, full*
back; 8, McAllister, coach; S. G, Gilbreath, principal.
Second Row—Green, right end; Broxton, left guard; Raulston, right half (capt); Miller, left guard; Wil
ton. quarter; Varnell, left end.
8itting—Cochrane, quarter; Crouch, left half.
, This team made an almost unequaled record. During the season it played eight games, winning seven and
tiding one. In all that time only six points were scored against it. Here is the record:
High School 10, Twelfth Cavalry 0; High School 29, Tennessee Military Institute 0; High School 0, Am. Uni
versity 0; High School 63, Central High 8chool 0; High School 27, Knoxville High School 1; High School 24,
Bankar*Himel 0; High 8chool 24, Bowen School 0; High School 5, McCallie 0.
OOOO<W«H»0OO<KH»i»)KHKH»a
0 c
a MAY GET PLACE IN O
O NEW OUTLAW LEAGUE. O
0 It the American Association 8
O turns outlaw either Pittsburg or 0
0 Cincinnati will get the Louisville O
O franchise. O
O Tho Kentucky city has never 0
0 done much for the American As- O
0 soclatlon, and the club owners will O
0 be glad to get Into a larger town. 0
dOdddddddddddddddddddddddd
Long Auto Race
Starts on Feb. IS
New* York. Dec. 2S.—The automobile
race from New York to Paris, France,
will start from Times Square, In this
city, February 15.
wo more entries for the contest
were received recently. These are the
Motobloc Company, a French concern,
which has entered a 40-horsepower car,
and the Brlxta-Zust Company, Italian
manufacturers, who have entered a 30-
horsepower car.
Ty Cobb’s poorest stick work was
against the Cleveland pitchers, an aver
age of .386. He batted better than
.300 against six other teams and clout
ed the Washington fllngers for .413.
MORE UMPIRES
THAN PLAYERS
Special to The Georgian.
Jackson, Miss., Dec. 23.—President A.
C. Crowder, of the Cotton States
League, has already received a half
dozen or so applications for positions
on his staff of umpires, altho he has
been occupying the presidency less than
three days.
Some activity Is being manifested
around the circuit In signing new play
ers. It Is expected that Stewart, of
Columbus: Gilkes, of Gulfport; Mont
gomery, of Jackson, and Blackburn, of
Vicksburg, will be retained as mana
gers during the approaching season.
Meridian Is In trouble over the drafting
of BUI Roth, by Lynn, Mass. Arrange
ments hnd been made to use Roth as
manager of the White Rlbboners dur
ing the season, but as the Lynn team Is
In Class B, the draft will doubtless
hold good.
GOTCH TO WRESTLE.
Baltimore, Dec. 23.—Americus (Qua
Schoenletn), Maryland’s champion
wrestler, has been matched with Frank
Gotch, this country’s champion. It Is
to be a handicap match. In which Gotch
1s to agree to throw Americus in one
hour, and they are to meet at catch
weights.
O0000000000000000000000000
a O
0 AMERICAN ASSOCIATION 0
0 MOGULS WILL MEET. 0
O o
0 Milwaukee, Dec. 23.—Just exact- 0
O ly what to expect from the Amerl- 0
O can Association In the way of a 0
0 fight on organized ball will proba- 0
0 bly be announced after the meet- O
0 ing which has been called for De- O
0 cember 28 at 10 a. m., at the Au- 0
0 dltorlum annex, Chicago. O
Soooochkhjockhioooooo oooocw
World*s Champs
Kick A bout Medals
Chicago, 111., Dec. 23.—The world’s
championship baseball medals are be
ing handed out each day to the different
players who are In Chicago by Presi
dent Murphy.
Eight of the medals were sent to the
local headquarters to be given the play
ers whose addresses were unknown to
the commission. Several of the play
er* are dissatisfied with the workman
ship of the trophies, altho It Is a great
Improvement over the medals given to
championship teams of former years.
The new medal is made of four pieces
riveted together, with space between
the front and back parts. The back
part Is so thin that it easily can be
pressed in.
Doctor’s Orders Cut No Ice, but What Mrs. Trubbell Says Goes.
The big league catcher that the At
lanta club has landed Is Phllbln, of
Pittsburg, with Wheeling last year.
This la a guess, but watch and see If
It does not turn out right.
When the Atlanta moguls returned
from New York recently, they an
nounced that they had secured a bl*
league catcher, whose name they would
announce later.
It Is now thought that the man Is
Phllbln.
The Atlanta moguls say they have a
man landed, all but getting waivers on
him; but refuse to disclose his name.
TRAIN WAS LATE AS USUAL;
NO BASKET BALL SATURDAY
For the second time within twelve
months and a day or two the railroads
gold-bricked Atlanta out of a basket
ball game Saturday night.
The Columbia team, which left New
York Friday afternoon, did not reach
Atlanta Saturday night In time to play
tho Atlanta Athletic Club team. Which
same, under the usual circumstances
might readily have been expected.
The Columbia team spent Sundny In
Atlanta and left Monday morning for
Birmingham. If Its manager had know-
the train services better he would
doubtless have left right away for Blr.
mlngham.
A year ago this time a game wan
scheduled between Yale and the At
lanta Athletic Club, and It, too, wa,
called off on account of the non-arrival
of the Eastern team.
Charley Frank May Sign
Rube Waddell—Help! Help!
New Orleans, Dec. 23.—Rumor has It
that Manager Charley Frank, of the
Pelicans, has secured Connie Mack'e
consent to release Rube Waddell to
New Orleans, In case the erratic pitch-
Fighters of Today
Are Poor Lot
New York, Dee. 23.—“We nerer hail such
n lot of poor fighters In the hhtory of the
game before,” said an old-timer to me to-
day.
“Give «» soma of the old-timers who nerer
squabbled orer a pound or two. Give us
some Terry McGoverns. Frank Ernes.
George Mcl*widens, Jim Corbetts, Bob Fits-
Pncky MacFnrland, of Chicago, the choice
of Joe Gsns for lightweight champion, his
been matched to box Harlem Timmy Mur
phy for twelve rounds to a decision on
Jnitunry 7, before the Amory Athletic Asso
ciation. Boston. The boys are to fight at 133
pouiuls.
Hanlon Managers
A Iways Con e Sack
The managers of the Hanlon school
always come back.
Now and then one dies, but the first
surrender Is yet to be recorded.
Joe Kelly's return engagement with
the majors .brought this to mind.
When Ned Hanlon was winning pen
nants for the Orioles he was also build
ing up a school of generals from which
has been picked with great frequency
the men who command the baseball
destinies of big league teams.
No less than seven men connected
with Baltimore have held places of
Importance in the managerial line.
Hanlon himself at Baltimore and
Brooklyn landed half a dozen pennants:
McOraw won two pennants and a
world's championship for New York.
Jennings fared rather badly with the
Philadelphia Nationals, but, taking the
Detroit team from sixth to first place
scored a wonderful success on his
debut year In the American League.
Kelly wasn't a howling success at
Cincinnati, but after quitting the big
show he went to Toronto, and brought
er does not show up well next year.
Waddell Is now In Mobile.
It was said at baseball headquarters
this morning that Frank had secured
a catcher to take the place of Matty
Mathewa, but the new man’s name wa,
not revealed.
Cubs May Train
On Monkey River
Chicago, 111., Dec. 23.—The Chicago
Nationals may train on the Monkey
river next year.
This river Is located In British Hon
duras and Is said to have several
things on the Chicago drainage canal.
Monkey river Is within easy dlstancs
of New Orleans and the accommoda
tions there are aa good ax can be found
In any part of the world, with a climate
close to the 30-degree mark most of
the year. The Invitation for the Cub,
to train In the British colony comes
from John Lewis, who Is manager of
the Internation Hotel at Sfonkey River,
a thriving city situated on the Gulf of
Honduras. Lewis Is a well-known hotel
man, who formerly lived In New Or
leans. He lx anxloux to have the f hl-
cago team make the trip to his new
home and Manager Chance Is Inclined
to accept the Invitation because of the
fact that the climate there Is so plea*-
Ing and beneficial, compared to me
raw weather that prevails In the Lnltea
States at that time of the year. The
Cubs have been troubled for the lust
ten years to find climatic conditions
that would enable them to get Into an>-
thine like playltig condition before the
start of the season.
The Boston Americane will »P°N
noisy hosiery next season. Owner
Taylor la already calling them his Bed
Sox, and thinks that should be their
title. He should remember that red »
not a winning color In the big league".
When did those Cincinnati Reds ever
win a pennant?
a tallender to first place In the Eastern
L< Kld Gleason, who handled New York
for a time In the stormy days when
Freedman was president: Doyle,''"
led Baltimore and an American Ass *
elation club, and Catcher Wilbur Bob
Inson, who bossed the Job In «*•>“'
more for a time, are three Orioles a"
never landed pennants.
MUlHMtHHMMHtlNMHHHIHI
KHtMIHIHHtMHlMHHIHMUtHI
THE WINTER LEAGUE
By WILLIAM F. KIRK.
McGraw, ’tls said, la aadly out of humor.
Because the other chieftains wish him III;
McQann, according to the latest rumor.
Will have a Job not far from Bunker Hill.
McGfnnlty will pitch for Brooklyn—maybe;
George Browne, they say, will play right field In Maine;
Dahlen, for many years the shortstop baby,.
Will brake, they tell us, on a cattle train.
Han* Wagner will be traded for a bat-boy.
Spike Shannon will be sold for sixty cents,
While Heavy Harry Lumley, Brooklyn's fat boy.
Will probably be farmed to Providence.
Three-Fingered 3rown will Jump to North Dakota
To bolster up the Northern League next year;
Chance has been sold to SL Paul, Minnesota;.
Hugh Jennings will be swsjiped for McAIeer.
Thus goes the dope, and still the wonder grows
That all these scribes can print what no scribe knows.