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FANS
Motto: May the best team win; But ours is the best
l -
By Hugh S. Fullerton
"Wow! Wow!! Great eye, Eddie!
Make him put It across! Bust a
fence! You can do It! Wow! Wow!!
Wow!!! ROBBER! All right. Tough
luck, Eddie. Two and two. Make
her be over. Home run, Eddie, old
scout Break the gate. Wow! Wow!!
Wo ."
The red-faced, apoplectic young
man In the front row made a trumpet
of his hands and yelled until the
veins in his neck turned purple. In
the middle of the final "Wow” he col
lapsed, looked disgusted and turning
to me said:
"What do they keep that hunk of
cheese for? He can’t hit. Never
could. Striking out in a pinch like
that!”
The fan, howling encouragement or
bawling abuse at the ball players Is
the spirit of the town. Just how
great an influence this spirit exerts
upon the playing strength of the team
representing the town or city is im
possible of calculation, but It Is cer
tain that It is part of the national
game. He and his fellows exert al
most as much influence upon the team
as does luck, and this spirit is so in
extricably mixed with the element of
luck that it is impossible to deter
mine cause and effect. There are
cities in which the loyalty of the fans
has waned and turned to gibes, and In
these cities no player does well.
There are crowds that remain loyal
In victory and In defeat. These In
spire the players to give their best
efforts to win. Ball players will tell
you that teams invariably play bet
ter with friendly crowds applauding.
The fan invariably will respond that
he would be loyal provided the club
would win games enough to justify
loyalty. The players accuse the fans,
the fans accuse the players, and both
are In a measure right. The major
ity of patrons will “root” when the
home team is winning. Any team will
play better ball and win oftener If
the patrons are loyal. The fan, voic
ing the spirit of the town, is a pow
er for, victory or defeat.
Conditions In different cities com
prising the circuits of the major
leagues assert a powerful Influence
over their teams. Players will telT
you they would rather play for the
Chicago White Sox or for the New
York Giants than for any other teams.
They will assert that twenty Cobbs
could not win a pennant for Cincin
nati under conditions which the man
agement is now striving to change.
The fanatical loyalty of the White
Sox rooter and the Giant patron, the
angry abuse of players by the an
nually disappointed Cincinnati pub
lic, the sarcasm and raillery of Wash
ington crowds, trained for years to
expect nothing but defeat, have an
Immense effect upon the players and
teams. They make or mar players,
and weak men win for one type while
brilliant ones fail and lose for the
other.
The baseball fan Is an unique Amer
ican species and the most rabid of all
enthusiasts. Compared with him the
golf fan, the bridge fan, even the
bowling fan are mild. Baseball is
the most serious pleasure ever in
vented.
Probably the most blindly loyal
crowd in the world is that which fol
lows the fortunes of the Chicago
American league team, and to one
who Is disinterested the Chicago sit
uation Is acutely funny. The White
Sox park is located on the south side
CAA ’ / ■ * ■
i.; v . -
"Fans.”
of the city; the Cubs’ on the west,
and the city is divided into two great
armed camps. In 1896 when these
two teams, winners of the champion
ships in their own leagues, met to
contest for the world’s championship,
It was the loyalty of the south side
crowd beyond doubt that won for the
team. That fall the Chicago Tribune’s
composing room was about equally
divided between the followers of the
two teams and so bitter was the feel
ing that the foreman was compelled
to separate them and send them to
different sides of the building to main
tain peace. It was civil war all over
Chicago.
It Is a magnificent crowd, wonderful
In Its spirit and in its intense loyalty.
There are few things that shake an
opponent like the incessant: “Get a
hit,’’ “Get a hit,” which is the war
(Copyright, 1913, by W. G. Chapman)
song of the Sox rooters when they
scent victory.
One of the most dramatic displays
of loyalty I ever saw was in 1907,
when the team, beaten and displaced
from the championship, came home to
close the season. They had gone
away in high hopes, and failed. It
was Sunday, and as the defeated
team marched down the field 17,000
men and women stood silent and un
covered for a moment, then broke
into applause that swept the stands.
It is small wonder that a team back
ed always by such loyalty won even
during years when it seemed much
weaker than its opponents.
I have heard opposing players de
clare they would rather face anything
in the game than the grinding "root
ing” of the Chicago south side fans.
The only duplicate I know is the
rasping, nerve-racking, long Yale yell.
Not all players are frank enough to
admit that the rooting has any effect.
Indeed It is a common pose to pre
tend that they do not even hear. But
they do. Even among themselves
they pretend they do not care; but
once in a while they tell their inner
feelings. They know that half the
men who quit the major leagues are
driven out by the voice of the fan. I
have seen men break and go all to
pieces, rave and swear and abuse
everyone after suffering a cruel grill
ing by a crowd.
Walter Wilmot, one of Anson’s fa
mous old Chicago players, came to a
game on the old grounds fifteen years
after retiring. He looked across to
ward the left field and said:
“There’s some of them out there
now I’d like to choke.”
Yet the roar of the crowd does not
break them as quickly as does some
sharp thrust of sarcasm or biting wit
from an individual. Perhaps that
shaft is only the last straw, but when
a player is in a nervous collapse he
usually rages at some individual who
said something to him. Josh Reilly,
one of the merriest, happiest players
I ever knew, "blew up” one day and
had to be restrained from assaulting
three or four thousand men In the
bleachers.
’Did you hear what he said?” de
manded Rgilly as the other players
tried to restrain him.
"What did he say?” Inquired some
one.
“He said: ‘Reilly, you’re a disgrace
to the Irish’,” and then he raged
again.
One of the quickest things I ever
heard was a remark from a Wash
ington fan which upset Frank Isbell,
the veteran, completely. Isbell’s head
is as bald as a concrete pavement,
and usually he kept his cap plastered
tightly on his head to shield himself
from the gibes of crowds. This time
he tried to steal second and made a
desperate, diving slide around and‘un
der the baseman only to be called
out. He was so enraged that he ran
at the umpire, grasped his arm, ar
gued and raved and finally in sheer
anger, jerked off his cap, hurled it
onto the ground and jumped upon it.
His bald head glistened in the sun
light and the crowd roared. Then,
above the roar came a voice:
“Put on that cap. They pinched
Mary Garden here for less than that.”
Possibly more trying than any con
certed rooting is the incessant nag
ging to which players on the Polo
grounds, New York, are subjected.
The one great bit of rejoicing among
the National league players last year
when they saw thv wonderful Brush
stadium was that the crowd could not
make itself heard on the field as it
did in the old stands. The Polo
grounds crowd is odd. Somehow
fans who occupy box seats either are
not as rabid as those in the cheaper
seats or they are on their good be
havior. and a fringe of box seats is
an effective shield for players.
Strangely enough the crowds on the
New York American league park, al
though quite as noisy, are much fair
er, than the crowds at the Polo
grounds.
One would think that visiting play
ers would like to play on grounds
where the home team is unpopular
through defeat or other causes, but
they do not. They rather resent the
home crowd abusing the home men.
i
In Cincinnati, Brooklyn and Washing
ton, during most of the season, the
crowds are bitterly sarcastic toward
the home teams, although the Brook
lyn crowds are decent except on Sat
urdays. St. Louis affords a queer
study of the -crowds. When the
Browns are at home the crowds are
ugly and vent their temper upon the
players, yet half a dozen blocks away,
on the rival park, there assembles a
crowd wilder and more frantically in
favor of the home team and more un
reasoning in partisanship than almost
any in the country. Just where this
feeling arises is hard to discover. The
crowd is violent in temper when the
team is winning, worse when It is los
ing. Perhaps long years of bitter de
feat have caused it.
In Boston and Philadelphia, on both
major league parks, the home players
and visitors are almost upon equal
terms, and the spectators applaud
good plays Irrespective of the players.
They see baseball under the best con
ditions, with both teams encouraged
and giving their best efforts to the
work. Pittsburgh is bad because of
the gambling that has become almost
part of the game in the Smoky City.
The temper of the crowd is ugly and
the losing element is in evidence no
matter whether the home club wins
or loses. Detroit Is a loyal, rather
violent crowd, tamed now because the
fans have learned to endure victory
as well as defeat. The crowds were
mad with enthusiasm the first year De
troit won and have since tamed down
“They Pinched Mary Garden for Less Than That.”
One of the queer things in that city
is the baiting of George Mullin, the
veteran pitcher. Mullin la a jolly,
quick-witted joker and years ago he
began talking back to the bleachers.
He was warned that the bleacherites
would put him out of the business,
but persisted. Every afternoon he
would walk down in front of the
bleachers and engage in a verbal
skirmish with the crowd, trying to
hold his own at rough repartee with
hundreds. He hbused the crowd,
laughed at them, accused them of
“quitting,” and enjoyed it. If he had
taken it seriously the result might
have been different, but after a time
it became part of the game and now
the spectators in the bleachers would
not be satisfied if Mullin forgot to
start a skirmish. Last summer, go
ing out on a car in Detroit, three
young fellows were talking.
“Oh, I’ve got a peach of a get-back
at him today,” said one, and, at the
urgent request of the others he drew
out a card and read what he was go
ing to say to Mullin if he came near
their seats. '
It is not the great crowds that at
tend the crucial games that exert the
strongest influence over players. True
there is a natural nervousness among
all the players when a tremendous
throng gathers to see them, as in
world’s series games; but the ones
that help the home team, or damage
it, are the crowd of from six to ten
thousand, stirred up by the “regulars”
who, day after day and season after
season, incite those around them.
There are thousands of these regulars,
self-appointed claques or cheer mas
ters, and some of them feel as if they
are doing as much to help the team
to victory as if they were out there on
the mound pitching. The large crowds
usually are the fairest and most
sportsmanlike, for In these great gath
erings the rabid and partisan fan is
lost and his utterances are smothered.
These crowds police themselves and
the players feel safe and assured of
fair play, and, after the first nervous
ness passes, they play their best.
A baseball crowd is much like a
mob. Without a leader it is just noise
and turmoil, but with one recognized
leader it can do much. A few years
ago a number of Chicago men at
tempted to carry out a theory that the
crowd needed leaders and the result
was one of the most dangerous ex
periments ever attempted. The White
Sox rooters organized, a band of men
far above average intelligence, who
laid daily plans for inciting crowds
and stirring up enthusiasm. The
Board of Trade Rooters operated at
both Chicago parks, being organized
primarily, to attack McGraw and the
Giants. They wrote and circulated
songs, invented Ingenious methods of
harassing a worthy foe, and to force
undeserved victory upon the home
teams. The idea spread rapidly.
“Rooters' clubs” were organized in
many cities and towns fio help the
home teams. For a few weeks it
looked as if the new movement would
seriously endanger the national game.
The crowds grew more and more vio
lent. Then, suddenly and without
warning almost, the wildest efforts of
the cheer masters fell flat —in Chi
cago at least. The harder the leaders
of the rooters worked the more apa
thetic the crowds became. It was an
interesting phenomenon and I set out
to discover the reason. The first
bleacherlte I met solved the problem.
“Dem guys ain’t on de square," he
said, “Usuns out In de bleachers
don’t want to rob nobody.”
There was the solution. No matter
how partisan a baseball fan may be
come, or how wild in his desire to see
the home team -win, deep dowp he
wants fair play, and, after a time, he
will Insist upon It. The rooters’ clubs
died.*
There are few of the noted fans
now, chiefly because the papers sel
dom mention them. Perhaps they ex
ist. In the old days almost every
club had one or two such followers.
Probably the best known was “Hi
Hi.” This was General Dixwell, of
Boston, who for many years followed
the fortunes of the famous old Boston
club. He is wealthy, Intellectual and
a cultured gentleman who became
completely absorbed in baseball. He
followed the team wherever it went
and became a familiar figure all over
the country. He occupied a front
seat in the stands, kept a careful
score and studied the game with a
seriousness that was appalling. He
maintained a deep silence during al
most all the game, but when a really
great play was made he emitted two
sharp staccato barks: “Hl! Hi!” and
then dropped to silence again. His
war cry gave him his name. He quit
attending baseball games years ago,
but still continues his deep Interest in
the sport, and in his apartments he
keeps a wonderful set of books show
ing the averages and performances of
players for many baseball genera
tions.
“Well, Well, Well,” was another
character who was named because of
his cry, w’hich followed just after a
big outburst of applause on the part
of the crowd. The moment the ap
plause subsided his “Well, well, well,”
would boom over the field and never
failed to start the cheering again.
The average crowd is cruel, because
It is thoughtless. Few of the fans
who hurl abuse and criticism at the
players stop to think that the men
they are addressing have the capacity
to feel and to suffer. Many a thought
less, barbed jest has wrecked the ca
reer of some ball player. It took the
players a long time to discover the
fact that their popularity and their
safety from abuse lies in presenting a
good-natured appearance, no matter
what happens, and in answering ques
tions when possible.
If you go through - league after
league, team by team, you will find
that the most popular player, in nine
cases out of ten, is some outfielder.
He probably is not the best player,
but he has the most devoted follow
ing, because he keeps on friendly
terms with the men and boys who sit
- • • ■ ■■• < ■
%
. • . •" , &
The Baseball Fan Is a Unique Amer
ican Species.
behind him. In fact, almost every
outfielder has his own regular pat
rons, who attend games and seek
seats as near to him as possible, and
who defend him against all comers
To them he is the best in the world,
a “Greater than Cobb,” nor do they
forget him; the player who finally dis
places an idol has a hard time. I
have knowm them to follow a player
around the field when he was shifted
from one to another position and to
battle for him with the retainers of
the other fielder who dared criticise
him.
Biased, prejudiced and distorted in
their views as most of them are, they
are very human and very lovable in
their blind devotion to the game, and
in their unreasoning hatred. And a
word of warning: Never try to ar
gue with a real, dyed-in-the-wool,
thirty-second-degree fan. In the first
place the chances are he is right, but
even if he is wrong there isn’t a
chance to win the argument
HU
ROOST CLOSET FOR POULTRY
Considerable Stress Laid on Curtain
In Front of House at Maine
Experiment Station.
In the curtain-front type of poultry
house used at the Maine experiment
station a feature of the original plan
on which considerable stress was
laid was the canvas curtain in front
of the roosts.
This curtain, together with the
back wall of the house and the drop
pings board under the roosts, formed
a closet in which the birds were shut
up at night during cold weatheK
When the curtain-front house was
first devised It was thought essential
to provide such a closet to conserve
the body heat of the birds during the
cold nights when the temperature
might go well below zero. Expe
rience has shown, however, that this
was a mistake. Actual test shows
that the roosting closet is of no ad
vantage, even in such a severe cli
mate as that of Orono. On the con
trary, the birds certainly thrive bet
ter without the roost curtain than
with it. It has been a general ob
servation among users of the curtain
front type of house that when the
roost curtains are used the birds are
particularly susceptible to colds. It
is not hard to understand why this
should be so. The air in a roosting
closet when it is opened in the
morning is plainly bad. The fact
that it is warm in no way offsets
physiologically the evils of its lack
of oxygen and excess of carbon di
oxid, ammoniacal vapors, and other
exhalations from the bodies of the
birds.
For some time past it has been felt
that the roosting closet was at least
unnecessary, if not in fact a positive
evil. Consequently the time of be
ginning to close the roost curtain in
the fall has been each year longer
delayed. Finally, in the fall of 1910,
it was decided not to use these cur
tains at all during the winter. Con
sequently they were taken out of the
house, or spiked to the roof, as the
case might be. The winter of 1910-11
was a severe one. On several occa
sions the temperature dropped to 30
degrees below zero. Yet during this
winter the mortality was exceptional
ly low and the egg production excep-.
tionally high.
In view of this experience the sta
tion has decided to discontinue the
use of the roost curtain. It would
seem to be generally undesirable or
at least unnecessary.
FOR SHIPPING EGGS SAFELY
Holder Made of Corrugated Straw
board Is Provided With Small
Hole at Each End.
This egg holder is made from cor
rugated strawboard, the egg being in
serted by opening an overlapping joint
at the side. The container is provided
with a small hole at each end so that
Safety Egg Holder.
it may be opened and closed without
tearing it, says the Popular Mechan
ics. The holder is adapted for send
ing eggs safely by parcel post, or
carrying them with the least possibil
ity of breakage..
Eggs shipped by express are often
queered by baggage smashers.
The well-fed and well-cared-for fowl
is the one that brings the profit.
When the old hen begins to lay and
whip her chicks it’s time to- wean
them.
Fall chickens find a good market as
roasters during January, February and
March.
The poultry industry is growing
beyond the hopes of its most radical
friends.
Egg shells may he utilized a second
time if crushed and turned over to the
chickens.
The brooder has not, as yet, reached
the stage of perfection that the incu
bator has.
Lack of moisture in the incubator
means tough shells and dead chicks at
hatching time.
To successfully use eggs in the arti
ficial hatches one must, if possible, se
cure eggs of the highest vitality.
An egg laid in November and De
cember will bring twice as much
money as the one laid in March or
April.
While heavy laying is as a rule
desirable, phenomenal egg records are
not a guarantee of strong, rugged off
spring.
THOSE RHEUMATIC
TWINGES
Much of the rheu
matic pain that
comes in damp,
changing weather is
the work of uric
acid crystals.
Needles couldn’t
ci’t, tear or hurt any
worse when the af
fected muscle joint
is used.
If such attacks are
marked with head
ache, backache, diz
ziness and disturb
ances of the urine,
it's time to help the
weakened kidneys.
Doan's Kidney
Pills quickly help
sick kidneys.
A New York Case
D. J. Donovan, Larchmont, N. Y„ says: "My
right leg was so swollen It was twenty-four
Inches around. My back felt as If It were be
ing prodded with a hot Iron. I had rundown
from 210 pounds to 160. I was steadily growing
worse, and had given up hope. I Improved rap
idly, however, under the use of Doan's Kidney
Pills. They cured mo entirely and 1 have since
gained 40 pounds.”
Get Doan’s at Any Store, 50c a Box
DOAN’S WAV
FOSTER-MILBURN CO., BUFFALO, N.Y.
He that wills a thing succeeds in
it; but the most difficult thing in the
world is to will.—-De Maistre.
Opposing Tendencies.
“When you insulted Jaggs, did he
hesitate before giving you a soft an
swer?”
“Yes, he swallowed hard.”
No. SIX-SIXTY-SIX.
This is a prescription prepared es
pecially for Malaria or Chills and
Fever. Five or six doses will break
any case, and if taken then as a tonic
the fever will not return. 25c. —Adv.
Old-Fashioned Birds.
"I like to wander in the park.”
’’The birds do- sing sweetly.”
“Yes; and they neveY sing ragtime."
AROUSES THE LIVER AND PURIFIES
THE BLOOD.
The Old Standard general strengthening tonic,
GROVE’S TASTELESS chill TONIC, arouses the
liver to action, drives Malaria out of the blood and
builds up the system. A true tonic. For adults and
children. 50c.
Not Always Palatable.
“Truth lies at the bottom of a well.”
“Then no wonder there is so much
well water which is contaminated.”
“Secluded Saint.”
The Australian government officials
are wrestling in these days with the
millions of cards issued and returned
in connection with the 1911 census.
One woman wrote that she was “an
unclaimed treasure.” Another of thir
ty-seven replied, "Not married; have
not given up hope yet.” In reply to a
query as to religion, a man in prison
described himself as a “secluded
saint.” Another said he was a “blue
light;” a third was a “simple lifer."
One woman referred to herself as a
“Roaming Catholic," and another
claimed to belong to the "Shirts of
England.”
MADE RETURN A QUICK ONE
Bill’s Absence Cut Decidedly Short
When Visitor’s Object Was
Made Known.
The Harduppe brothers, Sam and
Bill, were frankly “up against IL”
They owed the tailor, the landlady,
the tobacconist and sundry others,
and they spent most of their time
dodging their creditors’ emissaries.
Came a ring at the front doorbell,
and Sam answered.
“I must see your brother,” an agi
tated man insisted. “I must see him
today without fail.”
Thinking it one of his brother’s
creditors, Sam replied:
“Why, I’m sorry, but Bill left town
yesterday.”
The man’s face fell. "That’s too
bad,” he said, “for I wanted to pay
him ?50 that I owe him, and I’m going
west tonight.”
“Oh,” said Sam, his face lighting,
“that's easy; Bill came back this
morning.”
In Summer—
When the body needs
but little food, that little
should be appetizing and
nourishing.
Then about the best
and most convenient thing
one can have handy is a
package of
Post
Toasties
This food is fully cook
ed —crisp, delicious and
ready to serve direct from
the package.
Post Toasties with fresh
strawberries and cream
are hard to beat.
“The Memory Lingers”
Sold by Grocers.
Postum Cereal Company, Limited,
Battle Creek, Mich., U. S. A.
