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®OKM SIMJ®? »IXMCT LPITLD fy W 9 FARNSWORTH Silk Hat Harry' S DlVQ7*ce Sui t He Didn't Mean What the Judge Mean Copyright, 1912, National News Ass’n. By Tad (4 An ktcpeS- this < s . ’ ( I WANT ro - SEE OMp " ‘OW &E£ I'm So \ " Z “ \ AAS< UHCLE - MEI PPC«A <* THEM 8000 3 ANmOUJ TO SEE ' „ —\ MV FF-iEHO A TDW/V I TWE 3UD&E ?UTS IM A 800 & - \m£U- l'U-TEIX , HEV fcU MNW - \ xmANTS TO SE-& U? nortm ano I WAUT -we cooueit emekvv I -- y have ar/nzor nootojhowhim y-T-'x oa V j awoSoeP- ’/V i ' V± go ° 6 Z r r~<) 1 ' we N! iS X!?J ?TTY 1 maTuhhauseß- 14 gggfegh; £J J> L ; AX.‘ HeK£ .,!.z- leF /t, ■> . itßßgl I ./> --fc- J®fe -- - fxz *•**?< ISBSS® I _l_L // yjSSBi? MW W\\'l ill ffiUk v? -.jftfilh z JILI ■'-CJstKusec. •+ tMB/ ]3B [jwi"/ . >!"' - i F !fW ® L _L — — Jimmy Archer Is Greatest of All Men Behind Bat +•+ +•+ •!*•+ •!•••!• +•■!• Former Atlanta Backstop in Class by Himself By. W. J. Mcßeth. WE have with us today, gentle readers, one of the real novelties of the nation's delight. Kindly step forward, Mr. James Archer, of the Chicago Cubs, till the populace gets a peek at you. Rather a handsome young gen tleman. isn't he, with his raven locks, swarth.v complexion and Ro mas profile? Well, take It from all the ball players In the National league he’s far better than he looks, even 1f he Is a handsome kind of a chap. There may be better catchers tn the profe-ssion today than Jimmy Archer, of Chicago. Rut there are no such backstops There's a slight distinction between the two classes Catcher involves the broader sense of that special type of athletes that wears mask, wind-pad and mitt. A catcher's value is reckoned relative to his team worth, talcing In his of fensive as well as his defensive ability. Backstop only Implies the defensive issue—the work of hand ling pitchers, crossing batsmen and keeping runners glued to the sacks. Wherefore -at least that portion of enthusiasts who reside around the metropolis—general fandom will tell you perhaps that Chief Meyers, of the Giants, ts the best catcher In the National league. The atatement is made keeping In mind Meyers' all-round utility principally his deadly hitting eye. for no major league maskman prrmmela the pill as does the Mis sion aborigine But as a backstop there ts no man before the pnbllc who can hold a candle to the Cub •tabwart. From a defensive stand point he is as superior to Meyers as Meyers is superior to .Timmy of fensively Sits on Back of Heels. Ton have often heard a catch ers highest form of flattery toward Me pet battery mate "Say. bo." •ays he, "I oould catch that guy sitting in a rocking chair ” Archer has never been known to make snch a boaat Rut every game he works he handles his pitcher to the height of perfection from a far more difficult position He doesn't sit in a rocking chair Rut he sits on his heels. And while crouched on the rear view of his pedals he can throw juet abrmt twice as ac curately and twice as speedily as any other man set firmly on his fset for a peg Jimmy Archer behind the bat Is the personification of athletic grace. It Is worth the price of ad mission alone to see him work Fully three-quarters of the time he squats on bls heels firm as a deep-seated rock Ho Is a well knit fellow, muscled like a Greek runner, but far from giant propor tions. Yet. while balanced on the backs of his shoes, he can take the speediest shoots of Ed Reulbach without rocking an inch, and Reul bach. when pushing them over, is renowned for terrific speed A Nimble, Agile Fellow. Few pitchers that work with Archer have inanv wild flings dur jog a season For bis peeullai Specialty gives Jimmy a marked advantage in receiving ft -m his regular working attitude h< is so low to the ground that i low bal can scarcely get past him. He can smother it in the dirt with his big mitt or shift more quickh from his crouching attitude to intercept ft if It takes a mean hop. He Is a nimble, agile fellow, quick as a at on his feet and with his hand- Wherefore, if the ball shoots high he has simply to spring up and • pear it. it is a well known fact that it is far easier to go up for high ones than to dig down for crazy ehucks. Th< same natural advantage that protects a pitcher from wild flings also keeps Archer's passed balls to a minimum. Backstopping literally means the receiving of the pitcher's delivery. In this special line, as pointed out. Archer has no equal But his re sources do not stop there. His pe culiar catching attitude seems to ba admirably adapted to perfect throwing. Archer is a deadly marksman Either standing or squatting, he can peg the bull's eye at any cushion 99 times in 11)0. His throws snap out with riflelike ve locity, but his greatest adjunct is the faculty of getting that throw away at once. He wastes no time in starting the ball on its course The minute the ball hits his glove Its away again, lie never draws back his arm; he shoots the ball with a snap peculiarly his own, and he saves stolen bases by mak ing the foe hug the sacks. Let a man stray two feet beyond safe ground at any base and he's dead as a door nail, if any one is on the job at the other end. His squat ting position behind the batter seems to give Archer a distinct advantage over a base runner. He can watch his man like a hawk without tipping his hand Good For Many Seasons. Ha! Chase revolutionized play around first base Archer has not revolutionized catching simply be cause there are none to follow hfs lead There is just one Aicher as there ts Just one Chase But they can not mimic Archer as they try to Chase, for he—as mentioned in the introduction sentence is the real big novelty of the national pastime, I’ntll there comes a gen eration of acrobats reared on’thelr heels instead of high chairs Jimmy FODDER FOR FANS Brooklyn l me'end * o’} 't’A” "it’”'' '"7'.’,T en \ en ln the conn another man sent up from the thorn it * v i ( and 1 be- last year. He was 1 ikii t-v » leased by the Northwestern league " . ou^a *’ right hand hurler, who And there vou are has been a star with I >es Moines, will ’ ... Join the White Sox next week . • • J Ph I he Appalachian league nas sold a half- George Pierce tried bx both th*. ’’'’zen players to clubs of higher rlassifi- and the Giants knd listed as a to al fail a?™” ? an<l ls ,. ne » nt ’ at »ng for the ure, has again been l < ugh? bv tie d I ..t others. Knoxville got *3.00(1 He has starred with ScSnton this vea? "‘/her Hhvis which is almost more He struck out 21 pliers ' "" ’ h " ’ lark Griffith, who has seen everx pitohor 111 > 'S’ pitcher the world .ver knew. Hu says al ll " sp?ed'and aa contr"l K “ Sie ' B I>eS ' efforlS in . 'ernon, recentl* picked up by Wash- 1 Bna tontro i . ington. is the Amherst college star, signed . mm, .v, . , originally by the Cubs. Joe TV tills, the < ardinal southpaw, has • • • shorn tcr e t I Pj s P lael><l llgl ! ni '' n,s in his If Washington should happen to heat Lu „ ,l " e 11 not the Red Sox. ,l„„ M. Ai ee r would feel that that it will make an\ material difference he had been whipsawed in the pennant race • • J ’ * • Armando Marsans is said tn be the one ( ohb Is a great ball player, all right best bet of the Red team this year Next But that strike he started so disorganized 5 ear the Reds will have two Cubans play the Detroit team that it hasn't been in ing with them reguhirh. the running since The signing of a two * • * jear contract with Petroit bx Jennings The bitterest cup for o Pax to gulp marks the end of that famous incident. down is the thought that, but for those „ t * * * fifteen straight games that his Reds Even Birmingham now admits that the handed McGraw, the New York t<am Barons will win the pennant wouldn’t an absolutely commanding • • • lead in the National. Ihe plaxers who kick don’t last the * ♦ ♦ '""{'••■‘d jm the diamond, according to The extremely high price paid for mod- Jiaiik » l>«x Nine times out of ten. ern pitchers is said to be due to the sa>s Henry. the players kick to cover lively ball. Ii is a lot harder to get up their own faiths. * awns with it now than it used to be if Daubert lakes Hie job as manager at Thorpe, tin al! round athletic champion HtooklMt it is certain that he will not of the world, will probablt begin pitcli iav< an. ten high managerial standards mg lor Hie Pirates at Hie end of the 1913 to live up to. college season Thorpe is said to be a .... • - Sac <or Sauks) Indian, with some eon- , ' ia T ”>«l His Speaker, of Hub- siderable white blood in his veins bard City. Texas, la the reason Texas is • • • ialle.l the Lone tdar State Lee Tannehill lasted a long time in the x . , , , , big leagues ami all lie had was fielding New Orleans lias accepted a first divt- abllitt 11.- couldn't hit and he was slow slon berth for the Pelicans as the best on bases thing that can be hoped for and is talk ' ... , , , Hank o'Day admits that enough Is , , plenty He has passed on the news that winning ball club disciplines itself he is through as a manager and that he arst 'ear Fatsy Donovan just couldn't will ask for bis old iob of umpire back keep a lot of the Red Sox from tanking again up This tear, with pennant and world s ... *n -r Trow a w l .mM 'be n oa i'ilei'°L"m 11 *’’> Stahlhoefer. of Evansville, ts a teammams d ’ Bridled bi his own candidate for the $3,000 job of president e tbc Central league I nfortunateb for r_ > Harr? the) offered him the Wheeling i building for next > ear all the old franchise last year and he tactful!' re material Jennings intends to use is Tx marked. ’ Gix> 000 for the Wheeling Whj I v , * * * the whole league!” And now they’re , ■ ’ ' I ax-( oach managers hobling that bright remark against him ‘ M-nett o| Knox an d >oruebod.\ else xxill get the $3,000 ville, Mx nexx first baseman, Hanes, is job. TTTE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS. MONDAY. AUGUST 12. 1912 Archer is very likely to get the big hand as one of the passing side shows. Almost as astonishing as the great ('uh catcher’s backstopping and throwing skill is his natural speed. Kew catchers are fast. But Archer is an exception. He belies the theory that constant squat ting slows up the leg muscles of a receiver. Archer is far from a poor hitter; in fact, he is above the average as catchers go. He's an all-round star any way you wish to take him. Crackers Fairly Started on Semi-Final Trip—With Two Defeats in One Day PLAV2 BAYS IN NEWORLEANSJHENGOTOMOBILE By Percy 11. Whiting. UvELL, after losing two games I their first day away from home, the Crackers are fairly started on their semi-final road trip. They play in New’ Or leans today and tomorrow. Then the club gets a couple of off days. And after that it opens in Mobile for three days of hard going. Not that it makes any particular difference. Nothing matters now hut next year. Ami that doesn't matter so much now, ♦ ♦ * P'ttRMER Southern league play ers, with such notable excep tions as Daubert, Rucker, Joe Jack son. Dode Paskert, Tris Speaker and tile chaps who always make good, haven't shown such a tre- I Ihe Big Race j Here's how the "Big Five” of the American league are hitting the ball, the averages including yesterday’s games: PLAYER. A.B. H. P.C. COBB 402 168 .418 SPEAKER 427 171 .400 JACKSON 401 155 .387 COLLINS 382 127 .332 LAJOIE 263 80 .304 Cobb has been out of the game for two days now and both Speaker and Jackson have climbed up nearer to him. In Saturday and Sunday games Speaker garnered four hits in eight times at bat. Jackson did even better, smashing forth six swats in eight at tempts. Collins got four hits in ten trips to the plate. Lajoie connected twice in eight chances. mendous lot in the big leagues this year. Kirke, who looked like a wonder with the Braves, isn't in the line up now Jackson, who went from the Memphis team to the Braves, is doing better, though his batting av erage is perceptibly less than the .347 he made in the 39 big leafgue games he worked last year. Northern Is doing good work with Brooklyn, and so is Red ’Smith, while Pitcher Frank Allen manages to hang on. though he isn't going very strong. Rut Brooklyn has sent back al! the other Southern leag uers of last year's crop—Daley. Kent, Coulson and the rest, and also Dolly Stalk. Pat Flaherty has passed back. Bridwell has been out of the game virtually all of the season with an injured foot. Mclntyre, former Memphis hurler, has dropped out of the running and will go in for sa looning. Os course. Buck Becker and Tris Speaker, graduates of the lamented Little Rock team, con tinue to play big ball for league leaders. Hank Griffin has come hack to the Southern and then dropped out of this league. Hub Perdue manages to keep In the limelight in one way or another, and so does Hess, who went to the same club from the Southern. But Rugs Raymond has dropped out of baseball entirely: Oldring, a former Montgomery player, has slumped tremendously with the Athletics; Neal Ball continues to be too er ratic for tegular big league service; Lively has dropped off the Detroit team; Lindsay didn't stick with Cleveland, neither did Butcher; Clarke has gone from the St. Lottis team, and Casey has departed from Detroit. However, at that the Southern league is probably as brilliantly represented in the major leagues right now as any Class A league. So long as Joe Jackson. Jake Daubert, Zack Wheat. Dode Paskert. Reals Becker. Jimmj Archer. Nap Ruck er. Slim Sallee. Tris Speaker. Ed Sweeney and Russ Ford continue to represent the Southern in the big show as brilliantly as they have in the past year, the Dixie league will not soon be forgotten. ♦ ♦ • <>\\ that the Birmingham team has got the pennant and gone with it. it is recalled with some amusement that at the first of the season Baron fans and some Baron sport writers couldn't see the Bir mingham team at all. While At lantans were picking the Barons to win the pennant, the Baron base ball experts were poking fun at the team and panning the life out of Molesworth. ft's an odd thing, but somehow Birmingham has not been able to appreciate Molesworth. He has had ; his team "right up there" ever since he really got It straightened out , and going some And he is going to take this pennant in a canter. Johnson a Wise Champion in Retiring From Ring Flynn Fight Made Him Realize He’s Going Back By W. W. Naughton. JACK JOHNSON says he has re tired, and it remains to be seen whether he means it. Just at • present his resolve is of an ada mantine character. He swears that the world will never hear him say, as John L. Sullivan said. "I tried once too often,” and that never , hereafter w ill the lure of gold bring him back to the ring as it brought Jeffries back, when he was far past his athletic prime. The writer believes that Johnson Os course, he has had enthusiastic financial backing—but so did Hemphill. So that doesn’t prove anything. ♦ ♦ • ROM a man who claims to have 1 seen the letter, it is learned that the Atlanta Baseball association is conducting a near-dicker with Nor man Elberfeld to take the tpanage ment of the Cracker club for next year. We are a trifle inclined to doubt the story. In the first place, the local club isn’t going to do any dickering with a man under con tract with another club. In the sec ond place. Kid Elberfeld has had his chance as a manager and has failed. The Kid knows baseball and he has the pepper. But Elberfeld never has been able to control him self and will never be able to con trol others. NEWS FROM RINGSIDE Backey Hommey was signed up a few days ago to meet either Jim Coffey or Boyo Driscoll for next Monday’s show at the Garden A. C. in New York. If Hom mey gains the decision Matchmaker Gib son has promised him a scrap with Young Shugroe or some other leading feather weight. • • ♦ Although Laither McCarthy lost the popular decision to Jim Stewart in Go tham a few’ days ago. he is not a bit de spondent. Luther is matched with Tom Kennedy a week from today and says he will win in a walk. The big battler said the crowd got his “goat” last time, but that now’ he has got used to the mob and will show them some speed next out. ♦ ♦ ♦ Mike Gibbons .is about, ready to descend upon the East once more. This time Michael will carry along his brother Tommy, who is as good as Mike, so Mike says. Anyway, the pair will reach Go tham early next month. • • • Eastern sport scribes believe Jack Johnsons retirement from the ring is simply a bluff to get larger nurses for his fights. Johnson could stay in seclu sion for several months until some “hope" has made such an impression on the pub lic that the promoters would be willing to offer another purse, such as was posted when Johnson fought Jeffries, then all "Lil" Arthur would have to do would be hammer him around awhile, collect the money and then retire again. • • • Harrx Rafael, who is managing Charley Miller, the latest entrant to the “white hope" ranks, was in New York a few days ago blowing about what Miller could do. He says what Charley will do to I’al zer and the rest of the bi£ pugs will be enough to send him to the electric chair. Miller will leave for the East after his battle with Jim Flynn on Labor Day • • • Luther McCarthy and Jess Willard are scheduled to mingle at the Garden A C in New A'ork August 19 • « • Jim Stewart has challenged Al Dalzer for a ten-round battle to be staged in Gotham Stewart has won eight of his recent fights by the K. O. route and says he has earned a crack at the big fighter. ■ • • The Terre Haute boxing club is trying to match George K. O Brown with Kid Skelly for a match there Labor Day • • • Backey McFarland will signalize his return to the ring and the start of his fall campaign of 1912 by a six-round en gagement w’ith Joe Hirst in Philadelphia August 3<> ... Johnnie I V-VIM Wronk will is out of the game to stay. The heart knoweth its own bitterness, and no one knows better than Johnson what rough sledding it was with .Fireman James Flynn at Las Vegas. Two years ago Johnson would have literally spanked Flynn for his bad ring manners. As it was. the best Johnson could do was hold on and holler for help. Two years of acquaintance with the Paris cases and the pleasure haunts of London had told in Johnson's case just as similar dalliance had done in the case of Peter Jackson. When the state police were clam bering into the ring In New Mexi co and Referee Smith was mopping his perspiring brow, a little bird 9 whispered in Jack Johnson’s ear, “The time is ripe for retiring." And who can blame him? He has acquired a competence through the use of his gloves, and now that he feels he is not as spry or as sure fisted as he used to be, he is show ing good judgment in sidestepping possible disaster. Because other champions made mistakes is no reason why Johnson should. Wants To Quit Unbeaten. In getting out at this time, John son is catering to an ambition he has long felt, even though he may not have giveff expression to it. He would dearly like to be known as the only negro who held the world’s championship and then retired un defeated. In support of this view, it Js only necessary to recall Johnson's atti tude toward other colored fighters since he became champion. It is claimed that he deliberately back ed out of a match with Sam Lang ford. in London, after signing con- appear as the headliner of a boxing car nival to be staged In Cleveland August 13. • • • Joe Rivers and Charley White have been practically matched for a bout to be : staged some time next month. No club has been mentioned, but it is probable the match will be staged in the East somewhere near Chicago. • • • The only reason Young Jack O'Brien was not knocked out in the sixth round by Leach Cross in New York the other night was that he held on to Leach so tight that the dentist could not hit him. EAST VS. WEST ON BOXING CARD IN N. Y. THIS WEEK NEW YORK, Aug. 12.—The East and the West will be pitted against each other in the only two important boxing bouts that will be staged here this week. At Madison Square Garden to night Jack Britton, a Chicago light weight, will tackle Eddie Smith, of Harlem. On Wednesday night at the St. Nich olas rink. Gunboat Smith, a Califor nia heavyweight, will box ten rounds with Porky Flynn, of Boston. There are several other bouts on the program, but all are of minor importance. McFarland and wolgast TO MEET INGOTHAM OCT. 3 NEW YORK. Aug. 12 —Ad Wolgast and Paekey McFarland will meet in a ten-round bout under the auspices of the Garden Athletic club in this city October 3. according to word received today from a representative of that club now in Cadillac, Mich. Both men are to weigh 133 pounds at 3 o’clock on the day of the fight. RITCHIE STARTS WORK FOR BOUT WITH HOGAN SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 12.—Willie Ritchie, who is to meet "One-Round" Hogan in a four-round bout at Dream, land Friday, has begun training. Willie plans only light work. Hogan also went to work today. He fought fifteen rounds with Tommy, McFarland i< lit tle more than u week, ago and is in ex i cwUent condition. tracts. He has been a veritable will o’ the wisp to Joe Jeannette, w’ho has been after him for a long time. He has often talked of going to Australia to box Langford and McVea. but, judging by his actions, he was never for an instant sincere in this. If the last has really been seen of Johnson as a pugilist, he will be remembered as a fighter who was seldom if ever fully extended. Some say that his fight with Tommy Burns in Australia was his hardest. This may be so. He certainly never had any hard fights in the ordinary acceptance of the term in this country. His go with Jeffries, from which so much was expected, was so extremely one-sided that it lives in memory as the joke of the century. A Great Uppercut Fighter, Johnson’s style of boxing was all his own. He was master of the straight left and right crosses that educated boxers usually employ, but he seldom relied upon them. In the use of hooks, uppercuts and lifting punches generally he prob ably never had an equal. Arguments frequently arise as to how Johnson would have fared if he had been sent against a Queens berry crackajack like Peter Jack son when the latter was at his best. Well, there is no harm in forming and holding an opinion on the point, but right there the discussion ends. It is a sporting aphorism that it is bootless to argue any matter that can not be settled by a bet, and certainly there is no way of deter mining which was the better man— Peter Jackson or Jack Johnson. The remark is often heard that Johnson was lucky—that when he teached his prime there were really no good heavyweights in sight. That is true in a measure, but it is the luck of the game. It very often happens that staieness and long service contribute to a champion's defeat as much as anything else. Seldom 2 Good Men at Same Time. In the heavyweight division, it was seldom in recent years that two really good tnen developed about the same time. Possibly the best instance of genuine rivalry In this respect was when Jeffries and Shar key were working to the front. No more stubborn engagements than the two in which Jim and Tom were the principals were ever wit nessed probably, and if Sharkey had had a few inches more of stature, ring history might have had an en tirely different twist. Who will be Johnson's successor? Some people do not see much hope for the hopes because Langford, McVea and Jeannette are sVlll ac tive. But these colored gladiators are not by any means as youthful as they used to be, and as there is no negro novice in sight, there is good reason for arguing that a white man will rule the heavy weight roster within the next cou ple of years. ALL WAIVE ON STORCH. nasha ille. tenn.. Aug. 12. 11 was announced this morning that waivers had been secured on Harrjf Storch, utility man of the Nashvill, team, and he did not accompany ths team to Montgomery last night Storch has been with the Nashville team sinct the beginning of the 1911 season being secured from Dallas, Texas, where h« was the leading home run hitter of the league. He may go back to the Texas league. MILLER KNOCKS OUT YOUNG. •HICAGO, Aug. 12.—Hirsch Mi’llei knocked out Billy Young in the third round of a fight held over the state ling yesterday afternoon They boxed for i side bet and $3,000 changed hands oi the battle. A big crowd saw the bout.