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©O2GM sq®ffaij f Hl® Tommy McMillan’s Baseball Life Began at Tech High’anders’ Small Shortstop Is a Natural Player By Percy 11. Whiting.* T y tHEN tin first call went out V/V' fir baseball candidates in the spring of 1904 at the G.-orgia Institute of Technology, there was the usual response. A hundred or more young men turned out —and one little boy. The boy was a clean cut little shaver, in short pants, about the size of a half-grown bat boy. When Coach Heisman looked them over he saw the makings of a fine team- -and he also noted the kid. '1 hope he doesn't get in the way 1 and get hurt. Til hare to eliminate .JMm at the first cut,'’ wns Coach Heisman's comment. Then followed ~ lor of Indoor wtrrti For days the candidates 4K4rt«<l as best they could In the restricted apace of the gymnasium, doing rot* small thing* In the baseball line as the scant room •florttawl. When the time forth« first cut caarne Coach Hetaman wielded the pruntng knife with reckless aban doiK as usual. But w hen ha came 4o the nemo of the kid he didn't umi ft. 1 “IfMa-rOww that boy work In ifh® Open," was Ms comment. Another cut came. And then the fttal one. When the flrwt game was played ttjp nnaßewt man cm the squad was at she er stop He had shown such a tysltfre genius for bawebaJl that he Trad xtucX through. The ruuts> of the boy was Tommy McMillan, • • • VT OW, Tommy McMillan was im . ' doubtedly the very Httlest boy who ewer got on a real varsity team in the South. Ho won his olace because he could bat fairly Wpll, because he could field excel lently, and most particularly be caatse he had a baseball mind. * McMillan has," says Coach Heisman, who perhaps knows him better than any other man. “that rare faculty of knowing where a bull is going to be hit. He seems to give the matter no thought. No doubt lhe divines the thing by the working of his subconscious mind, (liven u. batter he knows and given some hint of what Is to be pitched to him and he can come nearer to telling where It l s going to be hit than any living man who has ever come under my observation." It Is this faculty that has given McMillan positions on three big league teams and that has made him. with the sole and glowingly .brilliant exception of Willie Keeler, the greatest bull player of his inches »1| ( . ever graced a diamond. • • • 'J'HEI faculty of knowing where 6 ball was going to be hit urns McM marts most trouhlOßome weak ness nt first. When he figured out that the sphere was going to be hit bMwecn first tout HIM viral be didn't hesitate ait all to run over back of the pMcher timd take It away from the second basomtut. And this peculiarly Irritated the snhond baaeman- who wus, the year McMillan broke tn, that ex oeßent performer Fred Richardson. It took all of Richardson's patience and. «ll of Coach Heisman's author ity to confine McMillan's activities to a territory about twice ua large as any other shortstop in the Southern college world covered. And to this day he can eome as near to playing the entire infield unassisted as anybody you ever saw. • • • JUST how diminutive McMillan was In his first year is hard to realize. Coach Heisman estimates tfcat at the time he was probably five feet, five Inches tall and that he weighed perhaps 110 to 115 pounds. How young he was is best illus trated by a story told by one of his team mates that year. The Tech team was off on a trip, it doesn't matter particular!) where, and after a game the boys went out for an evening at a girls’ college. Tommy was the first man home and he was particularly glum "What's the matter'.’" he was asked on his return Aw. those gill< maki me tired," said Tummy. He was pressed for purlieu',us "Why, confound it.' said Tom my. "one of 'em wanted to kiss me.” Whereupon he wont indignantly to bed. • • • *T*OMMY Fl-quin d < wor d <«f *■ coaching—and tn- sot it. Fimil ly, by agreeing to let h;<n plax Iv or three extra innings after the game t\as over, all by him*- !f th y got him < ontined inside a n<»rn»al territoi \ Viii' afb-i t ■ ;i t h« I*, m to ♦ !<•<•! 1 ifx the ri.lhTi \ I.rid wit n his perfornianri I remrinte r hi- li. si ir. :■ • in Nashville. v. hero I v.t> thi n writing sp • .ts f-o D- larm nt ’ I Nashvdle T>aily XV v < Tonin th. hi ’-.i of } . brilliant -<up s v, th X an- 1 ’• 1 i z- ; unde 11 u 1 v- rk m t l l *, h 111 , .i. i. i - larly conspicuous, but one play he made stands out above all the rest. A ball was hit toward left field. It was a liner and normally a sure hit Tommy turned with the crack of the bat. ran without looking at the hall to left field, stole one glance at the rapidly approachng leather, and with his back toward the home plate he jumped an in credible distance into the air and speared the ball. It may not sound spectacular, but Coach Heisman calls it the great eat fielding play he ever saw on a college diamond, and I’m well content to agree with him in the verdict. * * • » VOLUME could be filled with a ■* narration of Tommy's wonder ful stunts. Once in a game at Clemson, with Tech leading In the last of the ninth, two out, two men on bases and the score 5 to 3 In Tech's favor, a nasty fly was hit hack of shortstop. McMillan start ed back after it and Just as he was slowing down arid settling himself for the catch he. stumbled and fell. I here was no time to get up. no time to do anything but throw himself full length and stretch out his hands. This he did. and, lying flat on the ground on his back and with his hands be yond his head at full length, he caught the ball, retired the side and saved the game. Probably no incident of his col lege career showed better hls in nate baseball Instinct than one which happened when the Tech team was playing at Spartanburg with tlte Wofford college team. Tech had a grand team that year with Lafitte and Day as twfrl ers—and it won 23 out of 26 games. The Jackets had Just made a clean run of 12 straight wins and en tered the thirteenth gatne with some superstitious misgivings. It was u blustery day, with a gusty young hurricane blowing into the faces of the fielders. The diamond was skinned and sandy and to com plicate matters the ground keeper hud used overmuch litne on the lines. With the score 3 to 1 in Tech's favor In the eighth Inning and with men on second and third bases, the times were tense. The batter hit the first ball pitched a mighty wallop toward McMillan. And as he did so the worst gust of the day swept a cou ple of cartloads of dirt, sand and lime down across the field and right toward McMillan. The murky blanket reached the clever little in fielder before the ball dt<l. The situation looked hopeless No man could see through the curtain of lime and dirt. Yet suddenly, out of the middle of the miniature whirlwind, the ball shot, straight into the first baseman's hands, the runner was out and the side retired. As McMillan came back to the bench he was pawing at his eyes and almost blind. "Well. how. in the Dickens did you see that ball?" Coach Heisman asked, "Aw, 1 didn't see it." replied McMillan lightly. '■! just knew where it was coming and put my hands out and it jumped In." "Well, how did you manage to throw it to first—you couldn't s»ge, could ylou'.’" Coach Heisman per " sisted. "See—naw," said McMillan. "But don I you suppose I know where first is?” • • « yi j-UEN McMillan finished his eol *» lege course he decided on baseball as his profession. And Bernie McCay grabbed him and took him to the Baton Rouge club, where he played his first profes sional season in 1906. batting 187 and fielding .872 -no very brilliant performance. The next year, at Jacksonville, under the leadership of the eruptive Dominick Mulla ney and playing then on the same Cracker, he came nearer to his club with Vedder Sitton, a present normal gait, batting .255 and lead ing the shortstops of the league with an average of .934. The year 1908 was McMillans last in the South. Though his rec ords were not as good as the pre vious year (batting .217. fielding .918). I’.-it Donovan looked him over carefully whifi- his Brooklyn team was training tn th» South and In the full he grabbed him. McMillan continued his sensa tional fielding In the National league and showed a mark of 914 in 105 games with Brooklyn. His butting average, however, was but I'he follow Ing \ . ar. 1910. MeMII- lyn asked waivers on him. Cin cinnati claimed him. His batting mark for that s< ason was only a rankeil with such men as Sw. en<). of Boston r of N w Yolk Downey, of Cimlnnatl. "t d send ml .> t I' !St. rn league. But Hroeklvn wanted him tor the Itoeh • star team, while Clark Grlllith, 'h.n with Cincinnati, wanted to I:'.'.',"X 'h- <1 out t • •! in t’n X .|jon McMLi.m •• KoviHMti .n Hint fur T HE VTi AXT A G a y p Tl ESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 1912. him to play 24 games at shortstop. In E ist.-in tc.igue company Tommy fielded .901 and batted .279. Tills ye.,r Mc.Milian got a grand start with Rochester. So brilliant was his work that Harry Wolver ton bought him a eoupje of v -eks ago and he h.is joined the High landers. When he left the Inter national league he was batting .300 and was lar and away the best shortstop in the organization. What McMillan will be able to accomplish in the American league is uncertain. If anything inter feres w ith his sucei ss, it will he his alarming lack of size. Barring that, he has everything that goes to make a ball player. hi s v- .. « /„ A /// 'a s MI A. Ym. > * IO fIHKr W/ a . “ ' ■ * 'iC c f WIL It u. «Wi JWB < W/r - * W/ ■ 3 / i R BMBg / / / /- . - L / / « * SUF / k ’ C /Ji 7 Th ’ s slloW3 Wee " crar *‘y slaiY-mhig out a long hit to cento < * / / McMillan has been hitting well siitce joining the New York tean X, S y and is leading off for the Hilltop crew. ■h zrX - - SPEARING A HIGH LINER. Here is .mother one of Percy 11 Whiting’s sparkling stories on Georgia boys who are mak ing good in baseball. Mr. Whiting witnessed McMillan in ateion while l ittle Tommy played with the Tech team, and in this storx describes many sensational plays the wee one made while a member of the Yellow .Jackets. RIOT WHEN MONTE ATTELL FOULS BENNIE CHAVIZ TKIXIi'AIi. COLO Sent. 3 Bennie Chavig. of Trinidad, was awaroed the de cision < ver M .ntr Attell. of San l-'raii cisco. OV a foul, in the twelfth round of a gruelling tight here IMivery of the foul caused wild excite ment Spot tutors crowded into th • ring and the platform collapsed, but no one was injured HOUSTON CLUB LANDS TEXAS LEAGUE PENNANT GALEAS. n:\ . s. pt The T.-xas league .<< n < i 11*111 ended vestordav. with Houston in first ’'aw. San Antonio s. d. \v . t* trd ai.i. ’ ”;.s f rib Houston gamo . the lead early in .lune hi H r» laipeti hrst msiiinn until the end • ■ fi ’ ■ h •'• Ix • ..if > ,ih, i ' \\ villi svwiith anti Beaumont last.* Here's Tom McMillan In a Yankee Uniform jfs. i'- 'jpiS' / / URn Here's Hiw Crackers Are Hitting the Ball Right Up to Date T'i’ se . .« • i5-’,t‘s inchide yesterday s dou bl» ■!! \ A’. < oft |hi i s Players— Q. AB. R. H. AV. Price, p i 0 1 .500 Harbison, ss .71 2-IS 2S 70 .282 Alperman. :.:b.. . . 128 ‘O3 «‘d 11'9 .279 Jfc H. *KI 203 34 54 .26'. Callahan, cfß4 318 30 82 .258 <h- .d am. e .0 185 17 43 Ll 3 Mci'lveen, 3b .. . . l.",o 470 52 111 .230 er, p ’ 2 7.200 Reynolds, <•2? C 8 11 14 .200 Wolfe, utility .... pi 42 5 7 P‘»7 Brady, p. . .. .. 22 f>9 2 11 .159 Sitton, p 27 64 11 10 .156 Johnson, p 7 14 0 1 .0.1 Waldorf, p 10 25 0 1 040 r —— I'he Big Race 1 Here is the up-to-the-minute dope on how the "Big Five" batters of the American league are hitting: PLAVER—A. B. H, Aver. COBB ' 467 ‘ 192 4FT SPEAKER 4SI 195 .397 JACKSON 475 175 .363 COLLINS 442 147 333 LAJOIE . . 342 111 Tris Speaker lost five points ester da> when he failed to get a sinjle safe scat against the New Yo k pitchers in six times at bat. On the othc- hand. Ty Cobb gained a point by g"aboing two hits in four times up. Jackson was up six times and ga nrrej two safeties. Collins grabbed one hit in an even doz : n chances. Lajoie hit .500 for the day. - was up six times and msae three hits. Waldorf and Price Force Turtles Twice to Defeat • ? * + *•* +•*’ +•+ +•+ +.* No, ’Tis No Falsehood! Crackers Did Win Two A YIRACLES are popularly j_y I supposed to have gone out of fashion. Occasionally we hear of psychic phenomena, but 1119 T *• / z . a\ This shows Wee Tcraroy slainraing out a long hit to center. McMillan has been hitting well sivce joining the New York team, and is leading off for the Hilltop crew. I FODDER FOR FANS . I Bi i i i - nt jea r goes : osth o Ihe pi <.ei s 'tlev von the games in the Gull-Baron series that stalled off Mike Einn’s rush and clinched the rag. ♦ • • X'" wonder the I’ licans are nowhere, i George K< he is their h ading batter. ♦ ♦ ♦ <ine reason wh> the proposed round the-world trip «>i the Giants is flickering i oceans, McGraw wanted all the pla\- rs who w. r»- i g< o put up a birr deposit to gra»an’ec the financial success of the af fair. This listens like a dirge to a ball player. • ♦ » •’> Morgan was rung in the other day on an an a teui l ean a i Bryn Ma wr. It was playi: g in one of these sassv society eag and when the real truth leaked out there was much nawstv talk. * ♦ • Jimmy Callahan is talking of taking his team to Hot Springs it’rl., not Ark.) , for training next spring. They hate sul phur water there and it is said to be great for wl’.at ails you.. • * • They're having a new wing ndded to •he Arlington hotel, at Marlin. Tex., for the special accommodation of the young pitchers John McGraw is rounding up. .lawn is sort of trying to corner the I market. ( • * * The report that Connie Mack would ! give Sloj’oo f or another Ditcher as good ! us Bender st ems incredible * • * "Pennants follow new ball park-" is a I big league hunch. In the big leagues lot k it the Red Sox this year. Pirates in ■ the Mhlet'es the year Shibe pa’k was ■ opened The Giants landed the tear the I Brush stadium was renovated. ’ In the s Southern. Atlanta won a rag mighty soon after Pone. I’eLeon was opened Bir- i mingl am grabbed one after the new Rick wood was opened, ami the Pelicans ’ brought one to their new park ' lets haw a new ball park, •“ \\ t dun t need one, but It might change i. they are rare and often not well authenticated. This being true, it behooves the Society of Psychical Research to look into the fact that the Atlan ta team, lowliest* of Southern league tail-cnders, grabbed both our luck. * * » From Lynn, Mass., comes the story that a Ten-year-old boy batted a Ily ball with s’x h r\.’’(e that it knocked over a tele -8 ■ th< have mignts weai< poles or mighty strong liars up Lynn-v. ay. ♦ » ♦ \f >in «»n. the i’itiDurt. catcher, has made < :dy two errors this a ear. ♦ » ♦ Dans Wagner ias denied the reuort that dc is io retire after this year. Fm learn an\ other buslne.-s,” said ...ins, ' iet. i’.ies’. itined, “anti yet they sav I m not too old to play baseball." • ♦ * < Mrkr Grill ith's chase us the Red Sox i is '.tar reminds one that it isn't his i> rs .' •Attempt to overhaul the I »os: i .ma nr. The famous pennant that ‘•rd: ios: by a single wild pitch—the fa ’m us ii! of .lacii Ohesbro’s—found a permanent resting place at the Red Sox park. CAROLINA LEAGUE RAG iS WON BY ANDERSON CHARLOTTE. N. C.. Sept. 3—The Ciirolina association closed its fifth suc cessive st ason yesterday w ith Anderson winning the pennant. Winston-Salem and i harlotte clubs followed in order. Anderson’s percentage was .600; Wln smm-S:;.. c's. ,'7:t, rtl!( ] Charlotte's, l : "th t'i’.irlott and Winston-Sa •'■m v..m moi ning and afternoon games I’tot:! \nthrson ami Greensboro re spictively. I he Anderson team lias been in the load since May 25, but clinched the pen nant on'y a few- days ago by defeating <it. isi. -iy Winston and Charlotte in the crilical s. ries. The race between Win. ston and t harlotte for second place has b< i n on for a month. games of a double-header here yes terday afternoon from Bernhard's Turtles. • The scores were 3 to 1 and 4 to 1. It can be demonstrated beyond any question that this thing actu ally happened. Not less than 5.000 fans saw it transpire—and mar veled. The crowd which celebrated a torrid Labor day- by journeying to Ponce DeLeon was one of the smallest holiday crowds that At lanta ever saw. The fans figured that there was no use in going out to the ball park to be miserable They could get that anywhere— and at a lower price. Those that did come out were treated to as fine an exhibition of baseball as one would care to see. Crackers Played Like Champs. It wasn't any especial disgrace for the Turtles to lose. They were up against pennant baseball. The '■rnckers were weakened by the ab sence from the game of stead iest hitter. Whitey Alperman. They used on the slab in the first game Rudolph Waldorf, who hasn't won a game since base hits were in vented. and in the second a new comer. Price. Both pitchers worked like de mons. Each allowed a scant four hits and :t took everything in the 7'.'.:tie shop to send one runner across in each game. In the first contest Bernhard slipped In his angular and fre <:u nth effective southpaw. Doc Nrwlon. The doctor couldn't have labored mor. industriously if he had been operating on a million a in- pa Jen t. Somehow all his pre set! pt ions failed. He wasn't regn l-v i imbps-od. But what h . )p _ pene.l to him was enough. Ferguson Was Dead Ixasy. In the s eond game Eerguson to k the hurling assignment and •it pr ved a tough one. The Crack ers biffed him vigorously, and, wh it -i« worse, his support was punc ■ ur.-d. T'.'.h: of' the reel things began lo break badly for the hurler. With two •ticked .T.'.i'v. Harbison sin- I d. Phen he stole second. Gra ham st. mk out and the ball got by 8 ab.’iii.t. jest as one of Gra >.:ms tit.i,, strikes '.tad sneaked ty I' out Tonn -man in the pre cis game. Harbison went lo Hord on th passed ball. (\'h re ujain Sr .i cough picked up the pel > J am; .hurled 't over Pales' head. Hit..!, n started in on this punk pet. bit! Grant'-11 ft Idtd the wild t ■•' n" iy and throw to the I' l 1 ”• 1 ' ball was in Seabough's hand - and to wo't’d hay . had Har b'-on by a mile, if he h d held ft. But be t’tdn't. And the Cracker -h-’••st l .p in'l'ed. If it bad been "ithin "h : ■]!<•» to give a player 1 " •" ors on a ;! ty which allow d ?i rnyn. • to cv >nc ■ on n bas \ Sea bough would have got them. In the nert inning came a play n l'w-i m do Pitcher Ferguson con sular himself a badly abused man. After ho had allowed McElveen. Ro. nolde end Callahan to single, scoiing .McElveen, and after Wolfe had fanned, Price, who was pitch ing for the Crackers, slipped a hook down between Pales and the. tht'd soak. At least, that's where Empire Dan Pfenninger said it went. Reynolds and Callahan tal lied and the game wqs lost. Os • ourse, Ferguson protested like a major and swore-and-be-cussed if it was a fair ball. But Pfenninger, having no other alternative, stuck by his decision. This decision took the heart out of the Turtles and w hile the.v worked well enough de fensively they could only get through with one run. An Indian No Longer. Much of the Crackers’ success in the second game was due to the useful hurling of Pitcher Price. This man has been barnstorming this season with the Nebraska In dians. of which tribe he is not a bona fide member, being an Irish man by Inheritance and an Ameri can by birth. As an Indian, he worked under the name of Schegg. but having returned to civilization, he has resumed his own cog. He has had a bit of league experience in the South Michigan league. He hurled cleverly against Memphis, and if he can continue the speed 'he showed, will be heard from, even if he is hooked up with a rather slow organization. BATTLING NELSON WINS FROM STEVE KETCHEL ST. JOSEPH, MO., Sept. 3.— Battling Nelson beat Steve Ketche.l, of Chicag* in fifteen rounds here. Nelson displayp'l flash*|s of the old-time form that ma him famous. He worked both hands free ly to Ketchel’s body, and in return to<>!< many blows in the face. Ketchel v ' floored in the eleventh round, but came up gamely. Ketchel had the better of tu ■ rounds and Nelson of six. The others were even. BASEBALL' WEDNESDAY ATLANTA vs. MEMPHIS Ponce DeLeon Park Game called 3:30.