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25 Greatest Southern
League Players~-No. 7
ThatMolesworth Crouch
By Fuzzv Woodruff.
EMEMBER, gentle reader,
those halycon days of your
youth when it was the
bounding desire of your heart of
hearts to hurt some one? Remein
ber now. when prompted by that
desire, you visited the county fair,
the joj’s of Jo Jo, Princess Zoo Zoo
and the Bevy of Beloochistan
Beauties were counted as naught
and you even foreswore your pre
dilection for wagering your hard
earned savings on the chances of
an animal with a pedigree as long
as that of the House of Hapsburg?
Remember the keen elation with
which you paid out five cents for
three throws at the elusive head of
a Senegambian, who had suddenly
attained new eminence by trans
fecting his activities from toting
grips at the depot to standing be
hind a screen with a duck pond
painted on it and tauntingly invit
ing the body politic to do damage
to his cranium?
You had known this negro all
your life and not until it cost five
cents for three opportunities for
you to break his skull had you ever
seen your keenest joy rest in the
prospect of braining him.
But now. at five cents for three
throws, thSre was nothing else on
earth worthy of being done. Jo Jo
might bark from his canine physi
ognomy . Zoo Zoo might tell you
that you were about to take a long
journey. The entire Bevy of Be
loochistan Beauties might shock
you with all the writhing motions
of Gertrude Hoffman, Mary Gar
den. Eva Tanguay and the thou
sand and other Salomes. The
pedigreed horse could pace for
Sweeney or the rest of the Ancient
Order of Hibernians. Your ambi
tion was to castigate the counte
nance of the coon with baseball at
three throws for five
A Regular "African Dodger.’’
The artful dodging of the dinge
that kept his skull immune from
your projectiles was a thing to be
admired, but never in your long life
did you imagine that this same
dodging ability was responsible for
certainly the most consistent bat
ter the Southern league ever knew,
probably one of the most scientific
hitters the national pastime has
seen.
Now. I am not seeking to de
prive Mr. Mack of his fame of be
ing the MichaevelH of baseball. Tt
Is not my purpose to assume Na
poleonic pose and tel! Mr. McGraw
things that he has left undone in
running his gang of athletes, nor
would I attempt to say that I could
have operated the last world series
to greater glories than did Mr.
Stahl.
Still J wish to go on record right
now as making affidavit that in
these days jvhen the pinch hitter is
as valuable an asset as a prize
pitcher, major league managers
overlooked bets for many years by
letting one C. Molesworth stay in
the Southern league to make things
miserable for Southern pitchers.
And Mr. Molesworth did this by
his unerring ability to yank his
head out of the way of a fast
thrown ball, hurled with the ex
press Idea of shattering his brain
or making him pull away from the
plate.
Had Great Batting Record.
Tn ma.|. r and minor leagues for
seventeen years Molesworth had a
general batting average of .317. and
he never for a second cared what
kind of a pitcher was working
against him. He would just as
soon hit Mathewson as the newest
recruit the South Atlantic league
ever possessed.
To Southern league fans the
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fifrtjtfftftftfttflnTinn iwmaM fiy
Molesworthian crouch over the
plate was as familiar a sight as the
corner of Whitehall and Alabama
streets to the crossing cop. The
bugs believed that it was simply a
peculiarity. They did not know
that in this crouch lay the batting
secret of the man who had defied
every great pitcher since the days
when Rusie was a star and Math
ewson was in swaddling clothes.
Eor years and years they watch
ed him stick his head over the pan
and wonder by what freak of for
tune he was enabled to keep his
brains from being spilled over the
catcher’s box and how from this
awkward position he was able to
whale any kind of hurling.
Molesworth told me the reason for
this crouch. He told ft after he
had quit playing ball and had
started the more pleasant pursuit
of managing a pennant winning
club.
Was Weak on Low Balls.
The rotund Baron manager, un
like most great hitters, had a bat
ting weakness. He could not con
nect safely if the hurler kept the
pill whizzing around his knees.
Otherwise he was a perfect bats
man. Veteran pitchers have de
clared that he never nit at a ball
that was not over the plate. He
drove with equal ferocity to right,
center or left field. He was a cork
ing good hunter and rarely struck
out.
But that low ball weakness both
ered him. Tn his early days Moles
worth was a pitcher: in fact, his
big league career was confined to
the hurling hill. Way back in the
early nineties he was a right
handed slabman for Washington
when Arthur Irwin managed the
Senators.
His arm went dead. He had.
however, always been a good field
er and possessed an accurate bat
ting eye.
Girlish Way of Pegging.
His eyes were turned to the out
field and he landed a job in a bush
league, playing the gardens and
throwing with his left arm. He
did this throughout the rest of his
career, and all Southern league fans
remember the peculiar girlish mo
tion he had in getting away a peg.
When he got on the outfield job,
he immediately planned to be a
sterling hitter. He knew he could
not do this as long as he had the
fatal low ball weakness. Natur
ally. the only thing for him to do
was to make the pitchers keep the
ball high when working against
him.
That was a problem of more than
ordinary difficulty. Hurlers rarely
do what the batter wants them. Rut
Molesworth had been a hurler, and
he knew the hurler kind.
He knew that every pitcher places
more or less confidence in his
"bean" ball—that is. a fast ball
thrown at the head of a batter, with
the idea of making the hitter pull
away from the plate when the ball
does come over.
Working on this theory, he rea
soned that if he kept his head over
the plate the pitchers would nat
urally throw right at it.
And if he kept his head on a level
with the letters on his shirt he
would be able to murder any sort
of pitching.
He tried it. Pitcher after pitcher
kept throwing at the elusive head,
and he kept lining out hits. It was
dangerous enough, but that season
he hit well above .400. His system
had worked.
Straightened Up to Hit.
He never hit from his crouch. He
would keep his head over the pan
until the ball started. Then he
would stand erect and whale away
with all his force. He was always
THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS. FBI DAY, NOVEMBER 1. 1912.
Heisman’s Forecast of Tomorrow’s Big Battles
*•*
Coach Picks Vandy, Sewanee and Auburn to Win
Bv .1. W. Heisman.
HE most important game of
football billed for Dixieland
tomorrow is that between the
Commodores and the lads from the
Old Dominion.
One month ago most everybody
thought one team had as. good a
chance as the other. Some of us,
however, thought otherwise: for
Virginia’s system of alumni coach
ing has not. since its inauguration
in 1906. proven the entire success
that Virginians could have wished.
These coaches have done quite as
well as might have been expected
from them, but the fact remains
that football at Virginia is far from
being on a par with that at Yale,
Harvard, Pennsylvania. Princeton
and at least a dozen other colleges,
and it would be asking too much to
expect that Virginia’s football
graduates could do such w ork and
turn out such teams as do the
coaches who derived their knowl
edge and ability from their connec
tion with these higher grade foot
ball colleges.
The record of I lie Charlottesville
team to date but emphasizes this
statement, and 1, for one, look to
see Vanderbilt defeat Virginia by
something like three touchdowns.
It is quite possible that they will
do even better than that, but not
probably, for the simple reason that
this has loomed large all the fall on
Virginia’s schedule as being her
most important game of the season.
This being the case, they will be
keyed up to their very highest ten
sion against the Commodores, and
will, I believe, hold the score down
to about what I have suggested.
SEWANEE V<S. GEORGIA.
'J" HIS is another of the Souths
most important battles for to
morrow. and it is sure to be a hum
mer. Sewanee has done but little
thus far this season, but they have
done that little mighty well. Geor
gia started off promisingly enough,
but has not in their last two games
come up to , the expectations of
their friends. The latent power and
strength, including even football
experience, are there, and if Geor
gia during the past week of prac
tice has relearned how to get these
out of her system, they will defeat
Sewanee. Frankly, though, I do
not expect this to happen.
Fact is, Sewanee hasn’t been
saying much this fall, but they got
the goods themselves. They have
returned nearly everybody of last
year's team, and one or two from
previous teams. In addition they
have tucked up a couple of aston
ishingly high-grade performers of
the brand-new label, and has the
necessary weight, speed, experience
and punting ability. Besides they
are smarting under the trimming
Georgia gave them last year, and
that generally counts for more than
most people have a proper idea of.
Don't let on that you are the least
bit Surprised if Sewanee is returned
the winner. The score should be
small.
• ♦ *
AL'BERN VS. TECH.
TJ ERE is alyvays a fine draw ing
card and one that will be well
worth going to see. Auburn will
have the edge in nearly all natural
departments, and there is no deny
ing the fact that they are going
just now at a very fine gait. Au
burn and Sewanee are the only
teams in the South that can still
in perfect batting position when he
swung.
He used his crouch w hen he came
into the Southern league, with
Chattanooga, in 1902. He .was one
of the league’s I ading hitters. And
for years he kept it up.
Finally it became a fetish among
the hurlers that no one could make
Molesworth keep his head from
that inviting position. They tried
all their steam and all their skill.
They never hit Molesworth. he
never pulled away, and he frequent
ly hit them.
Eten the major leagues know of
it. They all experimented on him
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Opposite Third National Bank
IS 1 /? North Broad St., Atlanta, Ga.
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business. Dop’t you
think it’s about time
challenge Vanderbilt’s supremacy.
These two teams, unfortunately, do
not meet, and it would be difficult
for me to hazard an opinion which
was the stronger—for a week or
two yet at least. Just at present
I am inclined to say that Auburn is.
If this guess be correct. Atlantans
will have tomorrow the only op
portunity of the season to see in
action the team that best questions
Vanderbilt’s right to the pennant.
And. believe me. Auburn is going to
give the Commodores a real battle.
They have been taking things cool
ly, but very carefully. Thus far
they have not been extended to
their fullest and they have not been
trying to run up big scores: they
are trying to come to a height on
November 16. But each succeeding
Saturday they have shown more
and more strength, and tomorrow
they will, no doubt, play the best
game they have put up this year.
What about Tech? Well. Tech is
going to do their dad-blitherest. but
what, really, can J 56 pounds do
against 171 pounds? In baseball,
tennis, swimming and a whole lot of
things they can do as much as the
big fellots, but seldom indeed can
they hope for anything in a foot
ball game against them. Tech has
mastered their offense, and it’s as
good as most any that a light team
can attain: but the rub will come in
that the light line is almost bound
to buckle when it goes up against
Auburn's overwhelmingly Superior
line, and that will mean that Au
burn will probably be able to hold
the ball all day against the Yellow-
Jackets, thus giving the latter little
chance to show whether tney cgn
do anything with the ball or not.
Tech has accomplished undoubt
ed wonders thus far this season, but
expecting them to beat Auburn is
asking just a little too much of a
small quantity of human flesh and
blood. 1 can not hazard a guess
on the score. I expect Auburn w ill
score at least several times, and it
may be plentifully. I certainly
count on the Yellow Jackets play
ing themselves to an “a'l in" con
dition. and then some.
♦ ft ♦
L. S. U. VS. MISS. A. & Al.
’J" HIS should be another very good
and close game. L. S. U. was
barely beaten by the strong Uni
versity of Mississippi team, and Au
burn dealt out the same meager
fate to Miss. A. and M. My opin
ion is that the A. and M. will win,
but it will be by a close score.
, , ,
ALABAMA VS. TVLANE.
'-p HIS game will be played in New
A Orleans, and Tulane should have
the advantage, in that it will give
Alabama, a hard trip before the
game. However, Alabama is about
over the bitterness and chagrin of
their Tech defeat and is coming too
strong for Tulane. Alabama should
win
TENNESSEE VS. KENTUCKY
OU little is known in these parts
of the present strength of. the
Kentucky team that it would be
foolish for me to make a guess on
the outcome of this game. I will
say that Tennessee is playing very
good football, and 1 do not believe
Kentucky can beat them by a large
score, if at all.
ft ft ft
MERCER VS. COLUMBIA,
ep HE Baptists should win this
* game, but, if my memory serves
me correctly. Columbia defeated
Mercer last season. And, by the
without satisfaction. Finally, in
the spring of 1907, Wild Bill Dono
van. then in his glory, was boiling
out in Hot Springs. He had all
the speed of a racing automobile.
He was a terror to every timid hit
ter.
Molesworth’s fame reached him
at Hot Springs. •
“There’s a little chunky guy over
in Birmingham," Rube Waddell told
him, “that sticks his head right
over the pan and laughs at you
when you shoot 'em at his bean.
Nobody can make him move it."
"I’ll bet I can." said Donovan, but
other pitchers in the fan fest grin
ned.
Donovan finally reached Birming
ham. It was in late spring, and he
was ready to cut loose.
But he Saved his steam for
Molesworth.
Five times Molesworth crouched
and five times Donovan, shouting
his fast ball with the speed of a
bullet directly at the head over the
pan. waited to see him pull away
from this death-carrying delivery.
Five times Molesworth’s bat crack
ed and five times he registered a
-afe hit.
And when the game was over
Donovan was the first to run to
Molesworth and tell him how he
had cheapened his boast.
Molesworth batted well until
1511, when his eye went wrong
and he began to punch at w ide balls
He knew his days as a player were
over, and he retired to bench man
agement.
Tlie next year he won a pennant,
but if he would win a hundred he
would not be remembered In the
South as a leader of champions.
The bugs would remember that
head bobbing over the plate and the
bat crack that followed when the
ball was thrown at It.
way, isn't it about time we were
taking some notice of the rapid im
provement in form that the Florida
colleges are showing.
East year-. 1 may remind the
reader, the University of Florida
not only defeated Citadel, but also
Clemson. This year they gave Au
burn and Tech a “hot old time” of
it. and beat South Carolina in the
bargain. Then Stetson plays Mer
cer to a standstill last Saturday.
Let's watch the outcome of this
Mercer-Columbia game with a lit
tle more than passing interest. For
my part. I’m verj- glad to see the
Floridians coming out in polite so
ciety.
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FODDER FOR FANS
Tom Carson, formerly a catcher with
Chattanooga, has been selected to man
age the Waco team. He succeeds Ellis
Hardy. George Leidy was an applicant
for the position, but was turned down
because the Texans wanted a playing
manager.
♦ * *
\ ean Gregg has gone home to Alberta
and has resumed his old job of plasterer,
just as though he didn’t know anything
about big salaries for working once or
twice a week for a couple of hours work.
Some bean on Vean’s shoulders.
* * »
Bill Carrigan, supposed to be the brains
of the .ted Sox. is at outs with a lot of
his teammates. That is said to be the
reason why he worked only two of the
eight world's series games He may be
disposed of before next season begins.
ft ft ft
St. Paul is said to he after Harry Hinch
man for manager.
♦ ♦ ♦
The White Sox may buy an abandoned
hotel in the boom town of Lobo, Texas,
and train there.
• » •
Jake Stahl says that Bedient will be a
better man next year than Joe Wood—
and a lot of folks will noy be surprised if
he calls the turn. It. may be that Joe
hasn't signed for 1913 and that Bedient
has. Those things make a difference in
the managerial conversation sometimes.
• • •
Claud Hendrix cost the Pirates car fare.
He won 22 and lost 9 The cheaper they
are the better they pitch—sometimes.
...
Frank Chance believes that Artie Hof
man still has the makings of a grand olit
fielder and that he will do a lot of good
for the Pirates yet.
ED W. SMITH TO REFEREE
WOLGAST-MANDOT FIGHT
NEW ORLEANS, Nov. I.—Ed W.
Smith, sporting editor of Hearst's Chicago
American, is to referee the Ad Wolgast-
Joe Mandot ten-round bout here next
Monday night. After a wrangle between
the managers of both lightweights, which
lasted almost three days, Smith was se
lected.
There will be no decision rendered in
this battle, this being one of the demands
made by the champion before signing
15