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Shafer and Burns ‘Finds' of Year
© © © © © O ©
Both Prove Big Help to Giants
Sam Crane.
N EW YORK. Aug. 30.—In those
two sensational all-round play
ing “kids,” George Burns and
Arthur Shafer, the Giants have two
of the real baseball “finds” of the
year. They are so far and aw ay above
In general play other so-called “phe-
noms” who have been developed that
they are in a class by themselves—as
youngsters.
As neither of them, although of en
tirely different dispositions and per
sonal characteristics, is so consti
tuted mentally that they will become
“swelled up” abnormally or to that
extent their playing will be affected
thereby, and because the Giants have
the National League pennant as near
cinched as can possibly be, without
the exact figures denoting that fact
being promulgated, it is safe to give
them both their due mead of praise
at this time.
There have been Giants in previous
years who, by too fulsome praise,
could not stand up under the boosts
given them, and became so self-sur-
ficlent and complacent of their future
as baseball players that they over
stepped themselves and went pranc
ing out of the big league. One of
these unfortunates was the celebrated
"Waco Wonder,” Louis Drucke, whom
I once bespoke as a “second Christy
Mathewson.” But "Looie” was money
mad, which, together with a natural
laziness that was constitutional as
well as sectional, had as much to do
with his failure to reach the high
ideals which I had set for him as my
inopportune lifting of him and his fu-
But with Burns and Shafer I think
I am safe in my diagnosis of their
temperamental qualities being im
mune to high praise.
Burns Meek and Modest.
Burns is of a very quiet and unob
trusive disposition In fact, he is too
retiring, some think. He surely is
not the least bit "swelled” now, and
still the work he has done this sea
son would fully warrant him in even
exaggerating his abilities in his own
mind But, on the contrary, no mat
ter how well he performs, he still
feels that he has not done all he
should and Imagines he should have
done better. It is needless to say of
(lim that with that ambition he will
soar to the lofty heights he has set
for himself.
Burns, the way he is playing now.
does not show a single weakness. He
has all the attributes of a most suc
cessful. up-to-date player, and they
demand speed, a good eye and natural
baseball ability. He is playing the
sunfield now. and so far he has upset
all the dire traditions that have come
down from “Burkeville” since Eddie
Burke essayed to play the position
and enthused the bleacherltes of that
locality.
Jim O'Rourke was the first left
fielder to tackle the position. That
was In 1890, when the present Polo
Grounds was called Brotherhood
Park. The Giants (National League)
were then playing on the Polo
Grounds, now known as Manhattan
Field. O’Rourke played the sun field
all right enough, until one day an
end of his long, flowing, luxuriant
, blonde mustache blew into his eyes,
causing him to muff an easy fly that
cost the Giants an important game.
Then Jim cut off his mustache and
went behind the bat. It was that
i horrible accident of the mustache
I that resulted in the clean-shaven
I faces of all ball players.
The "nine on a side,” the goatees,
t the "Burnsides.” the “Hundrearys,”
the “soft chewing’’ a la Jibbs Par
rott went down and off in the cru
sade against all hirsute growth.
John Titus held on to his for some
time; but he was at home on a farm
up in middle Pennsylvania and failed
to hear of the O'Rourke episode.
Burns Superior to All.
After O’Rourke came the Burkes,
the Hickmans, the Shannons, the
Mertes, the Browns, the De Vores and
others, all of whom had long tales of
woe to tell about that sunfield, but
little George Burns goes along about
his business, making no complaints,
and beating all his many predecessors
out of sight in ground covering and
sure catching. No other outfielders
a e doing any better, if as well.
Burns’ superiority over De Vore is
very marked, and the improvement in
fielding alone has helped the Giants
wonderfully to reach tneir present
big lead. Burns handles outfield
grounders like an inflelder. is abso
lutely a sure catcher on any ball he
gets his hands on. can throw splen
didly and knows where to heave.
At bat Burns Is one of the best
waiters in the business. He has
•’walked” possibly as many times as
any other player in the league, and,
more than all, he can wallop the ball
and to either of the three fields.
There is a big battle between Burns
and Daubert over who will make the
most base hits. Daubert may lead
now, but very slightly. The last un
official records give Daubert 139 safe
hits and Burns 137, so it is possible
the young Giant may be ahead to
day.
As a base runner. Burns is very
speedy, remarkably so. In fact. He
can slide, too. doing the fadeaway
from either side—a big advantage.
But with all Burns’ present ef
ficiency, he was crude when he join
ed the Giants and had to be develop
ed. He came to his own slowly, too,
but McGraw knew he had a prize
package in the youngster, and finally
polished off the rough edges and
brought out the glorious sparkler
Burns is now.
FEW FAMILIES FURNISH
MORE THAN ONE PLAYER
Few families can furnish more than
one member who is good enough to
hold a job in fast company. The
Delehanty family with five boys in
the majors for several years was an
exception. Ty Cobb has a brother
who appears to be getting jobs more
because he is a brother of Ty than
because of any ability on his part.
Josh Devore has a brother in the
minors. The Athletics played against
him at Galveston in 1912. He is a
ringer for Josh, but his chances of
ever being a big league star are very-
slim. Manager McGraw- gave a broth
er of Johnny Elvers a trial last spring
and then sent him adrift.
The fact that a member of the
femaily has made good in a major
league is a recommendation for oth
ers when they- are touted to manag
ers. The Cincinnati Reds are going
to give a trial to Harry Camnitz. a
brother of Howard Camnitz, of th-
Pirates.
Harry Williams, who has just brok
en into the American League as a
member of the New York Americans,
Is a brother of Gus Williams, the
right fielder of the St. Louis Browns,
who looks in a uniform like Pat Don
ovan.
Several major league stars have
younger brothers in the minors, but
the Delehant.ys, with five members,
and the O’Neil family, of Minoeka,
Pa., with Steve, now- of Cleveland,
following in the footsteps of his
brothers. Jack and Mike, are the
leaders in having furnished the ma
jors with the most members.
DWt
Freddy Welsh One Unlucky Boxer
By Allen Sangree.
N EW YORK, Aug. 30.—Let us
drum a bit. Oh. nothing in
particular. Too hot for serious
stuff, and yet it looks as though Husk
Chance is waxing quite serious. He
plunged out on the coaching line last
week and Gotham lost its goat.
What we say is, “Keep out there
every day. Husk; and if you make a
bull once In a while, fine yourself.”
This would make one whale of a
hit with the “bugs.” Everybody knows
that the toughest job on a ball club
is coaching at third. It is up to the
man there to use his judgment on
close plays. If he flivvers, they pan
him. If he comes through, he’s lucky.
* * *
T HE fanatics are keen no have
Chance In evidence. On the road
the big fellow Is as busy- as an arm
less man with the hives, and we have
observed that every time he gets out
and roars things happen. Further
more, it keeps up the fighting spirit
and. incidentally, the Yanks are show
ing precisely 50 per cent better ball
than two months since. Surely no one
could expect Chance to do better than
this.
* * *
M \NY people thought Noah made a
mistake w-hen he started building
the ark. It is possible that Chance
has slipped a cog here and there, but
the only- wonder is that he kept away
from the padded cell after watching
the Yanks perform day after day.
• • •
O F course. Chance has yet to prove
that he is there as a constructive
manager, bat we venture to suggest
that he has made no blunder In pick
ing up Texas Williams and Cookie,
and furthermore, that he was wise in
letting Chase out even if he did only
get a bunion in exchange. Chase was
no help to New York under the cir
cumstances.
*1* • *F
Twice Matched With Champion
A D WOLGAST was the unluckiest
champion; Freddy Welsh is the
unluckiest near-champion. Bro
ken arms, appendicitis and pneumo
nia kept Wolgast idle much of the
time that he held the title, and this
illness also helped bring about his
downfall, as it affected his vitality.
But though unfortunate as a cham
pion. Ad did get his chance to battle
for the title; he won it manfully and
defended It gamely and well.
Then think of Freddy Welsh, a real
topnotcher for the last eight of the
nine years he hatf been in the ring:
always able to make the lightweight
limit, but still deprived of the chance
to box for the championship. Now
they- say he’s not as good as he once
was. and if he finally does climb into
the ring to pit his wares against the
champion the critics say he is cer
tain to lose.
But how about the Welsh of a few
years ago? Then he would certainly
have outboxed Nelson in 20 or 25
rounds could he have lured the Dane,
then champion, into the ring.
Lost Match With Wolgast.
Twice the boy from Wales has been
matched with the champion. Once
w-as when he was hooked to meet Ad !
Wolgast at Los Angeles Thanksgiving
Day of 1912. But 24 hours before the
battle Ad was seized with appendici
tis and Willie Ritchie was substituted.
Welsh won handily enough, but beat
ing Ritchie brought him nothing that
he w anted, for he was after the cham
pionship.
Then Ritchie went out and an
nexed the title from Wolgast. Anx
ious to wipe out the stain of the
Welsh defeat, the new lightweight
king consented to give the Britisher a
scrap at Vancouver Labor Day-. Fred
die went into earnest training and
was progressing nicely, when he at
tempted to lick a 200-pound woods
man. He suffered a sprained ankle in
the encoui.'er and that necessitated
calling off the Vancouver scrap.
Ritchie has promised to remain
over in Vancouver for/ three or four
weeks, and if the champ does so.
Freddy may yet get on. but it’s a
good bet that something will bob up
to rob the clever little Welshman of
his chance.
Is Welsh Still Good?
They bay Welsh i.s no longer the
same streak of greased lightning that
he was w hen he worried many star
lightweights Into a nervous fit trying
to dodge a meeting. When Nelson
was champ Welsh was at his top
form, and no cleverer boxer ever
drew on the gloves. He was never a
hard puncher. But he w-as so fast,
such an excellent Judge of distance,
and such a superlatively good block
er, that most of the critics agreed
that if Nelson gave him the chance In
a 20-round battle the Englishman
would be returned the victor.
AL PALZER STARTS TRAINING.
NEW YORK. Aug. 30.—A1 Palzer
started hard training yesterday for
his ten-round bout with Frank Mo
ran early next month. Tom O’Rourke,
his manager, declared that if Palzer
whipped Moran he would compel
Gunboat Smith to meet his white
hope.
ip
RUGING STABLE
American Horseman Quits Turf
Abroad by Selling Thorough
breds He Had in Training.
TOPEKA BUYS FIRST SACKER,
TOPEKA, KANS., Aug. 30—The
Topeka Baseball club to-day• boughc
Koerner, first baseman of the Wich
ita Western League team for the last
five years. Koerner is batting .303
at present and is regarded as one of
the best players in th** Western
league. The purchase price was not
made public.
By E. B. G. Fitzhainon.
Special Cable to The American.
I ONDON, Aug. 30.—James B
Haggin’s racing Jacket will
never be seen again on an Eng
lish turf, according to gossips at New
market, where he has sold the last
two thoroughbreds he had in train
ing. One of these he named Final
Shot, as if indicative of his last ven
ture on the fickle seas of racing.
Final Shot is a three-year-old filly
by Haggin’s favorite stallion, Water
cress, and she has proved a most
provoklngly disappointing last ven
ture. Time and again she ran a win
ning race In big fields that always
contained one Imrse able to nose her
out in the last stride or two.
Probably no horse of her age ever
was beaten by a nose, a head or a
neck so often In one season as Final
Shot. Last year she ran second or
third a dozen times, but never won
until this summer, when she scored
her maiden victory in her twenty-
second race.
• * *
M ANY jockeys failed to get home
first on Final Shot, and a strange
to gay, the one that finally succeeded
is named Charles Dickens.
Thougii regretting the passing of
Haggin’s racing colors, Newmarket
expects to welcome the usual con
signment of yearlings to its Decem
ber sales, and hopes to welcome sev
eral more of his annual consign
ments.
The sale of the late Charles Koh
ler's American-bred two-year-olds
has been held, top prices being good.
$8,000 being paid for Coronis. a filly
by Voter, out of Court Dress. She
was bred at the late James R.
Keene’s Castleton stud farm in Ken
tucky, and her dam carried Keene’s
colors into second place in the Futu
rity he expected to win with Peter
Pan, or Ballot.
• ♦ •
A PART from this filly, the Kohler
two-vear-olds only sold for the
prices of good, bad and indifferent
selling platers. There were fifteen of
them.
A filly by Keene’s Superman made
$3,000, and another, by Voter, nettled
$2,400. Two colts by Uncle looked of
little acocunt. and altogether they
brought only $900, which is nothing as
selling platers go in England. Emli
Herz bought one of them for $600,
also paying $550 for a colt by North
ern Star out of Tochlight.
After passing through the ring un
sold at the Newmarket July sales,
choicely bred English brood mares
have been sold privately for $16,000
to John Sanford, and will be shipped
soon to his breeding farm near Sara
toga. in New York State. This looks
as if he retains some faith in the fu
ture of thoroughbred racing in Amer t
ica.
These mares, are half sisters. Op
pression and Light Opera. Oppres
sion is by Saint Serf, out of Light
Comedy, and is in foal to Radium
Light Opera is hv Zinfandel, out of
Light Comedy, and is in foal to Sun-
star, winner uf Epsom Derby two
years ago*
Physical Expert Says the Yankees
Must Learn Art of Doing One Thing
at a Time, and Doing It Completely.
Nerve Energy Too Often Exhausted.
By William Muldoon.
E VERY man has his working capacity—physically and mentally. None
of us is able to make a reasonably correct guess by looking at a per
son what that working capacity may be. Physically, we might make
a reasonably good guess; but mentally we have nothing to be guided by.
A person may appear above the average in intelligence—good-shaped
head, bright, smart, apparently, in conversation, and up to a certain point
able to do very satisfactory mental work.
Put them beyond that point and they begin to show the effects. They
make mistakes; leave some matters unfinished and forget others; become
anxious; their minds tire; they complain about not feeling well and begin
to indulge in that most disgusting habit of all habits—excuse making.
It is had enough to make mis
takes, but when one begins to look
for excuses for these mistakes, which
is nothing more than an attempt to
justify them, then they are showing
their weakness. A man in this con
dition is trying to go beyond his
tnental capacity. If he could only
realize that fact and call some one
to his assistance, or ask for a lighter
duty, he might save himself from
becoming a neurasthenic.
The man who Is engaged at some
work that calls for greater physical
strength and endurance that he hap
pens to possess, receives his w'arning
in the way of stiff muscles, lame
back, pains in his joints, tired, sore
and a feeling that he is completely
incapacitated. He soon cries,
"Enough!" and demands a lighter
job.
Breakdown a Warning.
There Is no danger attached to this
man’s condition. He will not go be
yond his working capacity ag^iin.
Tut the other fellow, who Is mentally
overworked, is In great danger. For
If you go beyond a certain point in
tiring yourself with mental work,
beyond that point is the condition
which prevents you from resting; or,
in other words, the ordinary methods
of resting do not produce the desired
results.
He. may be unconscious with sleep
for a certain number of hours at
night, but when he awakens in the
morning he does not feel refreshed.
He may rest physically and avoid ail
physical efforts, but that will not re
move the tired feeling in his head.
He gets a sensation of a heavy pres
sure on the head, or feels as If a band
of iron was about his crown; pains in
the back of the neck and, eventually,
a feeling that he can not possibly sit
down and remain still.
It will seem to him that pains arc
running through his limbs, through
the bones, through the muscles of his
chest, and he feels like jumping up
and crying out for help. Any at
tempts at work are entirely unre
liable. He has no confidence in him
self. He tries to do more than one
thing at a time, and in that way only
half does anything at which he is
engaged.
Yesterday’s and to-day’s affairs
meet before him and he is full of
confusion, fear, apprehension, lack of
confidence* The groundwork is then
complete for a fully developed casa
of neurasthenia. Another victim
caused by going beyond his mental
capacity.
Business Pace Rapid.
Americans flatter themselves when
they say “the pace in business is so
rapid and the demands for hard work
are go great that it is beyond the
endurance of any human being to
keep it up and remain well.”
I do not agree w’ith them in this
respect. My experience with men has
convinced me that the man with the
extraordinary good working mental
vigor is not the only man who can
stand the wear and tear of business
responsibilities. During my experi
ence I have taken men who were
fully convinced in their own minds
that they hever again would be able
to assume business responsibilities
to any extent. By training, drilling
and severely disciplining those minds
along the lines of doing the right
thing at the right time and In the
right way. and only doing that one
thing at that time, they have estab
lished a working principle of strong
concentration, which put into execu
tion in their business duties enabled
them to accomplish more work with
better results.
And at the end of a twelve months’
trial they have returned to me full
of cheerfulness, courage, ambition
and happiness; delighted with them
selves, for they had worked harder
during those twelve months than they
ever did before in their lives and en
joyed every minute of it.
» Should Forget Business.
Duties which formerly filled their
minds with anxiety and caused them
to worry were a pleasure to them
when they learned the art of concen
tration. One thing at a time, no mat
ter how small or unimportant it is,
do it right and finish it before tak
ing up the next thing.
Finished work never comes back.
'’Yesterday’s success or failure belongs
to yesterday; to-day’s work is the
only thing you have to concentrate
on. When you are through for the
day, be sure there is nothing hanging
over for to-morrow, and nothing ac
complished to-day that will come
back to-morrow. Then, if you have
time for an hour’s recreation, spend
that hour in doing something entire
ly foreign tu ypur
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