Show McGraws McGraw's Belligerent Makeup Developed Through Self-Defense Self Players Picked on ll Hi Hint Him Because He Was So Small Sma So He Decided to Beat Them to Punch Editors Editor's Note This Note This Is the fifth fUth of or exclusive frank insights into nto various arlow facts fads of or the famed McGraw character gleaned alike from Irom I enemies and friends By JIMMY lY POWERS rOWERS MIAMI Pla PIa Feb On On the of or April 1891 a thin young man walked out on the diamond of or the Cedar Rapids Three Eye league league club lub screwed up his blue blu yes eyes at the Iowa sun and hollered for a ball to II throw turow at Henry Fabian the first baseman Jim Plumb the manager mown known as the Silver King because of or his prematurely gray hair asked Who Is 15 the midget we got there at shortstop Run that kid of off the field The midget was John McGraw 18 years ears old that morning Nobody ran him of off that tha field either ither r relates lates Fabian He was so good that I wrote to Bill Barney manager manger man man- ager ger of the Baltimore Orioles recommending recommending mending him Barney wrote back What did you send this for or Why the pitchers will knock the theat bat at out of ot his hands McGraw and Fabian became good friends and every April 7 I for the past 30 0 years Fabian now 71 and ground- ground keeper at the Polo Grounds in New NewYork NewYork NewYork York has sent John a card telegram or r cable Fabian says sas that 42 years ago go McGraw was Wa a good looking pious lous young Irishman He did not smoke drink or gamle gam gam- ble le recalls Hank He went t to church hurch often and off oft the field was as quiet as your jour old grandmother His first fight tight was with an umpire urn um pire sire named Cochran a former orm r third baseman from the Southern league McGraw then a shortstop tramped on n his toes The next man with sen zen corns was Joe Quest His most momentous knockout was scored over bill ill Bryon who outweighed him by 50 0 pounds but went tumbling in the thc dust list as the result of ot an overhand to tobe the be chin No uNo one ever licked McGraw when he no was sober and he did not start starl to drink until h he caught typhoid id fever and some some doctor recommended mint Julep McGraw v had a deeper appreciation of the finer tiner arts than most people Imagined He attended college for lor three years while a member of or the Baltimore Orioles Hughey Jennings studied with him and received a law degree John had nad no superstitions Fa Fa- ilan blan once asked him about revampIng revamp revamp- Ing trig the Polo Grounds after alter a world series You can do anything you like Henry he said Theres no such sucha a thing 35 u luck You make your our own luck In the end That's why I play the cold fl figures ares Percent Percent- ares ages over the years will b beat at all the stabbing out and bunch hunch players to the base McGraw was adept at sensing opposition op Ope op- op position plays Fabian declared And he took advantage of rival managers man mann agers and stars' stars superstitions anticipating anticI antic their moves accordingly He was a devout Catholic to his death but aut welcomed Jews and Ku to the Giant payroll 4 Til Ill never let religion Interfere with business he used to sa say Show me a good ballplayer and I dont don't care If it hes he's a murdering heathen Ill I'll give him a Giant suit if it he can get me meru ru runs ns When McGraw was a young oung man his hobby was billiards and when he accumulated enough money he bought a billiard parlor on Broadway and hired Willie Hoppe to run it il f Fabian ban says th that t in Cedar Rapids l was almost a sissy of off the field but after one season with the Orioles and association with Ned Hanlon Willie Keeler Keeles- Hughie Jennings Jennings Jen Jen- Wilbert Robinson Kid Kleason Kleason Klea Klea- son and others his belligerence in jn creased It was In self-defense self Fabian explains He lie was small and before the they started to ride him he decided to ride them |