Salt Lake Tribune | 1916-07-16 | Page 30 | Coast Fans Likely to Miss Old 'Hig'

COAST FiS LIKELY 10 MISS 0L0 'HIB' Veteran Heaver Out of Job After Long Service; 22 Years a Pitcher. Irve Higginbotham 's days in the Coast league are over. Hig was released re-leased by Rowdy Elliott, the- Oakland manager," last week and immediately accepted ac-cepted terms with the Des Moines club of the Western league, but the deal later fell through, and now Hig is looking look-ing for a job. Higginbotham was something of a character, and many fans all over the circuit will regret his going. He went to Portland in 1912 from the St. Paul club. He had been troubled with a sore arm, and St. Paul let him go. The soreness never affected him after he arrived ar-rived on the coast, and he became at once one of the most valuable men on McCredie's staff. Hie was a horse for work. He was a clubhouse comedian, and was always playing childish practical jokes that were annoying to other players. But his jokes were harmless, and even those who were annoyed most wound up by laughing at the big fellow 's boyish spirits. Above all things, Hig loved to pitch. Tn 1914 the Federal league was after : him. Hig pitched sixty games that season. The last day of the season, coming in from Ewing field at San Francisco, he confided to a friend: ''I'm going to sign my next year's contract with McCredie tonight. I can get more money from the Federal league, but I ain't that kind of a ball player. Do von think I'd throw down any guy thatM let me pitch sixty games in a season?" Higginbotham had funny notions about training. The average' pitcher in the spring training days keeps his arm wrapped up tightly in warm wool. He fears to let the least little breath of air touch it lest the muscles stiffen and he be laid on the shelf with a sore salary sal-ary wing. Higginbotham 's system was different. "These fellows baby their arms' declared de-clared Hig, somewhat contemptuously last spring, when the Portland club was training in Sacramento. "They don't give it a chance to get used to the air. No wonder they have swe arms. Now, I never had a eore arm but once in my life, and that didn 't amount to anything. any-thing. I don 't want anything around my arm at all. I want the wind to blow on it. I don't want anybody rubbing rub-bing it. , "When training starts I work along easily and let the old souper get into ehape steadily, with, plenty of air blow-' blow-' ing on it steadily. When the season i starts I'm ready and my arm is tough enough for any weather we go up against." Higginbotham claims to have been pitching ball for twentv-two years, and says he began when be was only 2 vears of age. In Los Angeles he said he had been in the Coast league too long and wanted a change. Irve Higginbotham, Veteran in Coast League, Out of Berth miHM: .Tyrrj-1 "ilin, .mum.1:)' n 1 . in ngj ''-uAl.?:;tflL'L!Jlvv lJ3u'TM.llllJ u.wiv "Wii'yp-l 1 1:' - Vf? Vvvj - t t 'IE ; - . - v - f t 1 ' '..o - Y- 1 v. 1 ! i 5 ; y f " -r - lt , . I'" 1 - 1 ' ' ,1 y i - ' - : p ? . x r s K , - i IT 5- ' t si