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Show i - -1 - . . ray schalk, best catcher of decade the American league has some sharp eyes. "Heine "Wagner when with the Boston Bos-ton Red Sox was one of the most dangerous dan-gerous at this game in the league. "Wagner had to be watched like a hawk. He disturbed me more than any other coaeher. Other fellows who had sharp eyes are Bill Carrigan, Chief Bender and .Tack Coombs, and don't forget that Kid Glcason is a master in stealing the tips from the catcher. "Finger signs naturally are the easiest, eas-iest, but add something to the finger signals. Such moves as touching the mask, tossing dirt, rubbing a shoe or spitting in a certain direction will help, j "I have watched some wonderful hit-! hit-! ters in the American league. I have i fooled some and have the dope on prac-I prac-I tically all of them. I have detected a weak spot with all of them but Ty Cobb. i "I confess that I have been unable ! to find Cobb's weakness as a batter or a base runner. "Several years ago I thought I had him with a sharp curve on the inside. In four swings he didn't get the ball : out of the infield on us. We kept at hira with this and he drove one against i the right field fence on a line, another against the left field fence. "Cobb, I believe, is the closest student stu-dent in baseball. None of us will doubt that he is the smartest and the greatest player in the game. "You don't know when he's going to run. He'll take a mighty big lead on you, but you can't pick him off. Pitchers Pitch-ers have tried to get him, also catchers. Cobb hits singles, doubles, triples and home runs. He steals, he bunts, he throws and he makes great catches. "When you can get 248 hits as Ty did in 1911, score 147 runs, average .420 and steal eighty-three base? well, Ty Ieads-the Ieads-the parade, that's all!" When Schalk passes out as a major league catcher he will not walk through the gate of " unemploved, " which reads: ""What'll I do now?" Schalk does not idle away the moments of the off-season, but is a man of the business world. He has invested his savings at his home in Litchfield, Til., is interested inter-ested in the home bank and trust company, com-pany, has stock in a creamery company, and some day may direct a bisr foundry and machine company at Litchfield, .fust as he studied the spitter and other pitching deliveries, he is learning the smelting game from the furnace to the office of the superintendent. Copyright applied for bv Sid C. Keener 1919. A BASEBALL auction tvas going on in Milwaukee in the summer of 1912. The crier on the stool was yelling to the major leagues: "How much am I bid? Hew much am I -bid? How much am I bid for this precious little article? Good goods colne in small packages, vou know!" Show a big league "owner a prize and he is on the trail, so the magnates mag-nates hit the trail for Milwaukee. There they saw JRaV "W. Schalk, a midget, not yet 20, height five feet, eight inches, weight 140 pounds, and a catcher. These world's series sleuths inspected the article on -the shelf and three of them returned to their homes after looking at the package but one game. "What, that kid a major league catcher Ko. He's too small, too frail, nothing better than a high school catcher. Smoke ball pitchers will knock him off his pins," said the three departing de-parting magnates. Other owners were a little more conservative. con-servative. They saw Schalk in action with the Milwaukee Brewers. Tliey ngreod with their brothers that he was a tiny- thing, and they doubted if he would be able to hold the big league fast-ball pitchers, but always eager to pick up a pheuom they sought the advice ad-vice of others. Charles A. Comiskey of the Chicago White Sox was one who saw a bright prospect in Schalk, but wanted a bit of encouragement before he advanced the financial thermometer, and "Kid" Gleason entered the auction pit. "Follow "Fol-low this kid for a week," was the report re-port Comiskey handed out to Gleason, so Gleason followed the trail. The auctioneer shrieked out: "I have $15,000! I have $15,000! I have $15,000, who'll make it $16,000!" Gleason edged his way through the mob. "Seventeen thousand dollars is my bid! " .screamed Gleason. The other bidders were stunned. They believed they had gone $5000 over the actual value in naming $15,000, and they walked out when Gleason announced an-nounced $17,000 for the Chicago White Sox. "Sold!" called the auctioneer, and Raymond W. Schalk, not 20, height five feet eight inches, weight. 110, advanced to the American league to catch the giants of the pitching peak. Midget Behind Plate. Schalk was a new pattern for the mitt and mask. With such types as Roger Bresnahan, George Gibson, Frank Bowerman, Johnny Kling, J i m m y Archer, Chief Meyers, Lou Criger and Jack O'Connor, a catcher eligible for the big league had to possess brawn as well as brain. He'had to be, according to the magnates and the managers, a "white hope," a physical giant. The catcher to work in 100 or more games must have the physique to carry him through the strain of squatting, throwing throw-ing and receiving. The owners who passed on Schalk were positive that they were the lucky bidders, and tney sniffed and laughed with: " Well, Comiskey Co-miskey 's got another lemon!' . Schalk joined the White Sox m the summer of 1912, and when such batters as Cobb, Jackson, Crawford, Speaker, Baker, Eddie Collins, Larry Gardner, Duffy Lewis, Larry Hooper, Lajoie and others walked up to the plate they lauehed at the midget in back of them - Y . ; ' .- - I , i ' Al $ I x l 1 s " ' ' -.; -; - . .... v- -- - . V f; p mum liiiw .iff mm , t V. v - C i with tne snmguarus :11m v.is.o r. tor. On first the speed fliers immediately imme-diately started to steal second. Such a Sxid couldn't throw them out. On third they tore home for the p ate on infield grounders. Such a iindgct wot, dn dare to block the scoring path but as base stealers they were turned back bv yards, and when they threw the sparkling spark-ling spikes they were stopped and rBeMndCii.e plate the smoke ball the snitter the fade-away, the knuckle ball "Sd Ihc curve were handled with ease by Schalk. He grabbed everything. His aggressiveness, his quick return to the pftcher. his hurried signal nr 1 Ins s ab 1 i-tv i-tv to find the weak spots of the batter soon startled the American league Schalk battered aside the beliet that a great catcher must be an iron man phIVniM.,yfirI.t full season, i?. caught l"sS; he came back with loo in 19i "hiiWt" "seasons with' the White Sox he has caught more than 100 wedoeseriiand,e VV !' ff .,nd what are his secrets for catch" g? Schalk presents his career with this: Started as an Outfielder. "When I put on mv. firs: baseball .nme1 Slon'Tdtbe n,Ut in the fhi kif every e?,xZ tlVc big gloves and pitching as v.ell a Ca-Ourgc.atcher on the CarUnville, 111 iove around ."e. That's how I made "'tnir'timtiniurr taught me so,,,. ''"V'norsaigvthiiig and & a -So remember this-no one on then let the wild ones hit te grand M.m.l. |
