Show w What M Made de Great Ball Players Great No 4 Fred 4 Fred Tenney His Development of New Plays and Discovery That Left-Handers Left Made Best First Basemen Made Tenney Great 1 S S By Bozeman Bulger AT A T THE TIlE commencement exercises at Brown university in inJune inJune inJune June 1894 a thrill went around th the campus campus that almost put the graduation ceremony out of the running Manager l Selee of the Boston National Nation l league club had telephoned Fred the f at J liim if c Ie h is n 0 come In to o Boston and help out that all the catchers had been disabled Up to that time college players players' had hadnot hadnot hadnot not been regarded seriously by the professionals though a few had made good Tenney leaped at the chance as most moat any boy would Always he had wanted to know whether he ho was really good enough nough to catch In a big league b U 40 a La V U jit HI i H game He reported Immediately Half Halt the commencement crowd went up to Boston to see him work When a player was signed in those da days s he was put right into the game frame An oddity of Tennes s start as a a. catcher was vas his being left handed The Tho only previous pre left handed catcher catch r big leagues had seen was old John Clements Cements There has hs been none since For five the innings Tenney did very nicely and at the Ute bat was socking the ball as hard as any of the profession profession- als In the sixth Inning though t- t a afoul foul tip broke one of ot fingers He was through I felt pretty blue over this he used to tell teU the writer because I 1 had hat counted on making enough money that tha summer to pay my expenses the next fall and winter OFFERED CONTRACT When hen they got my finger dress dressed d. d he further related I 1 was asked to tofie tose fie se Mr Billings orb one of the owners in his office I hurried there Mr Billings told me that he had been beer watching me me for tor soine some time and would like to lo have me sign a contract at a month dating from that dayI dayI day I couldn't couldn t believe this at first Surely there must be a trick in It somewhere Vh Why should he lie e pay me a month when I wasn't working So I decided to be clever myself I would pull a Joke on them If It I sign this this- do I get any adVance advance advance ad ad- vance money I I asked How much d do you need 7 he came right back and seemed to take it as asa asa asa a matter of or course The first amount I thought of was and demanded It It Immediately he counted out 75 5 In bills and wrote a check for tor the rest lie He laid these alongside the contract I signed and picked up the mone money Honestly I held my hand to my pocket all the way home fearing that I might lose that I roll I had never seen such a a. vast sum at one time before SOUTHPAW CAN CANT CAN'T T CATCH That was the tho beginning of oC Tenney as a great ball player It was also the last attempt that has been made to use a left-handed left catcher Manager Man Man- ag ager r Selee Sele decided that Tenney would i not ao GO no left hander would fill I the Job Tenney was then tried In Inthe Inthe inthe the outfield and ancl wasn't much good there All AU this time though he was hitting like a fiend Selee had to keep the youngster In the game on on that account If no other Old Tom Tucker was slipping as as' a II first baseman and Tenney was WilS sent to first base That began the reign of left-handed left first basemen Tenney S proved it to be the one natural place for a a. left The other position so regarded in baseball now is right field S SI fieldI I didn't have hairs to figure out that making quick throws to second b base se was an essential function of ot a first baseman Tenney said It came so natural to a left left-hander that I simply did it ft that's all A right-hander right is III not faced right to make those fielding prays plays To a southpaw It Is easy As a t fielder Tenney never had a superior lIe Ho made plays at first base that had not been keen dreamed of oC before of scooping up the bunt on a a. sacrifice and throwing the runner out at second had the fans tans amazed Ills His other trick of oC running In on a bunt and a man at The Tho plate was also new Tenney had developed new possibilities pos poe In the position Like Comiskey Comiskey Comis- Comis key ey ho he was a pioneer In baseball thought GREAT CREAT FIRST BASEMAN N. N Above all Te Teney ney proved to baseball that the first baseman preferably should be a left-hander left and that col college col- col lege boys could really be made Into great ball players ears ago ngo the e writer who knew Tenney as a close friend asked him wh why after atter acq acquiring a college education edu edu- cation he chose baseball as a no profession protes- protes sion To this da day he said ItI I 1 have never got over the thrill and the novelty novelty nov nov- elty of or realizing that somebody was actually willing to pay me a a. big salary for doing the one thing that I loved to do The Tho Idea was so delightful delightful de de- de that I simply couldn't couldn help being a p professional ball bal player I am not sorry Fred Tenney lasted in the game for ears jears as player and manager lIe Ho came to the Giants In 1908 That year he was he-was was of great help He In In the famous playoff game wIth the Cubs and came near winning winning- it with with a a. terrific drive that the outfielder nailed I after a a. long run Today when the greatest of great first basemen are discussed d Trod Fred Tenney's Ten Ten- ney's name Is la always one of the first three tl to be mentioned He lie Is entitled to a more than Hal Chase Jiggs Donohue and Geo George e Sister Tenney w was Jas s the founder of or the modern left- left school Co 11 It w York Tork T Evening World Tress Press Publishing Company I |