Show I 4 L s j Connie Mack As he appeared appeared appeared ap ap- ap- ap when he quit catching catching catching catch catch- ing to concentrate on long managerial career Connie Mack Had Edge Over Other Catchers ers By Harry Grayson 1 NEA Sports Editor Cornelius will go godown godown down dawn in baseball history as the granddaddy of managers People forget that he h AASt w was 8 s qui quite tea a TiJi r catcher who got of a o the e most mos out u of what he had Series Connie Mack the the name was shortened so that it would fit on ona ona a scorecard stepped scorecard stepped out of ot a shoe factory when the East Brookfield team with which he played won the championship of central Massachusetts Massachusetts Massachusetts Mas Mas- in 1883 He was 22 when he signed his first professional contract stood six feet four weighed no more than pounds They called him Slats Old Hoss Radbourne was the great pitcher the year Mack be be- be gan In those days the pitcher stood only 45 feet from the plate and the catcher stood far behind until the last strike un nun He didn't wear a chest protector The chest protector came in when Mack moved from Hartford of the Eastern league to the Washington Nationals in 86 The catchers catcher's mitt was an ordinary kid glove with the fingers amputated He was the only man on the club who wore anything on his hand Pitchers were allowed eight balls and the batter five strikes The batter was out if a 8 foul ball was caught on the bounce At AtI I first the pitcher had to throw underhand release the ball below the waist The batter could ask for either a high or low ball It made for big scores When the pitcher was permitted to change his delivery he began to throw overhand and the box was moved back to 60 feet Gilmore and Mack Then the pitcher began trying to fool the batter by soiling the ball spitting on it or rubbing one i iside side of it with emery paper which made it take unexpected curves That gave the pitcher the bulge They had to put a stop to such practices or games would have gone on forever with strings of goose eggs Clubs didn't own their own fields Players cut the grass around their positions with mowers There were no regular umpires Those who acted as such were al almost almost almost al- al most afraid to open their mouths Mack saw umpires chased off the field beaten up Gilmore and Mack gained fame as the Hartford Battery Gilmore refused to sign with Washington unless his catcher accompanied him Gilmore fanned more than batters in the Eastern league where Mack also played the in In- field Mack hit timely and was the finest field catcher in the circuit They were both so tall and thin that Manager Mike Scanlon dubbed them the Shadow Battery and the stuck Pitching to Mack Gilmore struck out 12 in shutting out Kansas City 1 0 with one hit and lost 5 2 although he struck out 16 members rs of the St. St Louis club September 28 1896 They finished up with Washington Washing Washing- ton that year Mack hit in 10 games Never was there a battery which launched a big league career in ire such dazzling fashion While with Washington Mack also caught Hank Day nIgh High for Complete Games Tall and gentlemanly Mack was was an expert at bat tipping when his pitcher was in a hole He was always al always al- al ways apologizing in that soft way He was a 8 smart backstop Mack was assigned to the Buffalo Buffalo Buffalo falo club of the Brotherhood Players' Players league in 90 90 setting a rec record rd of the time by working in complete contests In 94 94 he succeeded Al Bucken- Bucken berger bergen as the Pittsburgh manager and has been at it ever since A broken leg suffered when Herman Long plunged into him at the plate in 93 hastened the end end of his career as an active combat combat- ant He caught his last game game game- for Pittsburgh in 96 In games he caught in the majors he had assists He had a remarkable arm Connie Macks Mack's record doesn't look too impressive on paper but buthe buthe buthe he was the kind of a ball player hes he's been peen seeking ever since Next Jimmy Collins set et the tue style for third basemen |