Show I MATTYS MATTY'S COLUMN 1 I Sport Comment and Views I S j s I By CHRISTY MATHEWSON th th h 1 Pitcher 4 New York Giants Giants' Famous j f or Copyright 1916 1915 by the Wh Wheeler Syndicate Inc j jost r M Most ost B. B Big 19 League L' eague Stars Are Incidents If It a l. l stud student nt of ot baseball will go 0 back through the records he will dU- dU t cover that mo most t of ot the stars Blars of ot the big leagues are aTe accidents that some v ely trivial Incident has haa shunted d. d the average star Into the c course which h he was wa to follow through the be best t years of his life Ufo Fow Few bis er have havo sat do down n and said I am nm going to bo be a a. ball player as n iI man mak makes makes' up his mind to turn doctor lawyer It or engineer Cobb Wagner agner C Collins n ns nearly all an of ot u us us were thrown Into Into the tho game by some trick or combination combination tt D of or circumstances 1 Wh When n Ty Cobb was a n. youngster his hi father was a school teacher o over In Royston Ga Ca a 11 avery very small town as I u understand it it and It was intend i that Ty Y should shine in tho the cotton business one of tho South's big In However he he- got a Job playing with th the Augusta club one ne' ne summer when the team was Just starting and he was only a kid and he had two good days dayn of ot Ito 11 His father had strongly opposed ed his playing ball for tor money but when tho the manager fired Ty after aCter he lie had had the aforesaid two good days the parent changed his mind The father had the same streak of of it to in him hint that t Cobb carries in his make You have havo got to tomake make good now declared the father to the boy So Ty went to a ver very much b hush bush sh league In Tennessee and burned It flu up Then he hA went back to Augusta and burned up that league until sunk Its hooks into him If Cobb hail had not been fired at first his hIe ta fath father would o have vigorously opposed his playing and C Cobb bb might havo have listened j to him probably would have But the tho relea releaser release e got tho the family boss on tb the side of ot baseball and anel gave the game a a. great rent star r the greatest of an nn I b be J lieve lIc I dont don't doubt but it hurt the th-e cott cotton n business for tor Ty is tho sort ort wb j will make good at anything he starts start 1 N v h Old Circumstance a Bad Scout It Jt is my opinion that tharold Old Circumstance is a bad scout just as M wen well a aa st a. sta a good one one nc In o other her words word's I believe there are arc many ninny young oung fellows tn In this country countr who would have ha been great big leaguers had not their courses course been in other channels by old Combination Circumstances Tb The j Tale baseball team had a wonderful catcher catch r R a a fe few years ears ago Tad Jon Jones Jones' and McGraw tried hard to convince this boy that he should Join the Giant Glants when he finished college But Jones felt he did not want to spend the b baits bt t days of ot his youth In a big league uniform Perhaps ho was as right Wh Wheal Whai a athis this great s-reat athlete was in college he ho was an ardent member of the tho Y M. M C cA A. A and one ono of tho the best students in In Inthe the university Maybe ho he felt h he would not fit tit in with a big league club and his decision cost baseball a s etar Y feel sure Old C. C Circumstances won on the Job again I want to pause long Jong enough to sa say that I think Jones would have fItted all right and liked it had he ho made up his mind to come with the Giants Some of ot the tho greatest players ever eyer to wear a n. uniform have bave been very verT religious and careful of ot their conduct Dave Dave Fultz formerly of or tho the Yankees and now a practicing attorney in New York was an nr ardent ent Y b M Jf C. C A A. worker throughout his big 1 league asue days and was t as respected by 0 ball players for tor it as ha is shown by tho the fact that he Js is now at the headset ot the Players Players' Fraternity Billy BlUy Lauder once with the tho Giants and a n. fine tine third 1 Y baseman was of the Fultz stamp J and is still a pal of ot Daves Davos He got along great in tho the le league ue f t Most Pl Players Are Real Men r A AIt It is not my intention to give Ivo an any one the wrong conviction and I would would- not make this statement nl I 1 am about to if It I did not believe it Howe erd feel sure that if you OU take any team of ot big league ball players in m the country country- r rand and select ct an nl equal number of men b by drawing lots Jots from other walks walks' bf r normal and match the tho two to entries will find life liCe Just regular men you ou the players are as high in th their lr ideals and as respectful of a man mans man's s beliefs and principles as the group composed of ot lat lawyers yer s doctors bricklayers erg etc I know in my own wn case that when I went Into the big league leas I asked to be excused from playing ball on Sunday Sunda I had a very good reason for tor this request not a a. religious one but one which I 1 felt tell should be respected by m me McGraw has ne never ner r asked me t to work in a l. l Sunday game no no ma matter ter how badly he needed pitchers or how ho- fresh tresh and ready I was to go 0 in the box And there have been times when he could have havo used me on Sundays with the rest of ot his staff shot to pieces particularly In finishing that tight ra race race e In 1908 1008 And no man on the Giants has ever ever voiced a 0 word of ot criticism tt to to my knowledge because I did not pitch in Sunday games J |