OCR Text |
Show HOWARD SAYS HE WON A WORLD'S SERIES BY A STRIKEOUT I "Y'HEN I got to the stage of retiring from the game and sitting In tho chimney corner and drooling about what I used to do," said Del Howard, tbo former utility man of tho Chicago Nationals, the other day, "I'm going to tell my grandchildren tho story of how I won tho world's championship by making tho worst blunder of my life. On second thought I think I'll tear up tho score and leave tho blunder part of It out of the story. "But It 13 true, and if you don't pe-llcve pe-llcve it, look at tho score of that first game between Chicago and Detroit tho first tlmo they bittlcd for the world's championship that extra inning gamo that ended In a tlo that practically ruined Detroit's chances for the championship cham-pionship in 1907. You won't sco How- ard'3 namo among tho three base h'U or home runs, but the fact Is he wot M the pennant by saving that game, and M he did It by striking out. If ever there was a fellow who was crossed up, fool- ed, puzzled and made to look bad It M was Howard, but that mado no differ- H "It was a corking game, one of the H greatest and most exciting I over saw, M and the crowd was crazy. Dotrolt had H been winning and held the advantage M clear down to tho ninth, with Dono-' H van pitching so fast wo scarcely could H see the balL I wasn't In the game, but M was doing some gallant bench work M trying to help tho other fellows hit H Donovan H "They had us licked by two runs In M the ninth, and our follows commenced to get a start. Wo had a chance to tie M It up when Tinker came to bat. Tin- ker hadn't been hitting Donovan at all. j I bcllcvo he had struck out a couple of times, and Chanco signaled to me to H come on and bit There's where How- H ard gave a wonderful display of club H swinging. Tho first two shot over tht H plate so faat I hardly was able to net H myself and swing before the ump was H yelling 'strike.' H "Then I decided to acquire a l!tti H more con-fce-dl-cnco. I figured that H Donovan, having two strikes on me, H would waste a fast one high and out- H Kldo the plato and try to make me bite H at 1L I decided to try ? little surprise H party. Donovan had called Schmidt H down to talk to him, and that gave jH me plenty of time to think It over, also H to listen to what the crowd was think- H lng out loud about me ax a pinch hit- H "J made up my mind that Donovan H was going to waste that ball and that H I was going to take ono large healthy H smash at It. because I rather liked to H hit those high ones when they weren't H too far away. I started to walk In a H bit to crack the ball, when I saw It H coming low and faat and aimed about H at my knees. It looked for an Instant H as if that ball was going to get tangled H among my legs. I took a fine swing, H and don't think I missed the ball more jH than a foot. H "Then I heard a howl, while the ball H was going back to the stands. It had JH slipped through Schmidt and got away fH so far that the score was tied. The H chances are that If Donovan had wast- H cd the bail, as I expected him to do, jH I'd have been a hero or a dub, with the H chances In favor of the dub. and that H Detroit would have won that first game H and had a running start toward the jH championship I ended in a tlo, broke H their confidence, and we won In H straight heats." H |