The Nebraskan. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1892-1899, April 03, 1899, Image 1

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    THE
NEBRASKAN.
lot. VII. No. 27.
BASE BALL HISTORY.
Early Reminiscences of
the
Game Told by An
Alumnus.
Uaso ball, like everything else coll
ected wH.h the University, has boon
matter or steady und continuous
row Hi. That the University of No-
inukn base ball club would ever bo
iblc 1 tUo long1 trips nnd meet vie
oriously tlie teams of eastern colleges
ncr entered the minds of its most
Intliusiastio early supporters. When
a'S7 the tea.ni discarded overalls and
erkcrri nnd donned neat, new Maroon
mlfomis tlie University took a holl-ij-
nml turned oirt en masse to cheer
nd congratulate t.he players and one
L
n thf history of this great Institution
mother on one of the greatest events
f learning'. The llrst games were
iiyed on grounds In Id out on. the
iortlicust quarter of the campus in the
pace now occupied by Grant Meniorl
il hall. The machinery building' nnd
s'cbrnskn hall. In those days the
. jmpus wns Hnel with an evergreen
icdge. A driveway extended from
he east door of the main building to
;trcet. Along' each side of this drive
ray was a row of cottonwood trees.
Tio grounds faced north, with the
lomo plate near tlie trees. It was on
icso grounds that Fred Shepherd,
sow a prominent attorney of the city.
cquireti nn eiuiunng mine as the pap
ain and pitcher of a team which iel
lom failed to lower the colors of such
cams as the "Rising Stars," "Tlie
.'lysscs Giants" and the "Little Pota
oes Hard to Peel." Those who snw
rill never forget tlie gallant figure he
iscd to make as he strode undaunted
io the field attired in a white stiff
:osonicd shirt, kneo breeches, sky
due nnd whits striped, white stocic
nps, and a black slouch hat. His fel
5 . aw players presented an appearance
nqnally sightly. They were heroes in
Ihoso days, nevertheless, for they
ldayod ball in an earnest stralghtout.
wppy-go-iucky way tnat engendered
m interest whloli the scientific.
trnight-lnccd game of today greatly
lacKs.
The tlrst uniforms were donned in
J5S7. These were poulnrly heralded
s ninscottes which were to lead the
layers to victory over the much
feared , ami consequently much hated,
semi-professional team from Uljsscs,
N'eb. As might have been expected,
he team suffered an inglorious defeat
in the presence of several hundred
jeering and unsympathetic fellow
students, who, disgusted with the
playing of their own champions, shift
ed their allegiance to the victors,
whose evorv nlav t.hev erected with
I cheers and applause, so that as far as
encouragement went our boys might
easily havo imagined themselves
nmong strangers.
called practice game with the Lincoln
western league team. This team was
a famous one, being made up of such
men ns Bccklej', Swnrtzell, Billy Hart
and Dave Rowe, nnd won the western
league championship of that year.
This game "was theoretically a practice
fame for botli teams but ns a matter
of fact the other team got nil the pme-.
iee. The Lincoln team were all heavy
hitters and esneciallv distincuislied
themselves in that line that day. One
of our team, who shortly afterwards
on me long distance run on Held day,
attributed his success to the experi
ence he got In left field following the
jjome run hits of lleckley and Rowe.
Sonic estimates were made ns to the
prohnlih size of 'the score, but the ac
tual figures were never known.
Corona rati vol v few frames were
Jlayed during the season in those
Hays. The team did not leave the city
except on Saturdays. Most of the
pimos were with local nines. The most
import n n't of these was the game with
team supported by the State Jour
nal poinpany. The game was widely
advert isod and largely attended. Walt
Mason, then at the height of his repu
tation as the presiding genius of "Lo
1 Drift" Jn the State Journal, wrote
paragraph after paragraph in prose
and vorso congratulating' his team
"pon their cominc- vietorv nnd condol-
I 'npr Willi! tiie p00r University team us
"wmeu to inglorious and 'humiliating
"efent. The morning before the game
J1 n uiunltoynnt address- to his team,
he urged them on to victory promis
ln,Pr to meet them on the Luperea!
,v'tli crowns." The game came off as
r schedule dn the presence of the
largest and most enthusiastic of
owds. Tlie dny the only reference
io tlie game in the Journnl was in ihe
"Jjht short lino of Mason's column in
"."'eh is was graphically and suc
cinctly s'tated that "base ibnll was a
Iae anyhow."
" wan just at this time that "Spider"
MoplieriR iKran to accumulate fame as
"' all-around plover, but particularly
"H a pitohor. Wlien John B. Fognrty
Presented the University in the
st"te oratorical contest nt Crete ihe
UNIVERSITY
aK ball team went along for nn af
,,riVH)ll K111"0 wit'h tioime. "Spider"
pitched. In the course of the second
lining. a one-armed policeman who
piteluMl for Donne, enmo to the bat.
i e looked harmless and by strlktng
it two sw ft balls acquired two strikes.
It seemed so easy for "Spider" that
tor the purpose of creating amusement
lor the crowd, he troted from his box
toward the butter und when within
twenty feet tossed nn easy ball. The
one-armed whanged awny at the ball
sent it oyer the fence for n homo run
nnd walked around the diamond to
lie noise of great cheering nnd tough
er nt "Spider," who never heard the
Inst of it.
Before the oratory began, thnt even
ing there wns the usual cheering nnd
nging and lauding up of the univer
sity orator. There wns nothing unu
sual until somebody discovered that
holder was present, whereupon
a lusty lunged youth stood on n chair
and proiKiunded the query ns to what
was the matter with "Spider." The
response which shook the building
showed that the base ball pitcher was
the hero of the occasion even nt a con
vention of orators. The writer "an
vouch for one, who, looking around nt
ihls tune and discovering the smiling
nullum toped nnd debonoir "Spider r
sentcd hlg-h up on the ticket oillce with
his legs carelessly hung over its edge
--found him a worthy object of hom
age and registered a solemn vow io
seek endurinn- fame Uimmrli M,n ,,..
..i. 1- It", ii,., """'.'. " s"'",u
"...uinin. .m. i. ingciow ami ins Drofh
, or, as well as F. A. Williams and T. S.
I Allen were stars of their team.
ivaiiy in 1S90 another game was
played with the Lincoln professional
team, with Fred Barnes, now a pro
fessional, in our box. We hnd the game
well in hand nnd practically won until
in the eighth inning- Barnes was taken
with a cramp nnd n substitute pitcher
took his place. He was kitted out of
the 1kx the game being- called on ,.c
oount of darkness before three men
were finally put out in the eighth Inning-.
Little wns done in 1S90 and 1891,
though there was much excellent ma
terial. The best men were Frame
Woods. C. 1). Chandler, Paul Colson,
Hurry Reese and Harry Hicks.
In 1892 the team took its first trip
outVrf Mr,7 state with games scheduled
with Baker college at Kansas City ind
at Baldwin, with Kansas State 'Uni
versity nnd with Washburn college.
Phis wns the famous rainy spring and
but one game of the schedule was
played, that at Lawrence. This was
rather nn unusual game. Chancellor
Canticld had but shortly come from
Kansas and hnd promised tlie team a
banquet if they boat his old school.
Some of Barnes' fraternity brethren
at Lawrence had talked him into a
nervous condition over some of their
famous ki tiers. In the first half of
the first inning- he let in four men, al
lowing three men kises on balls, lie
then braced up and in the succeeding
eight innings fanned out seventeen
men. He struck out seven men in suc
cession. For two successive inning
the Ibattors went out in one, two, three
order. The score in the Inst half of
flie ninth inning- with two men out and
Kansas at the kit stood four to xoiir.
The winning score was made on a rat
tled piny of Stroman nt second, who
instead of accepting n pretty throw
out at firsi was impelled by a tremen
dous cheer of Rock-chnlk-.loy-hawk-K.-l"s
to throw the kill backward over
his head. Ileald at third scored a re
liiendons hit in this game, twice run
ning- aiier a uy Dan nign over liis head
and catching it over his shoulder while
running at full speed. Tlie Kansas
City pajiers referred to his work as
phenomenal.
Ileald Juid gone on this trip in opp -s-ltion
to his father's wishes and- under
n threatened cessation of checks from
home. The manager wrote to his fath
er after the team return enclosing
Mime of the flattering notices of his
sou's ploying-. Harvey nf forwards said
the only refcrncc his father ever made
to the trip was by (making- his next re
mittance ten dollars lnrg-er than usutl.
A nuuvber of unimportant local
games were played this year. The
stars were Holmes, n former Yale play
er. Face, Chandler, Barnes nnd Hen I'd.
In 1893 theix' was little organization
and 'no enthusiasm. One game wan
played with Wesleyan nnd one with
T)oane.
1894 was equnlly uninteresting ns far
ns outside games were concerned. Tim
base ball committee was made up of
fraternity men who were generous
with their fellow memlers at the ex
pense of the tenm. It is perhaps well
riiieinbered how John Dixon acquired
41... (111,. ,.f O'l't,,. Aiisviiant Afn fl .wif
fill lllll 111 1JI IIV'lllll' J.MIIllll ..
Jiiok White nnd Gerrnrd hnd organized
a rival loam wirn wic iivowen itiicti
tion of beating- the regular nine. They
failed to beat, but in the tost game.
Dixon missed so many chances to stop
easy balls that he was dubbed "The
Ancient Mariner," it being noted at
the time that "he stopped one of
three." In 189G the athletic reorganiza
tion infused new life Into the tenm,
(Contlnuoil on Hcrond page)
OF NEBRASKA, LINCOLNAPRIL 3, 1809.
PILLSBURY IS WINNER
Easily Gets First Placo At
Indoor Meet. Lomar
Second.
A large and enthusiastic crowd wit
nessed the fourth annual Indoor pen
tathlon which was held in the gymttur
slum March S5 und 27. Suturda yeveu
ing the ofllcinls succeeded in finishing
the shot put, three broad jumps nntl
polo vault, owing- to the fact that the
lights wore turned out, but on Mon
day night the high jump nnd potato
races were contested before n larger
nnd more enthusiastic crowd. The
first exhibition game of hoop kill even
seen in the west was ilso played be
tween teams under Snmms and Marsh.
Ihe game was won by the Snmms'
team, the score being- 1G-7.
Miss Lorcna (icnoung gave n pleas
ing exhibition of fancy club swinging.
The events were won ns follows:
Shot piit-Flllsbury first, IIS feet, .1
inches; Wallace second 30 feet, 3
inches; Foyntcr third, 25 feet, 0 inches.
Three 'broad jumps: Fillsbury first, 10
foot, 1-4 inch; Swallow second, 28 feet.
1-2 Inches; IxMiinr third, 2S feet, 7
inches.
Pole vault: Fillsbury first, 9 feet,
1-4 inch; Kollog-g second, 8 feet 9 1-4
inches; Mouck, l.emar nnd Hoard tied
for third, 7 feet, 4 inches.
Illuming high jump: Fillsbury first,
S feet, t) inches; Wallace second, 4 feet,
H inches. Fenrsc, Bullnrd, Swallow
and Lomar tired for third, 4 feet o
Inches.
Quarter mile potnto race: Foyntcr
first, 1:44 1-5; Fepoon second, 1:44 C-.i;
I'illsbury third, 1:40. Fillsbury won
first place in the pentathlon with a to
tal of 427 points; Lemnr second, with
:!00..ri points; Foyntcr third, with 007
lomts, nnd Swallow fourth, with 2")7
points.
The relay race which was put in ;o
afford amusement for the audience
while the totals were being figurd up,
was won by a team under B. D. Andre
son, in 1:15 2-5.
Fillsbury was the only man in tnc
contest who sueexv'ded iv"vaklng n
record. He raised the indoor running
high jump from 5 feet, 4 3-4 inches,
made by W. K. Andreson, to 5 feet, 0
inches.
Benedict, the winner of the second
nnd third annual pentathlons, together
with Fillsbury, Lemur, Foyntcr nnd
Swallow will represent the University
m a dual moot with Omaha. April 8.
Besides the meet, track athletes will
prokibly havo an opportunity to meas
ure strength with like teams from Uni
versities of Knnsas and Iowa ns nejro
tiations are now lieing carried on with
that end in view.
GUILD'S EXHIBITION.
The gii-Jo of the gymnasium gave
their annual exhibition Ik? fore the wo
man's Ciuln on last Monday afternoon.
From 2:15 until 2:30, while the guests
were arriving, some very good work
was done on iic various' pieces of ap
paratus. The principal features w?rc
rope and pole climbing, led by Mis
Bock, the traveling rings by Miss
Spurke and Miss Fowler, and jumping
by Miss Scott. Miss LnSolle, Miss finile
and others. In the running high jump
Miss Scott made four feet, two inches.
At 2:.!0 the advanced class came on
the floor. Under the command of Miss
Spuric thi' class wont through a ten
minutes drill in military marching
Miss Ban- then explained that the ex
ercise of the advanced class would
show the series generally gone
through with in class. Miss Whiting
called the class to order and led in .a
series of rfoe Jill ml gy'innnwlics mini
trunk exercises. Miss Spurk took ihe
olas sthrough a dumb Ik'H drill and
S wed I mIi gymnastics. The Swedish
gymnastics are a now feature in the
work and performed without niiwle.
the exercises theinesolves lieing suffi
cient rvthm. After a run, represent
atives from the three first year classes
the 9. 10 nnd 2:30 o'clock classes, had
a ball assing contest. In this the 0
and 10 o'clock classes tied. To decide
the victors a game of pawning the ball
between the feet was played. Jn this
the 10 o'clock class won and with joy
ous howls, left tlm floor.
Miss Burr then said the 2:30 chiss
would illustrate the recreative sides of
the work. The class played two games
with bean kigs, one passing the kigs
nrouiKi in a circle ana tne ouier ncras
the lines and running from end to end.
The most exciting jwirt of the enter
tainment was Uw kiskot kill game
be' ween the fi hints nnd the Midget.
The Oinii.ts were Misses Brown, Win
ger, lloldbrook. West. Davenport and
iiiicKiimsier. rue JMiKigeis were di
vided. wirt playing the first half and
Dart the second half. Thoy were:
Misses Schwartz, Fentzer. Wheeler.
MoOrosky. Miller, ICnford Susslek,
Gregory ."Broody, Bridges, and Honrv.
Good jilnvs were made on loth side,
but by Miss Brown's and Miss Win-
ger s crlss cross, so far above the heads
of the midgets, it was indeed very
prateworthy that the Midgets scored.
The game ended with a score of 30 to
12 in favor of the (Hunts. The Midgetu
then asked to redeem themselves nnd
ami show the audience that they could
phiy. So u short game was played, ro
Kulllng In a score of I 'to 2 in favor of
Miss Penlzor's team.
CHDMICAL SOCIKTY MI3I?1'1NG.
The third regular meeting for the
present year of the Nebraska section
of the American Chemical iuwintlon
was held March 24 In the chemical lec
ture room The speakers of the even
ing were V. H. IJalrd, suiorintotident
of the Beet Sugar eonimnv's works
at Norfolk, Xeb., and' Dr. H, A. Scaler,
Instructor of science in Omaha high
school. Both addresses were full (if
interest nnd received the closest atten
tion from the audience.
Superintendent Balrd srake on the
financial side of chemistry ns a pro
fession, lie said that those in control
of manufacturing operations, where
chemicals are employed; arc apt to be
impatient of allowing the Introduction
of new ideas, unless they have been
previously demonstrated to 1k success
ful hi operation, they don't feel like
wasting time and money in experi
ment. The inability to conform io
such demands is a frequent cause for
ill success on the part of the chemist,
and it may be added, sometimes of the
manufacturer as well. Another fre
quent cause for failure on the part of
the chemist is hi-, inability to under
stand and to use men. Altogether
from Mr. Baird's remarks, one might
infer that a specially trained chemist
is hardly flitted for success in- a busi
ness way, the fault not lieing always
his, but rather thai of conditions, 'it
certainly appears that in this respect
the Ccrnians arc ahead of the Knglish
spenking people in their application
of science to the manufacturing indus
tries. 'I hey maintain extensive re
search lalmratories in connection with
iheir factories and reap the benefit c.f
chemical investigation in new discov
c.ies and in the bolter utilization if
waste products.
Dr. Senter. in a brief talk, illustrated
in a very clever way, how it is possi
ble for one having a little ingenuity to
overcome the disadvantages of imper
fect equipment in Inltorntorics, a con
dition frequently met with in high
schools and the public schools cener-
; ally. Ho showed samples of his own
sum 111 tlie utilization of broken and
cnsl off apparatus and of devising sim
ple schemes of onnintg for and using a
limited supply of apparatus, the talk
lx'ing illustrated throughout.
(JIIADI'ATK CLUB M1J12T1NG.
The second meeting of the graduate
club for the current school year was
held Miiioh 25, in the "English Den"
on the third Hour of main building. A
greater jKiit of the evening was spent
in having a general good time. Jn
the latter airt of the evening the
ladies of the club sprang a surprise
upon the gentlemen, by serving lem
onade and pretzels. A program was
given by some of the members of the
general faculty.
W. 1). Hunter read an interesting pa
per on the "Migration of Birds." dis
cussing tlie different theories for the
cause of this phenomenon, and show
'ng the habits of the birds of different
sjiccies. Miss Heron, instructor ii' K
lifical science, told of her experience
in gaining admission to Germnn uni
orsities and the value of the train
ing then'. She gave many points of
special interest to students who con
template studying in Germany, the
difficulties of obtaining a degree, or
of gaining nny recognition from Ger
man students were vi'vy clearly shown.
Frofessor Bnrliour spoke of the new
tendency toward the recognition of
the biological sciences, zoology and
geology, dealing especially with tlie
lnsit. named.
A series of tests recently made in
the ebil engineering laboratory are o'
general interest. The tests were mti.le
to del rem! ue the efficacy of the butt
and hip welds in Norway iron. Tlie
wiihlt- had heeim niiide in the shopc of
the department of mechanical engi
neering by students in the school of
agriculture. Some of the welds were
fully as strong as the un welded pieces
which were tested for comparison,
and the weakest welds developed 54 J-2
per cent of the strength ot the un-
wolded specimen. This simply shows
the result of work done by farmers'
boys after only ten weeks in this de
partment of tlie University of Nebras
ka. Botany senior symposium of phyto
geology was held March 25 n't 2:30
o'clock. T)r. Frederic Clements win
in charge of the meeting-. Much Inter
est was aroused in iho general dis
ciiMdou of the snbieoti hy tttiose wlliio
took part. After this was completed,
n feed was given to the members. The
iiek-t meeting will be held April 22.
Phiob 5 Ckntb
SCHOOL OF MUSIC RECITAL
Last Student Event of the
Year Given Tuesday
Evening.
I ho fifth und lust recital of the Uni
versity school of music was given hwt
IncMlay evening in the chapel. The
am ience was large and appreciative,
giving praise where it was due. A few
of the older pupils appeared, but on
the whole the program was made up
largely of new students. . It was very
gratifying to note that a large part or
the audience was made up of city peo
ple, who have learned to recognize the
merit of these recitals. Several mem
bers revealed a great deal of talent.
Mr. Heed, especially, eunnot receive
too much praise. His kise solo showed
VOcal talent of II verv limieunl nii..illt..
and his many friends in the University
unite in hoping that he will continue
to develop his voice with care and dil-
ikciico. ,imougn lns singing as yet
does not show a perfect control, or' nc
himself a complete confidence in his
ability, vet it is true t'.mt his v', ,u
of remarkable depth nnd power. At
one time in the selection ho touched
low i. with perfect ease. Of the piano
numbers, Mr. Hudson deserves the
most praise, us he played a verv dif
ficult, selection remarkably well. The
proirrnin in full wns as fol'louis;
Finno solo Bourrce D Major, Ga
votte G Minor, .1. S. Bach, George
Moss hart.
Soprano solo "Here and There," A.
B. Winch. Josephine Keane.
Finno solo .c Cnvnlier Fnntnstique,
Godnrd, Mabel Guthery.
Contralto solo- "The Boat of My
Lover," Itclnhold Herman, Edith
Curry.
iolin solo Gondoliera from Third
Suite, Hies. Agnes Browncll.
Finno solo Sonata in 1) No. 2, Alle
gro Andante, Mozart Edna MacDon
ald. Soprano solo-"The Swallows," F.
H. Co wen, Belle Warner.
Piano solo Can tique D' Amour,
T.iszt, Clara Dinimick.
Violin solo Benedictus Mackenzie,
May BoJJo Hagcnow. ,
Contralto solo "Once in a Furplc
Twilight," Eugene Cowles, Fiber ta
Beam.
Bass solo Fruyer from "Magic
Flute " arr. John Randolph, Mozart,
W. Clnudc Heed.
I'inno solo Fantnsic Op. 28, Oon
Moto Agitato Andante, Mendelssohn,
May Belle llngenow.
Contralto solo Recitative, "Ah Gol
gotha," from "Fassion Music" iSt.
Matthew) J. S. Bach; nir, "He Wis De
spised." from "The Messiah." Haendel,
Grace Reynolds.
Finno solo Staccato Etude, Rubin
stein, Fhilip Hudson.
HISTORY OF Fill BETA KAPPA.
Phi Beta ICappa was founded at Wil
liam and Mary college, Williamsburg,
Va., on December 5. 177G. The soci
ety wns leMu Washed ns a secreti order
founded on literary principles, and in
tended to unite the "Arise and virtu
ous of every degree and of whatever
country." The Yale chapter was es
tablished in November, 1780, nnd in the
following year Mr, Pnrmelee also or
ganized the Harvard chapter.
Tn 1025, when the great aniti-mason-ic
crusade took place, the Phi Beta
JvapjKi was one of its first objects of
attacks. Since its foundation it had
Ih'oii secret, but in 1831, ns a result of
the hostility and on the odvice of John
Quiney Adams, the secret was di
vulged. The Phi Beta ICappu fur
nished the model for the present sys
tem of Greek letter fraternities.
Forty colleges nnd universities have
chapters, as follows: Bowdoin 1829;
Colby. 1895; Dartmouth. 1787; Univer
sity of Vermont, Middleburv, Harvard,
1781; Amherst, 1853; Williams, 1834;
Tufts. Brown. 1S29; Yale 1780; xYin
Ity. 1845; Wesleyan. 1845; 'Union, 1819;
University of the City of New lrork,
lR5i; College of New York City, Co
lumibin. Hamilton, Ho-bnrt, Colgate
Cornell. 1R82; Rochester. 1883; Syra
cuse. ls!)5: Rutccrs, DIckerson, 1883;
T,ehigh. 1880; Lafayette, 188U; Muir f
Pennsylvania. 1892; Swartuiore, 1895;
j.Toh ns' Hopkins, 1895: William and
Mary. 1770; Western Reserve, Kenyon,
ern." 1S89; University of Town. 1895;
University of Kansas, 1889; Universi
ty of Nebraska, 1895, and University
of Minnesota. 1892.
There is nt present a movement on
foot to establish a chapter at the Uni
versity of Michigan. Tt Is being active
ly pushed among the students, but is
opposed by J'resident Angril on 'he
grounds that it does mot allow as great
democracy in the school as it does
without it. However, 500 signatures
have lfrccn secured to n petition widen
will soon be presented to the faculty.
The young ladies of the gymnisium
clnss have organized cricket teams.