With my retirement from the Chicago Club in 1897, my active connection
with the game may be said to have ceased and it is more that probable
that I shall never again don a uniform. My affection for the game still
exists, however, and I am confident that, purged of the many evils that
now exist, the game itself will continue to be in the future what it has
been in the past, the National Game of the American people.
Looking back over my twenty-seven years of active service on the
diamond, I feel that I have but little to regret and much to be proud
of, and if I failed at times to come us to the expectations of my
friends, it was simply because I was heavily handicapped and unable to
carry the load. For the gentlemen who have criticized my actions fairly
and honestly I have naught but the kindest feelings, and for those who
did not and who criticized simply to be in the fashion, or because they
were advised to do so by those in authority over them, I have--but
perhaps it is as well to "let the dead past bury its dead." The League
Guide of 1898 contains an article on my retirement, from the pen of the
veteran, Henry Chadwick, that I am particularly proud of, and a portion
of which I quote, as follows:
"Professional base-ball history records the development of many an
original character in the ranks alike of its press-writers, its club
magnates, and its most noteworthy players; but it can be safely said
that its most unique figure can be found in the person of the League's
greatest representative on the field, Adrian Constantine Anson, who
today stands forth as one of the most sturdy, fearless and honest
exemplars of professional base-ball known to the game. The bright
particular attribute of Anson is his sterling integrity, combined with
which is his thorough independence. The former was strikingly
illustrated at the very outset of his career as a member of the Chicago
Club in 1876, when he kept true to his agreement with the club, though
under the base-ball law as it then existed the club could not, enforce
its contract; and his independence was plainly exhibited in the act of
his refusing this year to accept a money testimonial at the hands of his
base-ball friends, he preferring to depend upon his existing physical
powers for his maintenance rather than upon the proffered financial aid.
"In some respects Anson resembles a rough diamond, his brusque manner
and impulsive temper needing the keen polish of the refining wheel of
the conventional amenities of life to make his inherent worth shine
forth in its full brilliancy. Anson, too, reminds one somewhat of that
old Western pioneer, Davy Crockett, inasmuch as his practical motto is,
'When you know you're right, go ahead.' This latter trait was
conspicuously shown in the year of the players' revolt in 1890, when,
almost alone as a minority man, he stood by the National League in its
greatest hour of need, in opposition to the desertion of hundreds of his
confreres in the League ranks. In these prominent characteristics, we
say, Anson stands as the most unique player known in the annals of the
professional fraternity."
This is indeed praise from Sir Hubert, and I raise my hat in
recognition.
What I may conclude to do in the future it is hard to say, and if I
return again to my first love, base-ball, it will not be as a player,
but wherever I may be or whatever I may do I shall still strive to merit
the approval and good will of my friends--God bless them!
THE END.
AMOS RUSIE'S PITCHING.
Amos Rusie, who, for several years has probably come nearer being the
premier pitcher of the country than any other man, gives some ideas of
pitching to the New York Evening Journal. He says:
"In delivering a straight, swift ball, when my object is to obtain the
utmost speed at my command and to cut the plate, so that an umpire can
have no doubt as to its being 'over,' I grasp the ball firmly with the
two first fingers, with the thumb not clutching the ball too tightly. It
is not my intention to twist or curve the ball at those times, but to
catch the batter napping or else to prevent him from 'walking' to first.
I take one long preliminary swing to prepare the shoulder muscles for
the coming strain, and with my right foot firmly braced on the slab, I
lurch forward with a high, straight throw, the weight of my body adding
impetus to the ball.
"A slow ball when mixed up with great speed, is most effective if the
change of pace is so disguised as to fool the batter. It does not do to
telegraph your intentions or the ball will go soaring over the
bleachers--from off the old 'wagon tongue.' Exactly the same preliminary
motions should be gone through with as if to send in your swiftest ball.
For this delivery I hold the ball loosely in my hand, holding it with my
thumb and little finger. The ball will at times almost seem to hang in
the air, and the batter, who is looking for a singing swift one, makes a
vicious swipe before the ball gets to him. The change of pace is used
mostly when a batter has two strikes and is worked up to the anxious
pitch. Nothing pleases a pitcher more than to fool a batter with his
'slows.'
"To give an outcurve to the ball I take the same grip with the first two
fingers as for the straight ball. The thumb, however, with which the
twist which causes the ball to curve is given, is brought up in touch
with the ball with a tight grip. Then, with a long, slow preliminary
swing I give a slight side motion to my hand with a decided snap to the
wrist just at the instant the ball leaves my hand. I endeavor, of
course, to hide my right hand as much as possible from the batter, and
go through exactly the same motions as for a straight ball. I can get
just as much speed with my curve as my straight, which in consequence,
has proved my most successful ball.
"The drop ball is a most effective one if a pitcher can get control of
it. If the ball falls even a half inch from the expected line, the
batter is liable to strike over it. In pitching this ball I take a tight
hold with the thumb and two forefingers, with the third finger
underneath in touch with the sphere. Then with a very high swing and a
raise on my toes, I bring the arm down swiftly. The reverse twist is
given with the third finger. A great deal of practice is required to
acquire control of this puzzling ball, and at times speed is sacrificed
in its use."
APPENDIX. SOME NEWSPAPER COMMENTS.
With the retirement of Captain Anson baseball loses its most dignified
and courageous figure--a man who has striven through a number of years to
preserve the national game in all its best phases and a man who has
fought for decency and gentlemanly conduct on the field, and by whose
efforts the club of which he has been typical for a long time has come
to be known as one of the most dignified organizations on the National
League diamond. His retirement from the leadership of the Colts is
received with regret by the devotees of the national game, although
opinion is divided as to its advisability. It has long been believed by
certain patrons of the game that a change in the management and
captaincy of the team was advisable, and that a younger man might make
the nine more successful. But whether they are of this opinion or not,
the patrons of the game this year will miss the presence of the big
first baseman who has come to be typical of the Chicago team.
Captain Anson retires with a record of which he may well be proud. He
has been a prominent figure in hundreds of games in all of which he has
done excellent work. As the head of the Chicago club he has piloted the
team through good and bad fortune. During the last few seasons he has
not done as well as had been expected at the outset of the season.
Internal dissension crept into the ranks of the Colts and the men did
not work together. This fact started a sentiment in favor of a change of
management. There were disturbing elements which militated against the
success of the team, and it was believed by many admirers of the game
that a new leader might be able to reconcile the warring factions and
get more substantial results out of the aggregation. This was urged as a
reason for the retirement of Anson. He had served a longer term than any
other base-ball player, and it was believed that he could retire on his
record and give way to a younger man who would be able to secure more
harmonious work. In this opinion there was no desire to belittle the
work of Anson, nor cast any discredit on his management.
His work has been such as to win the respect of every sportsman,
whatever his opinion of the desirability of the change of management,
but with individual players of the first class might not another manager
be able to attain better results was the argument. He is to be succeeded
by a man who worked with him as a fellow-member at one time of the
Chicago team, a man of experience in base-ball affairs, and who it is
believed will continue the work which the veteran has done for the best
interests of the game. Whether or not he will be able to make the club
work together better than Anson and whether he can secure better results
from the material he has to work with remains for the coming season to
show.
But whatever be the future success of the team, it will owe a debt to
Captain Anson, for to him is due the credit of being one of the greatest
of base-ball generals. He has done a great work for the Chicago team,
and can now give way to another, resting on the honors which he has
already won and which the base-ball public gladly concede to
him.--Chicago Tribune.
The former captain-manager of the Chicago base-ball team has just
replied to a proposition to offer him a testimonial in such terms as do
him infinite honor. Mr. Anson had held his position for many years. He
had done the work and discharged the duties of the place faithfully,
laboriously, and ably, and he had received for his services a salary
which he accepted as sufficient. When it was, thought best to depose him
and to employ another captain, he gave way without protest. He had done
his best, he had been paid, he had nothing to complain of, and no favors
to ask. The proposed testimonial was offered, perhaps, under the
impression that he was needy or that his feelings were hurt, and the
idea seems to have been that in giving him a benefit they would placate
any resentment he might harbor and at the same time proclaim their own
generosity. Anson, however, declined to be put in the position of a
martyr or a suppliant. He replied: 'I refuse to accept anything in the
shape of a gift. The public owes me nothing. I am not old and am no
pauper. Besides that, I am by no means out of base-ball.'
We think that everybody will applaud Mr. Anson in this attitude. There
is no reasonable doubt that the projected benefit would have netted him
several thousands of dollars--it is not too much to estimate the result
at $10,000. He has long been a favorite with the Chicago base-ball
lovers. He enjoys a high reputation for courage, fairness, honorable
methods, and professional ability. But he refused the well-meant offer
of the Chicago Athletic Association, and we feel sure that all
right-minded men will give him their sympathy and approval. He prefers
to occupy the position of one who has served his employers zealously
and received full consideration for his work, who has no complaint to
make and no pity to invoke. He is not superannuated, has not been
ill-treated, and is quite able to support himself for the future. It is
a manly, modest, self-reliant, and self-respecting position and it
raises him infinitely in public estimation.--Washington (D. C.) Post.
Our illustrious fellow townsman, Adrian Constantinus Anson, has given to
the New York Sun a few reflections concerning the duties of womankind,
with a comparative review of the charms of the ladies of Chicago and New
York. It is Mr. Anson's deliberate opinion that woman has a most
beautiful sphere of action in this pleasant life which is likely to be
jeopardized by an association with clubs. Mr. Anson thinks that the
average woman cannot attend to her regular knitting and to clubs at the
same time, and he facilitates himself that the ladies of his immediate
family have been restrained by his influence and his arguments from
wasting time in society work that should belong to the needs of the
small and sympathetic domestic circle. We congratulate Mr. Anson on the
ability he has shown in the presentation of his argument, and we turn
with confidence to his discussion of the ladies who have come under his
observation. "In Chicago," says Mr. Anson, "the ladies dress very
stunningly, just as well as they do here, if I am not mistaken, and they
are certainly just as fine looking. I'll admit that the New York men
dress a great deal better than those of Chicago." Mr. Anson is right.
The Chicago man gives little thought to the morrow, wherewithal he shall
be clothed. He has his charms, his graces, his many fine points, but as
a fashion plate he is not a success. He is content to know that his wife
and his daughters are keeping up the standard of Mr. Anson's
expectations, and to feel that in providing them with gorgeous raiment
he is contributing his share of the beautiful, the true and the good in
the world. We have believed for some time that the shopping ladies on
the east side of State street constituted a panorama of feminine
loveliness unexcelled, but we are glad to have this opinion corroborated
by 40 eminent an authority as Mr. Anson, who has a critical eye for the
feminine toilet and has been in New York often enough in a professional
capacity to exercise a just and accurate judgment.--Chicago Post.
The announced retirement of Adrian Constantine Anson from the management
of the Chicago base-ball team marks the end of a career that is without
parallel in America. For nearly thirty years Anson has stood among the
foremost representatives of the national game, and for half that time.
He has been a popular hero whose name was more familiar on the lips of
the people than that of any statesman or soldier of his time. Ever since
professional base-ball became a feature of American life, he has stood
in the front rank of its exponents, and as long as it shall continue to
be played his name will be remembered. He reflected credit upon his
calling and helped raise it to a plane which made it creditable to him.
A certain measure of true glory cannot be denied to such a man. In all
his long publicity no charge of dishonorable methods, no rumor of the
buying and selling that are too common in athletics was ever laid at his
door. He possessed many of the qualities that make leaders of men, and
his continued success was due to the same study and application which
bring triumph in more highly esteemed fields of activity. Base-ball owes
him much, the public owes him something and Chicago owes him more. He is
entitled to an honorable discharge.--Detroit Tribune.
The passing of Adrian C. Anson from the position of manager and captain
of the Chicago League base-ball club is deserving of notice by
everybody. While it is not our purpose or custom to comment on
athletics, in general, we deem it proper to drop a few thoughts
concerning this man and his life.
For twenty-six years he has been playing base-ball with prominent clubs
throughout the country, twenty-two years of this time being spent with
the club which just disposed of his services. Five different times he
brought his club out at the close of the season as a pennant winner, a
record which has not yet been equaled by any manager. Besides being a
bright star in the ball-playing constellation, Anson was an expert at
cricket, hand-ball, billiards and shooting.
He has ever been temperate in his habits, and his long period of service
in this line proves what a man may do by taking care of himself. No
better lesson can be taught the young man of to-day than the observance
of this man's life. After all, is it not a mistake made by the
temperance people that they don't teach the physical as well as the
moral effects of intemperance?
The name Anson means athletics. Honest, honorable, clean, pure
athletics. No man has done more to place outdoor sports above reproach
than he has.--Springfield (Ill.) Sun.
Captain Anson is going to retire. He has played his last championship
game, has piloted his young men through the last season and has made his
final forceful appeal to a league umpire. With the honors of unnumbered
years thick upon him, with a fame that will endure till the last league
ball is batted over the palisades of time, with fortune far beyond the
hope of thousands who have howled his praise, "the grand old man" will
leave the "profession" Jan. 1, 1898, when his contract with the Chicago
team shall expire.
There comes a sentiment akin to sorrow in the incident. The man has so
truly represented the spirit of sport, he has so honestly and
industriously devoted his every energy to its requirements, and he has
so persistently abstained from those customs that too often discredit
men in his line, that the great public which loves base-ball will regret
his departure.
Aside from that there is a measure of compensation. We know that young
blood and new methods may help the Chicago team to that eminence it won
in the old days. This sentiment is entertained by so many patrons of the
game that it may be fair to concede them something.
One thing is certain. No man living will more cordially wish success to
the old White Stocking club than will the man who has shared its joys
and its woes, and who voluntarily, even now, yields place to a younger
man.--Chicago Inter-Ocean.
A few days ago Captain Anson, a representative of the typical American
game, declined to accept a public testimonial earned by years of hard
work, honesty, uprightness, and faithfulness as a player. Mr. A. G.
Spalding guaranteed that the fund would reach $50,000, and from the
great flow of telegrams, letters, and offers of contributions that swept
down upon the promoter of the testimonial it seemed as though that sum
would be exceeded. Anson replied modestly that, while conscious of the
high honor conferred in the almost unanimous expression of good will, he
could not accept a moneyed tribute. A few years ago Dr. W. G. Grace, the
champion cricketer of England, retired from the game, a game typical of
England. Headed by the Prince of Wales a great public subscription was
raised and more than $40,000 was given the champion. He accepted. The
two men occupied the same position toward their games and their
countries. The spirit of admiration was unanimous in both countries.
Both were athletic heroes. Grace accepted; Anson declined.--Chicago
Tribune.
The firm of Chicago & Anson expired by its own limitation last night.
The partners parted on the best of terms. It is now twenty-two years
since they began to do base-ball together, and the record made is an
honor to the world of athletics. Long ago, while the dew of youth was
still in his locks, the junior partner was known as "Old Anse," much as
in army circles the pre-eminence of General Grant won for him the
designation of "the old man." Anson first gained distinction as the
heaviest batter that had ever gone to the plate. Then, for many seasons,
he was captain. He marshaled his forces with the skill of a great
commander. He lost many a battle royal, but he never threw a game, and,
alike in victory and in defeat, the honor of Chicago was maintained
unflecked. May he live long to enjoy the distinction of being "the grand
old man" of the diamond field.--Chicago Inter Ocean.
Our ancient friend Captain Adrian Anson will find ample scope for his
disciplinary talents in dealing with the cherubim whom Mr. Freedman has
aggregated into his base-ball club. At various times the Baltimore, the
Pittsburgs and the Clevelands have held the championship for all-round
blackguardism and "dirty ball," but now New York, like "Eclipse," is
first and the rest nowhere. In this connection it is interesting to
recall that early in the season several of Mr. Freedman's young men
haughtily refused to sign the Brush hoodlum agreement upon the ground
that they were "gentlemen" and incapable of using vile language. The
Brush rule is valid nevertheless, and the patrons of base-ball will
watch with interest to see whether it will be enforced against the
umpire baiters and vulgarians lately led by Mr. "Scrappy" Joyce. If
Anson is given a free hand he will keep the rowdies in subjection. If he
is hampered we venture to predict that Mr. Freedman will soon be hunting
another captain. The "old man" will not stand sponsor for
hoodlums.--Chicago Chronicle.
"I notice," said the Old-Timer, "that a hit was wanted in Louisville
yesterday, and that James Ryan (who would quit rather than play with
Anson as manager) was at the bat. How many, many times the cranks at the
Chicago ball grounds have waited and watched for that same hit, and how
often, oh, how often, they have been regaled with that same play--a
pop-up to the infield. It is time, long, long ago, that James Ryan was
relegated to the bench or the turnstile--for good. Decker is his superior
in everything but grumbling."--Chicago Journal. New York, April 2.--A. G.
Spalding absolutely denied to-day the truth of the published reports
that he had jestingly offered the franchise of the Chicago club to Anson
for $150,000, and that while Anson was hustling around trying to raise
the money he had no intention whatever of releasing the franchise when
it came to a showdown.
"The story is absurd," said Mr. Spalding. "In the first place, Anson is
not trying to get the franchise. No one has made overtures to me with
that end in view. I have set no price on the franchise, because I had
not the slightest intention of letting it go."--Chicago Chronicle.
Temporarily war rumors must sink into innocuous desuetude and other old
things. A matter of more far-reaching importance now claims our
attention. We shall continue to hope that Sampson and Dewey and Miles
will do their whole duty, but we shall not be able to give our personal
attention to the trifles that occupy them until we have received
definite information whether or not Anson is really going with the New
Yorks.--Chicago Post.
As a fielder many have surpassed him, but as a batsman--and batsmen, like
poets, are born, not made, and are the kind of players hardest to
get--his record has never been excelled. He has not always stood at the
head of the list, but always kept up a steady fusillade.--Des Moines
Leader.
The passing of Anson from the National League removes from the national
game its most conspicuous and active spirit. For many years this young
old man has been the principal figure in the grandest of outdoor sports
and his setting aside by the managers of the team that he made famous
will be lamented everywhere.--Detroit Journal.
Now it is claimed that Anson hasn't a chance on earth of getting control
of the Chicago Club, even if he raises that $150,000 option. It is
claimed that the price set by Spalding was one of his little jokes, and
Ans took it seriously. People who ought to know say Spalding and Hart
would not part with the Chicago Club for $250,000.--Cincinnati Enquirer.
O. P. Caylor has this to say: "Anson may be getting old, his step less
springy, his joints not so supple as of yore, but his eyes and brain are
unimpaired. For all that, he knows more about playing the game than the
other men on his team combined. There are at least seven less valuable
players than Anson among the Chicago Colts."--New York Herald.
Owing to the De Lome incident and the destruction of the Maine the
retirement of Colonel Anson from base-ball generalship is not receiving
the general attention its importance warrants.--Chicago Herald.
The young philanthropist who sent $too to Leiter with which to corner
the wheat market would exhibit more genuine patriotism if he would
inclose a few thousands to Captain Anson for the purpose of obtaining
the Chicago ball team.--Chicago Record.
Yesterday was a cold day for base-ball. That grand old man, Captain
Adrianapolis Chicago Anson, was umpired out by Father Time, after
twenty-two years' signal service at the first base.--Chicago Inter Ocean.
When the sporting world finds a better or more manly man than "Old Anse"
it will have to advertise for "the best the country affords." He
honestly won his honors in a fair field.--Chicago Inter Ocean.
There is no reason why Cap'n Anson, now in the full maturity of his
powers, may not have a successful career before him as a trainer of
horses.--Chicago Tribune.
It was worth losing the job for Captain Anson to learn what a royal good
fellow he is.--Chicago Record.