Manuscript: “My Best Baseball Story”

My Best Baseball Story Mother used to tell me what wonderful people our cousins in st. Louis were, the Millers, the streets and glasgow, the cream of the crop. It wasn't untill I arrived to St Louis as a member of the New York Giants baseball club that I had the opportunity of meeting them. They phoned me with an invatation to dinner + asked if they could come out to see me pitch that afternoon which I agreed. Having been purchased for 75 [?] the Giants from Baltimore and what I was a cousin from Maryland had given them the impresion that I was the greatest pitcher that had ever hit St. Louis besides they didn't know anything about baseball. I started the game and in the second inning I was taken out, there were so many line drives in the outfield that McGraw was afraid some of his players might get killed. Then followed each trip to St. Louis with the same result but my concern

kept coming out. Finally McGraw said to me, I dont know whether its the streets, Miller and Glasgow? as the heat, so in the west I'll pitch you in Pittsburgh [?] and Chicago, we'll skip St. Louis for I dont believe you will ever win a game there, this suited me just fine, so it wasnt until the last year I was with the Giants that several of our pitchers were out of shape and the papers announced that I was to pitch and out came the Millers, streets and [?] - When I arrived in the club house Stengel said to me, how many runs would you need to win one and he will get them for you, Oh just get me there, I feel fine today - Well they got me three and St Louis had three, it was the tenth inning and it was three to three in their half of the tenth There were two out, three on base and three and two on the [?], Rogers Hornsby - the greatest hitter in baseball was at the bat. At this point Hank [?] the catcher came out to the mound and said, now what are you going to do for the [?], Millers and [?]

Hank I replied, Im going to do something never done before in baseball. Im going to take my time and did a hole in the rubber, then Im going to turn my back on you and throw the hardest ball ever thrown in the history of professional baseball - I dont know where it will go, upper grand stand or right or left field pavillion - Hank looked at me and said - "Well if its any where around homeplate I'll endeavor to catch it - Hornsby was waiting at the plate as cool as Christmas on Lake Michigan - He had the biggest pupil in his eye I ever saw, he could see at night - Now the crowd had been waiting for the kill, the coup de grace. The Matadors thrust and I had never dissapointed them - Well I finally wound up and threw the hardest pitch of my life. The ball was a perfect strike , no one in the park moved. Hornsby hit [?] over the center field fence, over the Y.M.C.A. building the longest home run ever hit in the St Louis Ball Park.