Jack Bentley Baseball Collection

III

Our plans are a little indefinite right now - as near as I know tho' we are in Paris about the 8^th of Nov.

I met a wonderful couple of army folks from Alexandria who knew all of our friends in Alex. and Gen. [Ruhu?], he was the Gen. adj. & was near

me in France. Their name was [Jennet?] or Stewart.

There is a wonderful bunch of fellows on board this trip.

We trained the best, and believe me I was in for some trip.

Love Jack

and white. The bell rang for dinner and in we went, the cowboys and Mitch and I sat on either side and the Hagers on each end, we had duck, wil duck and only the breast, they threww away the rest, such a fine meal and as we were eating and during an absolute silence one of the cowboys looked down at me and said, "what do you think of this country"? Well I replied, if I had seen a straw stack I would have stopped and set fire to it and started to wave a hankerchief. Mitch had warned me that they would give me a hard time, you will have to get hurt before they will accept you. I had tried to prepare myself to say the right thing and this was a good start because they knew what I meant, the country was too big for me or I was too small for it. In another silence the foreman said "kin you ride a hoss"? Well I reckon the folks back in Maryland figure the best in the state". This made them gulp, they had me now for sure and so I let that sink in and then I said I did all my riding on a merry go round. I knew that when they have a horse ride the next day I might not get a really bad one and they did just that, about five oclock Ross threww in some chaps and a sombreyo, we had a good breakfast and went to the coral they roped a white horse for me and we saddled up. My horse bucked a bit but it didnt bother me as I had ridden all my life and then they saw I had tricked them, the foreman came over to me and said

Graham, Anderson, Probst & White Architects - Engineers Railway Exchange, Chicago 4

Marvin G. Probst Edward E. Probst

Nebraska I was playing baseball for the Philidelphia ball club in 1926. My roomate's name was Clarence Mitchell, he was one of the best fellows I ever knew. He was born in Nebraska & was part Indian. During the year, Mitch kept talking about my coming out to visit with him in the fall & hunt. Mitch had a cousin named Ross Hager - he home steaded near Hyannis which was the center of a rich cattle country & was the richest town per capita in the world. There was a Mrs. Devers & daughter owning a ranch of 5000 acres near Ross Hagers homestead & during round up time Ross worked for them. He finally was made foreman of the ranch and did well. Mitch said we were invited to go up there a [?]. Ross had fallen in love with Miss Devers & yet he could not tell her as she was wealthy & he didn't have any thing. After several years they had been out looking for cattle all day & stopped at a wire gate. They sat and argued about who would open the gate - finally Miss Devers said, Ross if we are going to argue all the time we might as well get married, & so they were wed.

I started out in October & drove it by myself - the country became more & more sparsely settled and I stopped & called Mitch when I was about a hundred miles from Franklyn - sure enough I met him half way in & we were sure glad to see each other. No sooner than I made town than we went to a dinner in my honor. Cat fish was a great treat & that [with?] are wonderful lot of food made up a fine welcome. We were made at home with Mrs. Mitchell & in a day or two we took off to Hyannis. Mitch had the back of his Chevy fixed with a crate & in it were five big noble dogs - half Irish Wolfe hounds & half Greyhound, these were to run [Coyotes?]. On the way up to North Platte we went through thousands of acres of alfalfa [land?] with thousands of stacks in unending array. We spent the night at North Platte & then took of into the sand hill county for all day we rode in cow paths & came to one town & there we had a steak lunch, real cowboys & two waitresses with short skirts. We hit Hyannis at 4 PM & Ross met us to lead us out to his ranch. When we arrived there were five hundred calves in the corral & five hundred mothers on the outside & everyone bawling they were branding & dehorning the calves. The fore man walked up to the car & hollered howdy. He said to Ross, "one of those damned calves got caught in the fence & we had to kill him. Ross said they just wanted some fresh meat. This foreman was wearing a horse hair coat with the hair left on. He was as 1997.0005.0445

Graham, Anderson, Probst & White Incorporated Architects - Engineers Railway Exchange, Chicago 4 Marvin G. Probst Edward E. Probst

as handsome a man as I ever saw. The Hagers were cordial & seemed delighted to have us. We went in to supper & with six cowboys we sat down to a dinner of Wild Duck - just the breasts. On the way up Mitch said, these cowboys are going to give you a hard time. They are baseball fans but they are going to show you up & you'll have to get hurt before they will take you in - being a western fan I loved these cowboys, they were all heroes to me & I determined to go through it if possible. Nothing was being said until a cowboy spoke to me. "How do you like this country?" I was prepared - so I replied, "if I'd a seen a [Hay?] stack I would a set fire to it & started waving a handkerchief for help. They digested & liked it, they knew I meant the country was so big that I was afraid - after a while the fore man said "Kinyou ride a horse." Now this was one I really was prepared for. "I reckon I was the best horseman in the state of Maryland. They all gulped, I let that sink in & then I said, I ust rode on Merry-go-rounds. Now I knew we were going to ride all the next day & I was trying to get a fairly tame horse. Next morning Ross threw in chaps & sombreyo into our room & we had

breakfast. All the cowboys were going & we went out to the coral. They roped the horses & I came up with a white horse. I had ridden all my life and so when the horse bucked a little it did not bother me a bit & they knew I had pulled on one them for sure. The foreman walked up & said, "like to see some fancy roping - gallop down by me". I felt sure he would rope me around my body & try to pull me off - so I kept a tight rein and held on to the pummel. Sure enough he did just that but I just manage to stay on & I wasn't pulled off. I had gotten by but I knew they would try again. We rode all day & didn't see one Coyote but it was a great day - praire chicken were plentyful & so on one way back home & in sight of the ranch we were going down hill - the dogs out front & a rabbit jumped up. Every thing took into a dead run. Yipping & then after about a hundred yards the rabbit ducked into a hole. Every thing stopped but me & I was trying to get something to hold onto or looking for some place to light & I [lit belly?] flopper. They got off & rolled on the ground - this was it, I just laid there & did not move. When they quit I said you damn cow poke, go to the house & bring up some shovels & bury me right here - but that did it. I was one of the gang from then on. We had a great time - shot ducks & had a fine visit. The day before I left we went to a cattle sale, three sons selling out 5000 cattle to settle an estate of 20,000 acres. They had page wire fence pens with a hundred

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spotted one Mitch had a cord over the window in the front seat which he would pull, opening a rear gate to their cage & away they went. To see those five beautiful dogs racing after the coyote was a real picture & thrill. These dogs couldn't scent & had to run entirely by sight. Sometimes they would come to grief as they did watch where they were going as one day the coyote came to an arroyo, dry [wash?] the Coyote scrambled down a twelve foot bank but the dogs tried to jump the soft wide ditch, they all tumbled to the bottom & the coyote got away. Coyotes are very smart & they will play dead after a fight. Mitch dragged one to the car & he seemed dead. We walked a little way from him & happening to look back saw him stumbling off. Mitch caught fifty one winter & he got a bounty as well as a price for the hide.

CENTRAL OFFICE 5850 AVALON BOULEVARD LOS ANGELES 3. CALIFORNIA

ESTABLISHED 1885

McNEIL CONSTRUCTION CO EASTERN OFFICE - HAY-ADAMS HOUSE WASHINGTON 6. D.C. JOHN N. BENTLEY MANAGER

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 in 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 invitation to dinner & asked if they could come out to see me pitch that afternoon to which I agreed. Having been purchased for $75,000 by the Giants from Baltimore and that I was a cousin from Maryland had given them the impression 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

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.