Sioux City Journal

Thursday 8 October 1891

ADRIAN PLEASED HIS PAPA

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But His Colts Were Not Wholly Responsible for Winning.

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MEAKIN’S NERVE FAILED HIM

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His Wildness and Loss of Spunk Gave Away a Game that was Far from Hopeless – How the Runs Came in – The Score.

Mr. Anson, sr., was at the park yesterday, the captain having brought him out to show him how much his Adie had improved since the time the Ansons held a monopoly of the base ball business of Marshalltown.

The old gentleman, it is said, used to give Adrian heavy odds on any point he chose to play, and then turn in and beat him so badly that he would go home and weep alone in the coal house and then go to bed without his supper for spite.

But time has wrought changes in the Anson family since then, and the one-time captain and manager has grown gray and corpulent. His eye is as blue and as clear as it was forty years ago, and the ruddy complexion still retains the freshness of boyhood but somehow the silk hat and well fitting broadcloth seem to be more becoming than the knickerbockers, hose and peaked cap he wore in the days when his favorite pastime was the national game. And time has altered the relative positions of father and son. Yesterday Adrian did the bossing, and seeing that the governor was not in the pink of condition he played him on the bench. Then he said he was going to catch the game himself, so that his former manager could take in all his good points without getting out into the wind. By the time the first inning was over Anse wished he was away down in center field, and for the first time in many a year he sighed for the seclusion of the coal house. His glove didn’t fit right, and there wasn’t a mattress on the ground that would reach half way down his bosom and it seemed only a matter of time until one of Hutchinson’s cannon balls would go shrieking through the middle of him. But although there were none he did not stop, and he did not look surprised at the approving smile of his sire.

Along in the second inning he picked up his bat, and looked over to the bench as if to say, “Now, pa, you watch how your Adie will swipe this kid off the earth.” Meakin arose to the spirit of the occasion and by the time two strikes were called Anse began to wonder how he would square himself with the governor if this kid should fan him out. He got his bat against the next one just hard enough to send it down to Nicholson and then went out on the coach lines until his papa should become interested in something else. But there wasn’t much to get interested in for a while, for the Sioux City boys were doing most of the hitting and running, and would probably have continued to do so but for the fact that Meakin got so disgusted at his own throwing to first and the fact that Chicago got a couple of runs ahead that he didn’t seem to care much what became of the game. But there was no walkaway on either side, and the game was not won until it was finished.

Swartwood’s single and another from Raymond, Genins’ neat sacrifice and Nicholson’s single let in two runs for Sioux City to start on, and then lay off until the fourth, Chicago in the meantime having scored off Hutchinson’s base on balls, a stolen base and two wild pitches. Then O’Brien was given a base on balls and made the circuit on Nicholson’s bunt and Luby’s bad throw to second. Nicholson got as far as third and then waited till Van Dyke brought him in on single. Van stole second and came in on sacrifice hits by Earle and Scheibeck. Dahlen’s single and bases on balls for Anson and Cooney filled the bases. Then Pfeffer knocked a high fly to right, which Swartwood failed to get, and before it was returned to the diamond the bases were cleared and Pfeffer around third.

In the seventh Chicago got two more. Wilmot’s two bagger followed by a three bagger from Dahlen and another two bagger from Anson let them in. In the third they followed up the play. Pfeffer got a base on balls and Hutchinson hit a little one to Meakin, and both came home on his crazy throw that was meant to go first, but instead went under the bleachers. Luby then got a single and home on a bad throw from the plate to second. Meakin seemed to be discouraged and let the balls go over in any way. But there was no such faint-heartedness in Nicholson when he came to start off the ninth. He lifted on for three bags and Van Dyke brought him in on a single. Earle and Meakin followed with a single each and the bases were full, two men out and Swartwood at the bat. Ed wanted to tie the score by one fell swipe, but when he swiped he hit directly at Pfeffer and the business was ended. The score :

Sioux City						Chicago
	R	H	P	A	E		R	H	P	A	E
Swartwood, rf	1	1	3	0	0	Ryan, cf	0	0	2	1	0
Raymond, 3b	1	1	3	2	1	Wilmot, lf	1	1	0	0	0
Genins, cf	0	0	5	1	0	Dahlen, rf	2	2	1	0	0
O’Brien, 1b	1	0	5	0	0	Anson, c	1	1	6	4	0
Nicholson, 2b	2	2	0	3	0	Cooney, ss	1	1	0	0	0
Van Dyke, lf	1	2	0	0	0	Burns, 3b	0	0	3	2	0
Scheibeck, ss	0	0	3	0	1	Pfeffer, 2b	1	1	5	4	1
Earle, c	0	2	4	3	1	Hutchinson, p	1	0	0	1	0
Menkin, p	0	1	1	0	1	Luby, 1b	2	1	10	0	1
Totals	6	9	24	9	4	Totals	9	7	27	12	2

Chicago	0	0	1	3	0	0	2	3	*	-	9
Sioux City	2	0	0	3	0	0	0	0	1	-	6

Earned runs – Chicago, 2; Sioux City, 3. Two-base hits – Wilmot, Anson. Three-base hits – Nicholson, Dahlen, Pfeffer. Bases on balls – By Meakin, 2; by Hutchinson, 7. Wild pitch – Meakin, 2. Sacrifice hits – Genins, Scheibeck, Earle. Bases stolen – Raymond, Genins, Nicholson, Van Dyke 2, Luby. Double plays – Pfeffer to Luby. Time of game – 1 hour and 50 minutes. Umpire – Hurst.

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Notes of the Game.

Today’s batteries: Hart and Earle, Vickery and Merret.

The crowd was the biggest seen on the grounds so far.

Meakin’s let-down in the eighth did not materially increase his chances of winning the game.

There never was a cleaner, more gentlemanly set of men on the field than Anson’s colts. “Tough” players do not go with Anse.

The wind fooled Swartwood on the long fly that let in three runs. Ordinarily it would have gone foul, but was carried just inside the line.