El Paso Herald · El Paso, Texas · 1913

How Great Men Play the Game: Tris Speaker

Scar takes up Tris Speaker of the Red Sox in August 1913: the two-base-hit king chokes the bat and hits with a falling-in swing, covers almost the whole of the outer garden, and did you ever notice him swinging all of his team-mates' wagon tongues as he goes up to bat?

Scar’s subject here is “Tris Speaker, Center Field, Boston Red Sox,” and the panel opens with the batting title spelled out in full: “His title of two-base-hit king may be readily understood when we note his style of batting - he chokes the bat with a firm grip and hits the ball with a falling-in-swing.” Fifty-some doubles a year, explained in one caption.

In the field the report turns admiring. “He sacrifices everything for team work, and with his great speed he covers almost the whole of the outer garden backing up the other fielders,” the outer garden being what 1913 called the outfield, and Speaker being what 1913 called all three positions at once. On the bases the method is simpler: “Speaker pays no attention to players when he’s pilfering bases - he just keeps his eyes glued to the ball.”

The corner box catches the on-deck ritual still in use a century later: “And did you ever notice? Him swinging all of his team-mates wagon tongues as he goes up to bat.” Three or four bats windmilling at once so the one he keeps feels light as a switch. The Red Sox lent Scar their center fielder at the height of his powers, and the wagon tongues, presumably, were returned.