Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 208, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 September 1910 — HOW PURTELL GOT HIS START [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HOW PURTELL GOT HIS START

Clever Little Third Baeeman Saye Its Hard to Play Ball but Harder to Sit on Bench. (By WILLIAM PURTELL) My father was a ball player and I think he always wanted his boys to play the game professionally. He was an infielder and in his time one of the best and fastest men in the game. He played at Syracuse and with other eastern teams, but retired from baseball while still young, because he could make more money in other ways. The love of the ganfe still was strong in him, and even up to the present time he is hard to beat. I think he meant one of his boys to be a player, and when we were little fellows he used to take us into the yard and coach us and teach us the game, as It r.hould be played. > I started playing with kid teams around Columbus, Ohio, my home, and then, with the high school team. At night after a game I would talk the plays over with father and ask his advice as to how the plays ought to have been made. In this way T learned a lot and also became known among the fellows, because I could tell them things about the game. I pitched and played third for the high school team. I was scarcely more than a “kid” when I went to Decatur as a third baseman, or short stop. I did pretty well there and was much pleased when Columbus wanted me, as I hoped to play ball at home, where I could see the people and be patted on the back. I player is a pretty tough one for a kid starting out, and there were lots of bitter nights for me then, when I wanted to quit and run home. It was rough experience especially for a boy who has been praised and applauded in a school team, but it was valuable to me because it taught me the game and made me fight. I did not stay In th<s minors long. Twice Columbus called me back and

sent me away again, and then Chicago bought me and put me on bench duty. If playing ball Is hard, playing on the bench is harder. I had a lot of that bench work, fretting my heart out because I couldrA be In there playing the game and longing for a chance to show them I could make good. They shifted me around in positions, too, which made It harder. One thing I learned was to Jump in, do the best I could, obey orders and not make excuses no matter what happened. I was playing with older and much more experienced men, and I watched them and tried to from them. I found I could learn even from the worst erf them something that might help me. I was nearly killed by a pitched ball, and for a time It shook all the nerve out of me. I determined to fight it out, and after a time was surprised to find myself less afraid than ever, and more determined.

Billy Purtell.