Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 79, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 April 1911 — SIGNAL FOR HONUS WAGNER [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

SIGNAL FOR HONUS WAGNER

Manager McGraw of New York Giants Tells Pitcher Marquard to Give Pittsburger “Anything." "The giants have signals of their own, and not a team has ever even come near to getting onto them," said “Rube" Marquard, Giant pitcher. “We tell what’s coming off in so many words, too. “The old style of Hfting caps, tugging at belts, standing on one foot, and then the other, and gripping the bat is obsolete with us. We use the mute language which Dummy Taylor taught us when he was with the team.

“Manager McGraw has shortened the sign talk to letters for quick work. When he wants the hit-and-run played he flashes H-R from the coaching line. L means delayed steal, and so on. The other teams know what we use, but the Giants are so speedy no other players can catch on. I*l was up against it the first time I faced Hans Wagner. I looked at McGraw on the bench. He flashed back A. Hans hit A high fly, which I thought was lucky for me. because I didn’t know what ball bothered him. I asked McGraw what A stood for. “ ‘Anything,’ he replied. ‘That Dutchman has hit every kind of a ball a mile. Juat give him anything and trust to luck and the fielders.”’

Hans Wagner.