Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 167, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 July 1911 — FEW EYE-GLAŚED PLAYERS [ARTICLE]

FEW EYE-GLAŚED PLAYERS

Bome Excellent Talent le Overlooked Because of Ban on Spectacled ; - r ' ■ 'ij Performers. "There are no players now tn the fast company, who wear glasses to remedy defects of the eyes," said old Dan Brouthers the other day. “Of course, the Bunfielders of every dub* wear glasses while chasing flies in the garden, but they are smoked glasses with plain lenses, and have nothing to do with the sight of the performer. Blackburne, of the White Sox, I am told, wears glasses now while off the field, and if this is the case his faulty sight may have been the cause of his poor showing both at the bat and in the field during the past season. ‘“No infielder or battery player in any league, as far as I have heard, wears glasses now, nor has there been a spectacle-bearer since the days of Will White, of whom more anon. And yet it has often seemed to me that many good ball players could be added to the list of active stars if fellows who were glasses were given consideration, or if their natural reserve and shyness did not keep them out of the game. , / "A man who has properly fitted glasses can play just as good ball in certain positions as anybody else. I shouldn’t imagine that an infielder would get along well with' goggles on —a bounding ball might put him out of business, and on a hot afternoon, when the rims of glasses get wet from perspiration, he might lose them while bending for a grounder. Still, why shouldn’t an outfielder, if he could see better with lamps on, wear them? And why shouldn’t a pitcher use glasses? And a catcher, with a good mask on, would have his lenses perfectly protected. “

“I saw some college games the last few years in which several lads wore glasses, and, take it from me, these spectacled rah rahs were as good as any of the others. Long ago I saw the second baseman of the University of Virginia, McGuire, playing the infield with enormous spectacles, like those they put on Germap professors in a caricature. And this McGuire was there strong with the bat and on the middle station. He’d have made a crack professional, glasses and all, if he had wanted to go into the game. “Will White, I suppose, was the last of the eye-glassed professionals. Nearsighted as Roosevelt —and Teddy could play a good game of ball, I’ll bet— White was nevertheless a great pitcher. He had the curves, the speed and all sorts of scientific trickery. As a batsman White was the limit. He batted, I think, about .003 each season. The poor fellow couldn’t hit a blamed thing, and toward the latter part of bls career simply swung the bat three times and retreated benchward. ■ ■ ■