Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 178, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 July 1915 — TINKER COULDN’T FOOL BENTON, OH, NO! [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

TINKER COULDN’T FOOL BENTON, OH, NO!

Rube Benton, the Cincinnati southpaw, didn’t know any too much about the art of pitching when he made his major league debut a couple of seasons ago. Cincinnati and Chicago were playing, and Benton was pitching. Joe Tinker, who was then playing short with the Cubs, walked, and then proceeded to have some fun with the Rube. He took a long lead off first. Benton turned around and grinned, but he made no attempt to catch him. Tinker walked to second. Joe bluffed a steal to third and when Benton made no move to stop him walked to that base. Manager Griffith was raving by this time. Tinker took another look at

the grinning Rube, and then made a break for home. Tinker scored standing up. “What’s the matter with you? What in the blankety-blank were you doing out there?” cried Griffith when Benton came in from the field. Benton smiled the happy smile of a child that had just been presented with a six-foot sugar cane. “Oh, they can’t fool me,” he replied. “That man Tinker thought m» was going to play a smart trick with me. He thought I was green and tried to make me throw the ball but I fooled him.” There’s no record of how long Griffith’s fainting spell lasted.