Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 241, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 October 1915 — HAS PREHENSILE FEET [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

HAS PREHENSILE FEET

“Back to Nature” Shoes Made Star Pitcher of Benton. Buccess of New York Giants’ New Hurler Due to Discovery of Sane and Sensible Bty!e of FootGear While Working There was some question as to the status of Rube Benton, former Cincinnati pitcher, until it was Anally decided that he was entitled to wear the uniform of a New York Giant. The pitching of Mr. Benton continues to be wonderful beyond all belief, gorgeous without a chance of rivalry. Game after game, without enough hits off him to shake an ounce of dust out of a carpet! According to one of Mr. Benton’s friends, the pitcher’s success is due to his discovering a sane and sensible style of feot-gpar. Down in No’th Calliny they say that Rube has prehensild feet, and when he was 1 the terror of that region he worked in soft moccasins, enabling him to grip the slab With his hoofs, and thus get extra leverage on every ball.-. Ordinary shoes hampered him; he slid ofT the hill whenever he tried to shut his toes, and so he wasn’t showing his real versatility. This year, Mr. Benton’s shoes are only leather on top —below, they are excavated, so that his little tootsies can peek out.

wander around, and coyly dive out and in as the occasion may require. When pitching, he takes a firm toe hold upon the slab, and thus adds power to the force of each delivery, as well as giving great assistance to his control. You have to hand it to Mr. Benton —his native ingenuity could not be restrained, even by modern shoe leather.

Rube Benton.