Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 174, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 August 1918 — CHRISTY MATHEWSON IS GIVEN HARD CALL BY FAN [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

CHRISTY MATHEWSON IS GIVEN HARD CALL BY FAN

Why some ball players maintain a strict reserve on the ball field Is a puzzle to a number of fans, but if they heard the players’ side they would understand. Christy Mathewson, one time In a checker game in which he licked the writer easily and using his left hand at that, explained why he does not always answer queries put to Aim by fans while he is on the ball field. “All fans are not alike,” went on Christy, “but you never know when you are going to get in wrong. For example, one time at Forbes field I was warming up near the grandstand and a fan called out to me: ‘Who’s going to pitch today, Matty?’ I answered, ‘Marquard, I believe.’ Then the fan replied: ‘Why, you poor hunk of cheese, Marquard can’t pitch.’ “You see,” continued Mathewson, “this fan called me a hunx of cheese because I had been pleasant enough to answer his question.”