Early Catcher Paid A High Price-O/T- NY Times
 

19th century fans, Old Judge collectors, and those who enjoy collecting
catching poses are sure to enjoy this story from today's New York Times

Would welcome your comments

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/sp...tml?ref=sports


All the best,


Bruce Dorskind
America's Toughest Want List
bdorskind@dorskindgroup.com

Bruce, thanks for sharing the article.

Catchers
 

Fantastic piece! Thanks for sharing this one, Bruce. The tragic story of Marty Bergen is one I'd heard, but those others were new to me.

Best,

Andy

Great stuff, Bruce. Thanks.

I read it in the Times this morning, and the article had the biggest picture of an Old Judge (Decker) I've ever seen. Today, a lot more attention is being paid to head injuries. Football has recognized this, and now baseball.

I haven't cracked the Times yet today. Great article-thanks Bruce!

I've just completed "59 in '84" about Old Hoss and 19th century baseball, and its confusing to figure out exactly what catchers' circumstances were like back then.

Did catchers actually catch balls thrown overhand at full speed with bare hands for entire games? Or even with just the "fingerless gloves that give barely any protection?
How often did pitchers throw underhand to "ease off" their catcher and their own arm during the 1880's?
How often did catchers catch the ball on the bounce to give themselves a rest?

What those catchers did was unbelievable!

? re Gehrig's ALS
 

thanks for sharing the article. I'd cancelled my NYT subscription several months ago.

My one question was to follow-up on the lead paragraph suggesting that Lou Gehrig might not have had ALS. Unless I missed it, the remainder of the article didn't mention him. So did anyone catch what they were alluding to?

Thanks,
--S

Glad to see a well written 19C BB article in a mainstream paper. The referenced book is a great read, especially after you get past the first couple chapters.

M'sFan - To answer some of your questions, yes catchers did catch full games without gloves, often catching the pitches right behind the batter whenver someone was on base (which could be better than half the game). The referenced book goes into great detail describing how catchers would prepare their hands for the punishment. By the early 1880s, some catchers began wearing primitive fingerless gloves, hidden chest protectors, and face masks to help reduce the risk of injury. By 1884 many pitchers were throwing over hand. Prior to 1884, pitchers pushed the rules with some awful high sidearm deliveres (and thus the rule change to allow what was already happening). It is evident that pitch speeds were fast even back in 1871 when professional baseball began (National Association's first year). The curve ball was introduced in the early 1870s which in itself requires some speed (overhand or not). Like today, successful pitchers had to be hard to hit. If you threw soft and were easy to hit, you would be replaced with someone better. It was during the 1870s that catchers faced the highest risk. They had no equipment and often played right behind the batter.

This was a story from the past week; some brain injuries can show similar symptoms to ALS: article

Nice article. Thanks, Bruce.

First hand account of a catcher's suffering
 

Orator James O'Rourke was a catcher in the 1870s and 1880s and this is how he described it in his own words:

"Before gloves were used, the catcher suffered unbelievable torture. On a hot day, when the blood circulated freely, the catcher's hands would swell about the third inning. When swelling started, the pain caused by impact of the ball decreased, because the swollen flesh made sort of a cushion. On a warm day I have heard a catcher say proudly, along about middle of the game, 'Oh, I am getting along fine - my hands are swelling up in great shape'. But on a cold day, when the blood did not course freely, and the hands would not swell, the pain was intense.

"In those days there were few players that were not scarred. It used to be part of the pitcher's duty to try to hit the batter with the ball. I have seen men knocked senseless many times, and you must remember that at this time the pitcher stood 45 feet away, instead of 60 feet 5 inches, as today.

"Talk about the roughness of football in those days, and the hopelessness of trying to stop it, but it is nothing compared to the brutality of baseball during the constructive period. My head has been so sore from being hit that I could not think and my hands so sore from catching that I could not hold an orange tossed from a distance of six feet."

Interesting story...very sad.
 

Was in Cooperstown this past weekend visiting our Shrine of the game, and took some time to talk through with my son some of the museum's exhibit on the evolution of the cather's position and its gear....a very nice exhibit and interesting...right along the lines of this topic/article.

With enough education, we just might see some of the catching pioneers make the HOF (don't get me started :) )

thanks for posting that article.

enjoyed reading it!