Volume 17 , Issue 17

100 Years Ago, 30 August 1915, Monday

One hundred years ago, 30 August 1915, Monday, The Seattle Star, page seven, we find a baseball player, Fred Toney, was going to be wonder for six years finally becoming a star.

Fred Toney, for six years the greatest "going to be a wonder" pitcher in baseball, had finally arrived. After being battered from pillar to post because he never filled that "going to be" dope, he is not only winning for the Cincinnati Reds, but getting to be a shutout specialist.

Toney began to be a wonder in 1909 when, with Winchester, Ky., he struck out 19 of 21 batters who faced him in a seven inning no hit game. He was secured by the Cuba, and in the next four years was sent to Louisville and recalled by Chicago so often he became a friend of all the conductors operation between the two cities.

In 1914 Charley Murphy gave Roger Breshan $10,000 to sign a contract and said Roger would earn the bonus if he didn't do anything except make a pitcher of Toney. Roger worked hard and finally sold the pitcher to the Reds.

Toney entered the majors without the sign of a curve ball and without any idea of how to pitch overhand.

Minor Brown taught him in about five minutes to throw a dandy curve, but no one was over able to make him pitch overhand.

Also, Toney insisted on pitching his raise ball all the time. it took him more than four years and many trips to and from the majors to learn that while his raise was effective he would have to mix it with something else. He is mixing 'em now and is one of the hardest pitchers in the league to score against.

toney is the strongest man in baseball. It's an odd sight to see him walk across the field and ooze into the arena. He just ables along, head down, shoulders stooped and his awkward legs barely dragging his feet - the biggest in baseball.
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