Cheraw Traded Great Bobo For Measly Price In 1926

# 2539
s.c.
FIVE BATS, DOZEN BALLS
Cheraw Traded Great Bobo
For Measly Price In 1926
(Eighth in a Sunday scries jeration of diamond fans, but he
on the greatest baseball teams [was quite a famous southern star
produced in Carolinas towns), about 40 years ago.
The team which was paid so
much coin during a time when
BY HERMAN HELMS
ObftcrTtr S»om Writer
money was far from plentiful
CHERAW, S. C., June 26
So was the 1920 outfit which boast
such talented performers as
far as baseball is concerned, Che- ed
Tom (Submarine' Gheen, Rube
raw, like many other Carolinas Eldridge, Blackie Carter, Fred
towns, is now on the outside look- Prim and Lee Rhame.
Ins in.
Eldridge wan not a regular
But the little city was once sort member of the Hub, but was
of a pioneer community in the called in to pitch many impor
diamond game, and it cherishes tant games. He was always
the memories of those days.
told. "You Ret $75 for winning,
It was here that
pitcher,
later to become famous in the
big leagues, was swapped to a
North Carolina team for a few
biUi and bats.
It was a Cheraw star of whom
Bob Richaud said, "1 must have
played with or against close to
10,000 ball players in my day.
He was the only real gentleman
I ever ran into.**
It was a Cheraw team which
had a Sl.OOQ-plus payroll per week
during tough times and was worth
every penny of it.
MIGHTY HOMER
It was here that a Boston
Braves rookie outfielder struck
what must have been one of the
longest home runs ever hit in
any ball game and drew this sour
cnmment from Casey Stengel.
"That so-and-so ain't nothin' but
a wrist hitter. He'll never amount
to nothin'."
It was
Cheraw player who,
on orders from the bench, stuck
ut his bat in an attempt to lay
down a bunt and Instead sent a
vicious liner to the outfield for
a double.
Although confined to the side
lines for many years, Cheraw has
much to remember about its base
ball.
The pitcher who went, for such
a measly price was a brash in
dividual named Buck Newsom. It
must have been a cruel blow to
hU pride when he was traded in
192R to Raleigh for five bats and
a dozen balls,
But in all due respect to Bobo,
It must be stated that the bati
and balls were new.
The Cheraw star who drew the
lofty compliment from Bob Ri
chaud was Edwin Malloy, a slug
ging second base man on teams in
Ithe early 1900's and now president
|of the Cheraw Cotton Mill.
FAMOUS PLAYER
Richaud's name may be a
[strange one to the present gen-
$25 for olsing." He always won.
The Boston Braves rookie who
struck the mighty homer was
named Welch, \obody remembers
his first name, but nobody has
forgotten his tremendous blast
which sailed out of the park and
cleared the old nearby schoolhouse.
A certain individual in town
chased the ball down, still prizes
it as a souvenir. He has been- off
ered many fancy prices for it.
He won't sell.
Welch teed off during an exhi
bition game against Rochester
in 1924. Stengel was then manag
ing the Braves, and L. A. Meiklejohn, one of the town's greatest
fans, recalls the conversation he
had with Casey at the Cheraw
Hotel that night.
FINEST CLUBS
Chcraw's finest .teams were
produced durinf., the 1900-1905 pe
riod. Most veteran fans figure
tl»« '05 club, which defeated Monroe in a big three-game series for
the championship of the Caro
linas, was the best of them all.
Edwin Malloy,
who sparked
Cheraw to a clean sweep of the
series, says, "It was just like fight
ing the Civil War all over again.
"Wt played all tbe gamei
here, but 75 per cent at tbe
population of Monroe must hare
made the trip by train to
see them."
Other outstanding Cheraw play
ers that season vere McFall, Wil
son Malloy. Bob Tomlinson. Bun
ny Cunnningham, and Odiorne.
Monroe was led by Phifer Fullenwider, who later pitched for the
New York Giants, and Fred Stem,
who became a first baseman for
the Boston Braves.
The 1900 Cheraw team, which
was blessed with such classy per
formers as Edwin Malloy, Wilson
Malloy. Fish Saunders, Goat Powell, Bob Tomlinson, Edward McIver, Burris. Harry and Pern Finteyson, Walter Duvall and John
Evana, wa* another fabled dub.
CASEY CORRECT
Meiklejohn, naturally, was still
stunned by the distant wallop.
Caseey was unimpressed.
"Pay n» attention to It," h«
told Meifclejohn. "The so-andfto'g Just a wrist hitter, and
won't amount to nothin'." And
old Case wai quit* correct.
Welch may still be a hero in
Cheraw, but he's a total stranger
to the rest of Uie baseball world.
The fellow who tried to bunt,
hut wound up sending a solid
double to the outfield was named
John McFall. There's a story
about that.
Seems Mcl'all borrowed a bat
from
a
teammate,
George
Odiorne, and rival clubs had al
ways accused George of swinging
a "loaded" stick.
But Odiorne hturk to this
itory. "That bat ain't loaded
with nothin' but base hits," he
Inilited.
Anyway, the tale is told that
all McFall did was stick the bat
out in front of a fast pitch and
the ball carried like a cannonshot to the outfield. McFall was
surprised. Odiorne was embar
rassed.
sr
•si
fc
£
J
©
I
CRACKERJACK OUTFIT This 1900 team
was one of Cheraw's finest baseball clubs.
Seated, left to right, are Fish Saunders,
Bob Hudgens, Bob Tomlinson, Pern Finleyson, Wilson Malloy, Walter Duvall ai
John Evans. Standing, left to right, are
Goat Powell, Edward Mclver. Harry Finleyson, \V. P. Pollock, Burris Finleyson
and Edwin Malloy.
Remember 'Dab' and 'Molly'
At the Sumter Dirt Track?
commonplace and ]»;irt and
of inn American way o[ ]jfp.
Relhea and Shaw wore not only
skilled as drivers. They wpre both
expert automobile mechanics for 1
thru it was necessary ;i ho a
combination of both to go placey
and win races, Rethra raced for
;ilx ut ninr years whilp Shaw raced
vt vrral years less rjijp to his war
service and his untimely dcalh.
And in that place railed \VaIhalla. where p\-er>F livms* inrliviHIH| some day must make a pil1:1 image, in a srrtion rlevoted to
l:indred spirit: of the race
me would most likHy find our
youthful drivers of another era re
united in deaih.
The curtain has gone; doun on
" ,e saga.
Never diH two youthful drivers
irive
more to the daring game they
curia in over the years rolls
participated in. It was that samp
! ha'-k and into view eomps a dirt spirit that Shaw took with him to
track in Sumter and two young ihe air force as he volunteered for
I firry nulnmohilr rare track driv- ;:cljnn against the Hun. Rethea
, rrs who always finished nhe;id in i tried to enter the service but cirjlhe various suite races, in either cumstantes beyond his control dc!iirst or second posihon. The>jfird him.
.uere "(ops'* in th;t1 other era of On September 2. 1019, Thfl Slate
racing that saw fewn -f.,(..)ort(;^;
miles to the hour but to that gen
J. I). Rethea of Rarnwell. rtrivlerntinn quite speedy.
a ('palmers labeled 'Victory
On Thursday in Columbia at tbr
wins first place in allof. BO ihe surviving member of
of i/anor Day Auto Races
;hat pair .Tames Dahney Rethea .,, State fair Grounds."
a native of fliilon, passed to hi>
!is intimate buddy. Ihe late
jreward, Me was recently with . Lieutenant Shaw. w;ts gone.
ihe King Ponltac Company of Co-j
Sumter the automobile racr
litmbia.
!
was located near the Brick
The other member of tha
thatf pa.r JVnrH
trd hv , hp ]Mp , n. in
|of racing aces
ces was the late l£Ut.,,, v(|rnbp
{
^ f. rnwds of r
^kim>>
frtf
Ck^ui
,
.
Krvin D. Shaw,
for tL'tium
whom Shaw
la Tors attended regularly and for
[Air Force Rase is named. Tbr 'ometime the race track business
nickname of "Molly" went wi|h war popular. I^tcr the nld track
I this ynimc aviator on his last ride 'A;IS abandoned when the interest j
i\\jlh death somewhere in France n' South Carilinians was centered!
on winning wars and not on auto-|
Itl-iring World War I.
"Dab ' and "Molly," as the young mobile racing.
In those days A spepd of fin miles!
'.ice track drivers were nieknarn- ap hour would win a race wit hi
nd, vied at rvrry ra<-e. At one ase. In conlrwst in Ihe Memor-l
perhaps Shaw .would um and at in. Day Race this year a( Indian-1
the next it would be Rethea who! f.polls the average speed was 124
[came in first. They competed in!Lnilrs prr hour. But cars were
very race thnt wns held in thclslowr in that era of in years ngo]
during the 191VW17 period.Jrtnd when an accident 'happenpd
rar-pH until IWn.
Ijt was real news. Twlay accidents'
F. -JKNKINS KNHiHT
C
<
t/,
ui
</
•
<
MM
CD
*••
8