Yale Murphy, the Great Short-Stop

Yale Murphy, the Great Short-Stop

This baseball serial by Billy Boxer follows Midget Murphy, a diminutive but skilled short-stop on the Southland, Massachusetts team. The narrative opens with Midge and his friend Charlie Peters heading to the ball-grounds for a practice session under Captain Billy Bunce. The village has offered a gold watch as a prize for the best individual performance. Midge receives a rose from Rose Short, sister of teammate Harry Short, which he adopts as a lucky mascot. When the rival Bridgewater team arrives for an exhibition match—neither team has previously suffered defeat—they are greeted with a nine-gun salute. The text becomes garbled toward the chapter's end as the captains prepare to toss a lucky penny (dated 1770 and carried at Bunker Hill) to determine who plays first innings.