Washington has enjoyed a long list of good baseball writers. From RM Larner to Dick Heller, District baseball fans have been entertained, enlightened and cajoled by their penmanship. The following tale from the pen of the talented John Heydler dates to the spring of 1896. Rumors were flying that Jim McGuire was going to forsake the mask and glove for the cloth. It was a summer ritual unique to Washington.
“One bright Sunday morning the good-natured catcher of the Senators wandered into a house of worship. The Senators had lost about a dozen straight and Mac felt the need of a quiet resting place where he could forget the entangling alliances of signals and base hits. During the sermon, and some time before the preacher had readied his first “lastly,” Mac began to feel warm and fidgety. Nothing serious happened to his peace of mind, however, until he spied an uncommonly big thermometer decorating one of the pillars of the side aisle. Could he believe his eyes? They had never failed him, and if that thermometer wasn’t up to 97 he had never seen a home plate. Yes, sir, it was hot, and as Mac stared he felt his face becoming moist. He fanned himself with a hymn book. Then he unbuttoned his coat and got out his handkerchief and by the time the sermon was concluded Mac was several pounds under weight, his collar being wilted and big, glistening beads of perspiration stood on his forehead. When he finally got out into the vestibule, looking like a man just out of the hot room of a Turkish bath, the preacher was there ahead of him, extending the usual welcome band to visitors. “Oh. Yes, I enjoyed it: I enjoyed it,” responded Mac to the greeting, “but,” and he pointed over his shoulder with his thumb, “for the life of me I can’t see how you can stand that.” It only took a minute for Mac to line the perplexed preacher up in front of the thermometer. “Oh. Yes, wonderful, wonderful.” said that good man, rubbing his hands. “Last Sunday it was only 80 and now it’s 97. But we can stand it, I think. You know this gauge shows the people the number of children that attend our Sunday school.” And then Mac went out in the cold world, conscious that modern church notions were one too many for him.”
