They called Amos Rusie "The Hoosier Thunderbolt." Nowadays, when talk turns to the fastest pitcher of all time most folks lobby for Nolan Ryan, Bob Feller, Lefty Grove or Walter Johnson. It's possible that Rusie may have been faster than any of them.
Connie Mack, who played against Rusie, managed Grove and opposed both Feller and Johnson, thought so. You would have had a hard time convincing National League hitters in the 1890s that anybody could throw harder than the star Giants pitcher, who won 30 games or more for four consecutive seasons starting in 1891.
Amos Rusie only had one enemy, and that was his boss. The Giants' owner in those days was Andrew Freedman, a front for a New York syndicate and perhaps the most parsimonious, irascible man ever to own a team. Rusie had won 36 games in 1894 as New York finished second, but in 1895 he fell off to 23 victories and the Giants dropped to ninth. Freedman blamed Rusie, announced that the player was being "fined $200" for indifferent work, and withheld the money from his final check. Rusie, who equated the fine to a pay cut, declared he would not report to the Giants in 1896 until it was rescinded. When neither man gave in, Rusie sat out the entire season.
It is a measure of the public's sentiments regarding the two central figures that the Sporting News wrote, "Every independent, fair thinking man is with Rusie."
Other club owners, concerned about the possibility of a Rusie lawsuit, pressured Freedman to strike a settlement, but he refused. The dispute ended when the owners chipped in $3,000 topay Rusie's fine plus salary for 1896. He took the field again for the Giants at the start of the 1897 season...and beat those other owners' clubs 28 times.
ELSEWHERE IN BASEBALL
The champion Boston Beaneaters defeat the second place Baltimore Orioles in the final Temple Cup series ever played. Baltimore's Wee Willie Keeler opens the season by hitting in 44 straight games; he is not held hitless until mid-June.
IN THE WORLD
In the New York Sun, Francis Church responds to an inquiry from 8 year old Virginia O'Hanlon by writing, "Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus."