1901 - in Old Detroit
Source: http://content.ancestry.com/
Source: In Old Detroit, by George W. Start, Arnold-Powers, Inc. 1939
Lew McAllister has divided his life between the professional ball field and the professional theater.
He likes the theater almost, but not quite, as well as he does baseball. He started his stage career as a gas boy down in his own home town, Fort Worth, Texas. This was at the Greenwald Opera House. His duties consisted in lighting all the lights in the house with a long torch. That was in the days before electricity, and the footlights were all gas lights, too, and if any of them happened to go out, it was Lew's job to rush out there with his torch and rekindle them before any of the actors got asphyxiated.
The actors paid no attention to him, but the audience did. The audience always booed whenever Lew appeared with his torch. This made it easier for him in later life to understand the strange conduct of baseball audiences.
His baseball career began on the sandlots of Fort Worth in the early 90's and since that time for many years he alternated between theater and ball field.' When his playing days were over, the theater became his permanent love. For a good many years he labored back stage for the late Jessie Bonstelle.
Lew learned his baseball in the South. He made his professional debut with Natchez, Miss. He played with Little Rock, Ark., El Paso, Tex., and Fort Worth, Tex., before Pat Tebeau brought him up to play on his Cleveland club. That was in 1896. He came to the Detroit Tigers exactly at the turn of the century. Lew can remember how the Tigers lined up in the year 1900. Frank Dillon played first base, Kid Gleason was on second, Kid Elberfeld was at shortstop and Jimmy Casey was at third base. In the out-field there was Dick Harley in left, Jimmy Barrett in center and Ducky Holmes in right. That was quite an ensemble of tough eggs, especially those twin kids, Gleason and Elberfeld. Sam Crawford joined the Tigers the second year Lew was here.
Lew did most of the catching in those days. Some of the boys he had to receive were Winnie Mercer, Emil Frisk, Roscoe Miller and Big Jack Cronin. Jack Cronin had a fast ball that was at least a first cousin to the one employed by Walter Johnson. Lew used to put a big piece of raw meat in his glove on the days Cronin pitched. Even so, he always had to have the mitt sewed up after the game. George Mullin and Wild Bill Donovan joined the Tigers before Lew got through. With Sam Crawford, those two pitchers stayed on here long enough to make some interesting baseball history in the golden days of Hugh Ambrose Jennings.
Old Timer McAllister claims to be the only living ex-Tiger who has the distinction of having once played with Enid, Okla. There's a trick about playing with Enid, says Lew. Every once in a while a gale blows up in Enid. Neither the ball players nor the customers pay much attention to it. Lew says he played in one game in Enid and a gale blew so hard that it blew fly balls to the outfield back of the catcher.
Lew contends that any time a manager wants to teach a young out-fielder how to judge a fly ball, the place to send him is Enid.
Source: In Old Detroit, by George W. Start, Arnold-Powers, Inc. 1939
Lew McAllister has divided his life between the professional ball field and the professional theater.
He likes the theater almost, but not quite, as well as he does baseball. He started his stage career as a gas boy down in his own home town, Fort Worth, Texas. This was at the Greenwald Opera House. His duties consisted in lighting all the lights in the house with a long torch. That was in the days before electricity, and the footlights were all gas lights, too, and if any of them happened to go out, it was Lew's job to rush out there with his torch and rekindle them before any of the actors got asphyxiated.
The actors paid no attention to him, but the audience did. The audience always booed whenever Lew appeared with his torch. This made it easier for him in later life to understand the strange conduct of baseball audiences.
His baseball career began on the sandlots of Fort Worth in the early 90's and since that time for many years he alternated between theater and ball field.' When his playing days were over, the theater became his permanent love. For a good many years he labored back stage for the late Jessie Bonstelle.
Lew learned his baseball in the South. He made his professional debut with Natchez, Miss. He played with Little Rock, Ark., El Paso, Tex., and Fort Worth, Tex., before Pat Tebeau brought him up to play on his Cleveland club. That was in 1896. He came to the Detroit Tigers exactly at the turn of the century. Lew can remember how the Tigers lined up in the year 1900. Frank Dillon played first base, Kid Gleason was on second, Kid Elberfeld was at shortstop and Jimmy Casey was at third base. In the out-field there was Dick Harley in left, Jimmy Barrett in center and Ducky Holmes in right. That was quite an ensemble of tough eggs, especially those twin kids, Gleason and Elberfeld. Sam Crawford joined the Tigers the second year Lew was here.
Lew did most of the catching in those days. Some of the boys he had to receive were Winnie Mercer, Emil Frisk, Roscoe Miller and Big Jack Cronin. Jack Cronin had a fast ball that was at least a first cousin to the one employed by Walter Johnson. Lew used to put a big piece of raw meat in his glove on the days Cronin pitched. Even so, he always had to have the mitt sewed up after the game. George Mullin and Wild Bill Donovan joined the Tigers before Lew got through. With Sam Crawford, those two pitchers stayed on here long enough to make some interesting baseball history in the golden days of Hugh Ambrose Jennings.
Old Timer McAllister claims to be the only living ex-Tiger who has the distinction of having once played with Enid, Okla. There's a trick about playing with Enid, says Lew. Every once in a while a gale blows up in Enid. Neither the ball players nor the customers pay much attention to it. Lew says he played in one game in Enid and a gale blew so hard that it blew fly balls to the outfield back of the catcher.
Lew contends that any time a manager wants to teach a young out-fielder how to judge a fly ball, the place to send him is Enid.
