| PITTSTON | 3 |
| CLEVEFIELD | 2 |
When the last batter had gone down to defeat in the first half of the ninth Joe drew off his glove, and, oblivious to the plaudits of the crowd and his own mates, hurried to the dressing rooms.
“Where are you going?” cried Charlie Hall. “They’re howling for you. They want to see you—hear you talk.”
Joe could hear the voices screaming:
“Speech! Speech! Speech, Matson! Baseball Joe!”
“I just can’t! I’m all in, Charlie. Tell them,” pleaded Joe. “I want to send a telegram home, telling the folks that I’ll be with them when dad’s operated on. I can’t make a speech!”
Charlie told the crowd, and Joe was cheered louder than before.
And so ended the race for the pennant of the Central League, with Pittston the winner.
As Joe walked off the field, on his way to the telegraph office, being cheered again and again, while he made his way through the crowd, a keen-faced man looked critically at him.