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Max Carey, the Minister-Ball-Player A Wonderful Record as an Athlete—How a Long Name was Shortened—Great Fielding and Base- running with the Pirates Three hundred years ago an old German was engaged in the meat busi- ness. Not liking his own name he took the Latin name of his profession and called himself Carnarius—a handler of meat. Three centuries later a de- scendant of his began life under the handicap of Maximilian Carnarius. He was a good student but a noted athlete. He thought he wanted to be a min- ister, but decided rather to be a ball player. The game was good to him. For one thing, it shortened his name to plain Max Carey; for another, it enabled him to bat three hundred and lead his league as a base stealer and run getter. Pittsburgh needs more men with his speed. HERE is a blond haired, slender He would be far, far better off had he a athlete on the Pittsburgh club few more Careys in the lineup. T who has brought more dash and Carey's advent to the game is a strik- fire into the Pirates' offense than any ing commentary on the progress of base- man since the mighty Wagner began to ball since the time when it shared in totter on his weather beaten legs. This disrepute with boxing and horse racing. enterprising person is Max Carey, or Whatever it may have been in the rough so he calls himself, a remarkable base- and ready days of its beginning, the runner, batter, and fielder, and the most grandest game in the world's history is finished all-around athlete in either now above criticism. For here was a league. young man whose whole youth was It is hardly fair to criticize the man passed in a circle of culture and refine- who, in all his managerial career of ment, whose tastes were intellectual, a thirteen seasons, has never finished lower scholar and a student, who had chosen than the first division, and whose for- for his vocation the Christian ministry. midable array of Buccaneers have Realizing, however, after years of prep- fought to the end with the winners for aration, that his talents, which were more than a decade, and won their fair real, nevertheless seemed unfitted for his share of first place spoils and world's chosen vocation, he did not hesitate to series fame. But admitting the power go into baseball for that expression of behind that serried battalion of Pitts- his energies which was denied in the burgh's smoke-hued warriors, had Clarke pulpit. Thirty years ago a man who had been able to supplement the general ef- studied for the ministry would have ficiency of his clan with that saving been altogether out of place in the rough spice of speed he would not now be and roistering atmosphere which en- veloped the sport. Baseball has assured- floundering in the cobwebbed recesses of ly proved itself worthy the respect of all the second division. The Kansas farmer classes and conditions as befits the na- might well sacrifice speed of thought and tional game. heavy bludgeoning for speed of foot. 61 62THE BASEBALL MAGAZINE LEADING FEATS OF CAREY'S BASEBALL CAREER He batted for an average of .875 for his first full week's work as a pro- fessional ball player. He batted for .302 in 1912. In the same season he was second only to Bob Bescher as a base stealer and run getter, as he stole 45 bases and scored 114 runs. In 1914 he led the league in stolen bases with 61 to his credit. He also tied with Tommy Leach as the best run getter with 99 scores. In 1912 he accepted a total of 401 chances, a greater number than any other outfielder in the National League. In 1913 he exceeded his own best previous record and excelled all rivals by accepting 407 chances. Three hundred years ago when the old longer races, swam, skated, and played high German families began to tire of baseball with equal abandon. He also their trade names, and while Latin was starred in basket ball, risked his slender still the learned language of the world, bones in that most strenuous of exer- the ancestor of the Carey family who cises, football, and excelled in almost was engaged in the meat business every department of track athletics. changed his German name to Latin and True to his parental training in the bequeathed his descendants the sonor- stern martial system of Germany, young ous title of Carnarius. His descendants Max was sent to a military school at up to the time of Max staggered hope- Fort Wayne, where he spent six years, lessly under the burden. more or less equally divided between Max, who supposedly has a longer sport and study. The summer was the given name which has been pruned as desirable season of the year, for then it well, was born at Terre Haute, Ind. was possible to be in the open air a good The elder Carnarius, a lieutenant in the part of the time, but the winter too had Kaiser's army, had attained no little ce- its possibilities, and being an accom- lebrity as an athlete. In fact, his ex- plished skater he played indiscriminately ploits entitled him to a comfortable in- at ice hockey and ice polo, excelling in come as a swimming teacher, after he all. had completed four years' arduous toil To show what could be done, he once of army life. But the prospects in took part in nine different events in a America proved too alluring, so he emi- track meet, and although trained to the grated with Mrs. Carnarius—who was minute without an ounce of superfluous born at Frankfort on the Main—to the flesh he lost nine pounds in the gruel- Hoosier state. ing exertion. Young Max had four brothers and no "I wouldn't have believed it possible," sisters, so his might have been a great said Carey, "but I know it was, for I baseball family. In fact, his younger proved it in my own experience." brother, who has just turned nineteen, On the track Carey won a reputa- has, according to Max, all the earmarks tion that was enviable and a distinct of a comer and may in time prove the credit to himself. In the broad jump, exception to the rule that the young pole vault, and even in throwing the brothers of famous stars share little in weights he showed ability. But it was the ability of their more capable rela- on sheer speed that he won his most tives. noteworthy triumphs. To be sure he In any case, Max set a pace for any- broke no records, but in all the compe- one to follow, be it relative or stranger, titions he entered throughout the coun- and set that pace from the very begin- try he was never defeated in a sprint. ning of his career. He sprinted, ran In baseball throughout his school days MAX CAREY, THE MINISTER-BALL-PLAYER 63 Carey stuck pretty studiously to the in- field positions. His particular favorite was that most strenuous of all, short- stop. In fact he began his professional career as a shortstop. His first engagement was with the club at South Bend. He was obliged to join the club late on account of his school duties, but got in about fifty games during the season. His first week's work was a well- nigh record clip, for he hit for the mod- est batting average of .875. Immedi- ately all the local papers began to blazon his name as a second Hans Wagner, which was all the more appropriate since both were Germans and both played the short field. Carey, however, was not destined to wrest the great Teuton's laurels from him quite so easily, though in one department, that of base running, he certainly gave him a close rub. When he left the Military Seminary at Fort Wayne, young Carey had every intention of becoming a minister of the Lutheran denomination. With this end in view he cut short his baseball season to attend a theological seminary in St. Louis. But he was not destined to com- plete his course in this place. "After I had been there a term," said Carey, "I was forced to the conclusion that I would not be a success as a preacher. In short, I had been in doubt on this point for some time, but my peo- ple wanted me to fit myself for the work. However, as it seemed I had chosen un- wisely, it was not necessary that I should continue in that mistake. And so I de- termined to enter some other field. "I had worked at various things be- sides baseball, semi-pro and professional, Photo by International News Service in my summer vacation time. I had been a salesman, performed manual la- Max Carey throwing home bor of various kinds and even worked in a brewery, which might cause surprise the circumstances, a wise one. I did to some people. However, my German complete my full year's work at the semi- ancestry had taught me to view the pro- nary, though the latter part of the course duction of beer in a different light than seemed a waste of time. I had not at is customary in this country of temper- that time decided to become a baseball ance unions and teetotal societies.

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