JAYSON

                       QUESTIONS

                             THE

                     MYSTERIOUS

                          HENRY

                     PENNINGTON   

                       Stephen Pollard

August 29, 1888

University Park, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

The Pittsburgh Gold Stockings were practicing before the arrival of the Boston Lobsters and their practice and then the start of the game and the series between the two teams.

Jayson Gannon came over to the bench where the manager and catcher Fred Charles was sitting. About that time the Boston Lobsters team arrived getting off the trolley. First off the trolley was star player Henry Pennington, who Jayson Gannon immediately spotted.

Henry Pennington had briefly played for the Philadelphia Diamonds in 1879 and for the Pittsburgh Gold Stockings in 1880 before playing briefly for the Washington Eagles in 1881, The New York Majestics in 1882 and the Cleveland Knights in 1883, hitting and playing poorly, then disappearing in 1884, only to reappear in Boston during the 1885 baseball season, hitting and playing like a man either on fire or possessed, actually challenging Jayson Gannon as the premier conference league star.

While the Boston team was headed for their bench, Jayson said to Fred, “when Henry played in Philly in 1879 and here in 1880, he couldn’t do much of anything, then he took a hiatus for a year then came back, started playing for Boston and has played like he’s setting the league on fire”.

Fred Charles said,” yeah, Boston couldn’t do much either until he arrived. He continued by saying, yeah, he’s really been challenging you in almost every statistical category, and of course both our team and theirs are neck and neck with the overall best records, and leading in both of their divisions in the conference league”.

Jayson Gannon said to Fred Charles, “do you find it odd that a baseball player plays for 5 teams in 5 years, hits .140, disappears for awhile, then reappears and hits over .380. Jayson continued by saying, I’m a little suspicious that he made a pact with the devil, or someone who was at least practicing black magic and recruited him for a plethora of reasons”.

Fred Charles already knew that Jayson Gannon had left home at 10 years old and joined the circus carnival, then left at 16 years old and joined the Philadelphia Diamonds to play baseball.

Fred Charles, he said that he was going over to chat with Hugh Donaldson who was the Boston Lobsters manager. Jayson Gannon decided that he would go over and chat with Henry Pennington to see if he could remember

Who Jayson was.

Jayson walked up to Henry and asked him if he remembered him and Henry’s reply was, well a little bit. Jayson trying to pick Henry’s brain asked him how did he learn how to hit so well when he couldn’t even buy a hit years earlier. Henry Pennington replied saying, “I learned, especially after watching you”. Jayson acting surprised by the answer said, “you mean that you learned almost overnight” and Henry Pennington replied, yeah. Jayson asked, “well, did anyone help you” by which Henry responded, “I taught myself”. Jayson muttered, “hmm, interesting”, gave his regards and walked back over to his team’s bench.

Fred Charles had already returned to the bench when Jayson Gannon had walked back and returned and he said to Jayson, so what did you find out, by which Jayson responded, saying “this guy’s a real mystery and his response created an even bigger mystery. Pennington figured that I caught on to him and was being very vague by saying that he taught himself how

to hit by watching me”. Fred Charles a bit gruffly answered, “that’s virtually impossible, either you are a natural or you’re not, and if you do learn it takes several years, not almost instantly like he said that it did”.

The game was about ready to begin and Jayson said to Fred, “yeah, just what I thought, he had help from the 7th son of the 7th son”. Fred, responded, “yeah, I see where you’re coming from with this, I agree, he made a pact with the devil or the devil’s son”. Then the umpire arrived and hollered play ball and the game commenced with Boston coming to bat at the top half of the 1st inning. Fred Charles hollered to his players, “OK guys, let’s play ball”, and him, Jayson and the rest of the starting lineup trotted out onto the field to take their positions.

 (C) 2020