STL All Sports

Travis Jackson was a smart shortstop for the New York Giants, always on the alert to pull something on the opposition. One of his favorites was the hidden ball trick, one that works very seldom in the big leagues. But Jackson did it, and one of his most memorable was this one.

Late in the second game of a long double-header, a batter hit a double and went sliding into second a moment before Jackson received the throw from the outfield. The runner got up and brushed himself off so busily that he did not notice that the Giant shortstop had kept the ball.

"Nice hit," said Jackson as he moved away from second. Then he came back a couple of steps. "I'm half-starved," he said. "Boy, am I going to have a dinner tonight!"

"Yeah?" asked the batter. "Whatcha gonna have?"

"Steak," said Jackson. "Three inches thick, rare as can be, with French fries and fried onions."

"Fried onions?" asked the runner on second.

"Yeah," said Jackson. "Don't you like them?"

"Not fried," said the batter. "I like 'em boiled. The big ones, Bermudas, big as baseballs."

The two men had wandered away from second base together and now Jackson was between the runner and the bag. Jackson turned his glove, showing the ball in its pocket.

"Like this?" he asked.