“The impregnability of his stonewall defense rested on his ability to reach the ball, and then throw it. Now he could move less well; now he was not coming up with the ball with that "perfect technique" Eddie Brannick had once admired, his body beautifully balanced, the ball directly in front of him. Now it was a movement full of desperate lunges. Fortunately he had his great arm, so even off-balance, he was throwing out runners, and each time he'd throw—though it had happened hundreds of prior times—the fans at the Polo Grounds, or elsewhere around the league, would gasp at the low blur that streaked across the diamond, dead on target. But he had more than a powerful arm. He had courage. And on he played, in pain and out.”

— Arnold Hano

On Travis "Stonewall" Jackson, from "Stonewall," in Greatest Giants of Them All (1967), p. 172
Sports-related

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update June 3, 2021. History

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Do you have more details about the quote "The impregnability of his stonewall defense rested on his ability to reach the ball, and then throw it. Now he could mo…" by Arnold Hano?

Arnold Hano 34

American writer 1922

Related quotes

“It's a good likeness of The Dutchman. It's perfect the way they have him holding a bat in his big hands. He was good with the bat but he was a terror with that glove, too. And my, how he could run the bases. Come to think of it, he was as good a ball player as I ever saw. Maybe the best. John McGraw always said Wagner was the greatest and I'm inclined to agree with him. He was certainly the best I ever played against. Wagner was a huge man with huge hands. He could cover ground and he could throw. Amazing thing about him was his arm. It was only as good as the runner. If you were an average runner, he'd just beat you with his throw. And if you were fast, he'd just beat you again.”

Casey Stengel (1890–1975) American baseball player and coach

As quoted in "The Scoreboardː Stengelː 'Wagner Best I Ever Saw'" https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_kYqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9U4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=7207%2C1231475 by Les Biederman, in The Pittsburgh Press (July 7, 1963), Sec. 4, p. 3

“We not that those players with weaker arms might be better off throwing at a lower angle to get the ball to the plate on the bounce. If the surface is Astroturf, the 90-mph player can gain as much as 0.2 seconds, or 6 feet, on the runner by throwing on the bounce. But if his team is playing on grass and his groundskeeper has kept the grass long and well watered to help his team (which relies on singles, speed, and baserunning), the ball may lose so much speed at the bounce that nothing will be gained.”

Robert Adair (physicist) (1924) Physicist and author

Source: The Physics Of Baseball (Second Edition - Revised), Chapter 4, Running, Fielding, And Throwing, p. 61

“Here is guy who came to us as a return specialist and defensive back and has developed into a very good receiver. Has always had great hands and he has become a very good route runner. With his speed, he is a threat to score anytime he touches the ball.”

Ted Ginn, Jr. (1985) American football wide receiver, kick returner

Jim Tressel, [Ted Ginn for the Heisman Trophy, Ohio State University Department of Athletics, 2006, http://ohiostatebuckeyes.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/osu-m-footbl-ginn-quotes.html, 2006-10-30]
About Ginn

“He's German so he's Herr Ball. Herr Ball. His movies are so bad, cats choke when they hear his name.”

Craig Ferguson (1962) Scottish-born American television host, stand-up comedian, writer, actor, director, author, producer and voice a…

The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson (2005–2014)

“Ben Battle was a soldier bold,
And used to war's alarms;
But a cannon-ball took off his legs,
So he laid down his arms.”

Thomas Hood (1799–1845) British writer

Faithless Nellie Gray; reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
20th century

“He had his hands full with Adi Akinbiyi when he came on, he had his hands full with Andy Gray from the start and in other ways he had his hands full with Kyle Lafferty and Robbie Blake as well. He's had four or five strikers coming at him and he's stood up to them manfully.”

Phil Brown (footballer) (1959) English association football player and manager

07-Nov-2007, Hull City OWS
No comment.

“He’s a take-charge catcher. He bosses the player throwing the ball – I tell you, that kid amazes me.”

Roberto Clemente (1934–1972) Puerto Rican baseball player

As quoted in "The Scoreboard: Best I’ve Seen, Clemente Says of Jerry May," by Les Biederman, in The Pittsburgh Press (Tuesday, July 18, 1967), p. 59
Baseball-related, <big><big>1960s</big></big>, <big>1967</big>
Context: “I do not read too much these days about Jerry May, but he is worthy of a story. He is the best defensive catcher I have seen in my 13 years with the Pirates. In fact, I have not seen many better defensive catchers anywhere in my time in baseball. A story now would do him good, make him feel appreciated. How you say, the time is appropriate?" Clemente always knew May could catch but May has opened his eyes in the formidable way he blocks the plate with a runner and the ball both bearing down on him. "He’s a take-charge catcher. He bosses the player throwing the ball – I tell you, that kid amazes me."

“Once he had been so formidable that he was surrounded by enemies. Now even his enemies has lost interest in him. What clearer sign of failure could you find than that?”

Orson Scott Card (1951) American science fiction novelist

Source: The Tales of Alvin Maker, The Crystal City (2003), Chapter 1 “Nueva Barcelona” (p. 19).

“Nature has had regard in everything no less to the end than to the beginning and the continuance, just like a man who throws up a ball. What good is it then for the ball to be thrown up, or harm for it to come down… what good is it to the bubble while it holds together, or what harm when it is burst?”

Marcus Aurelius book Meditations

VIII, 20
Meditations (c. 121–180 AD), Book VIII

“Ground ball to Gotay, throws on to first… Put it in the history books!…Tom Glavine has won his 300th game.”

Howie Rose (1954) American sports announcer

Calling the last out of Tom Glavine's historic victory.
2011, Undated

Help us to complete the source, original and additional information

Arnold Hano 34

Related quotes

Related topics