Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE SOUTHPAW, by WILLIAM A. PHELON


Poetry Explorer

Classic and Contemporary Poetry

THE SOUTHPAW, by                    
First Line: They kid him and they razz him, and the fans
Last Line: And yet—somehow—the southpaws often win!
Subject(s): Athletes; Baseball; Sports


THEY kid him and they razz him, and the fans
Deride him as he stands upon the hill—
And the grim scribes who man the conning-tower—
They slam him and they guy him with a will.
But he keeps right on pitching, just the same,
And he is quite a factor in the game.

They say that he is wilder than the men
Who live in Borneo—that the fiercest folks
Of Africa, compared to him, are tame. That stuff
For forty years, has furnished countless jokes.
He may be wild—but oh, how wild are those
Whom he shuts out, with four much-scattered blows!

Waddell and Ramsay, Altrock, Pfiester, Nehf,
And many others,—Marquard, Rixey, Plank,
Managed, some way, to keep the ball controlled,
And held themselves amid the loftiest rank.
Speak of a southpaw, and the bleachers grin—
And yet—somehow—the southpaws often win!





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