CHAPTER II
HALF-BUILT BOYS
But, whatever our strong and weak points; few who have looked can have failed to see that the sports of our boyhood and youth, good as they are, as far as they go, do not meet the need. The top, marble, and jackknife of the boy are wielded with but one hand; and bring no strength. Flying kites does not overdo the muscles. Yet top-time, marble-time, and kite-time generally cover the play-hours of each day for a good deal of the year.
But he has more work than these bring. Well, what? Why, ball-playing and tag, and football; and hockey and skating, and coasting; and some tennis, and occasional archery; while he is a painfully accurate shot with a bean-shooter. He also, on some days, rides his wheel.
Well, in ball-playing he learns to pitch, to catch, to bat, to field, and to run bases. How many boys can pitch with either hand? Not one in a hundred, at least well enough to be of any use in a game. Look at the pitching arm and shoulder of some famous pitcher, and see how much larger they are than their mates. Dr. Sargent says that he has seen a well-known pitcher, whose right shoulder was some two inches larger than the left; indeed, his whole right side seemed out of proportion with his left. The catcher draws both
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