He was a capable outfielder with a powerful arm and good speed.

He was not, however, the baseball phenomenon that the mythology of his athletic genius might have suggested.

He struggled with breaking pitches, with the specific technical demands of major league pitching, and with the personality of Giants manager John McGraw, who had his own ideas about how to use a player he had paid the most ever given to a major league rookie.

The professional football career was something else.