When Professor Childermass and Fergie attend the big strikeout contest in Duston Heights, they’re there for some fun (too bad "back, back, back” hadn’t been coined yet) but also to try and discern whether that strange pitching robot of Evaristus Sloane’s was present, too.
Reading over the list of pitchers, the professor sees names such Charles Hebden, Al McGee, Jack Humphrey, Spencer Talus ...