It was in Bessemer that young Melvin began flabbergasting his elders by reading the
papers, particularly the
sports pages, and by reciting, at the slightest provocation, current batting averages, RBIs and ERAs
of popular major league players.
In passing may I refer to the maddening habit
of sports columnists, not to mention many a columnist in other
pages of the
papers, misusing the term «begging the question».