Hugh Fullerton of The Chicago Tribune called Buck Ewing “the greatest of them all,” after Ewing died in 1906.
Fullerton said, “Ewing stories will be told for generations,” and shared one about a bet with Mike “King” Kelly.
”It happened back in the days when the players of the different clubs were friendly and met at night to discuss and argue over their games instead of sulking separately and discussing their woes.”
Ewing
He said that day, Kelly had stolen two bases “off the king of catchers,” and Kelly, “kept harping on it until Buck was a bit nettled.”
Ewing told Kelly:
“Well Mike, if Danny Richardson plays second tomorrow, I’ll bet you $50 you don’t steal a base.”
Kelly took the bet, and Fullerton said the following day “three or four of us who knew of the bet sat together in the stands.”
Kelly
Kelly singled in the third inning:
“(O)n the first ball pitched; he tore for second with a fair start. Buck threw. The ball went like a shot, straight towards the bag, perhaps three feet up the line towards first, a perfect throw to catch any runner—except Kelly. Richardson got the ball five feet ahead of the runner. He was stooped over and swung his body quickly to tag Mike, he expecting the King to make one of his famous twisting slides. Instead, Kelly leaped, jumped clear over Richardson, and lighted flat on his back on top of second base.
“Above the roar of the crowd arose Kelly’s voice, and what he said was this:
“Fifty bucks, Buck.”
Baseball History Daily 
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