"The time has gone by when the ideal catcher was considered a mountain of beef and bone, something that could stand any kind of knocks and, as long as he was successful as a battering ram, mattering not what his other qualities might be. The catcher now is more than a mere backstop, inserted to break the impact of pitched balls against the grand stand planks. Bill Killifer of the Phillies is an illustration. The St. Louis Browns disposed of him because he was considered too light for catching, but now he is doing the bulk of the work for the Phillies and showing that it does not take beef to make a catcher. The old iron man has given way to the more delicate structure of steel and Killifer is one of that sort, built on graceful lines, but able to give and take with the best of them." - The Sporting News (August 14, 1913)