The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current, March 15, 1914, SECTION TWO, Page 3, Image 21

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    TIIE SUNDAY OllEGOXIAX, PORTLAND, MARCH 15, 1914.
MANY PLAYERS TO
BE REJECTED SOON
Weeding Out of Aspiring Lads
in Major Training Camps
Is Drawing Near.
SOME GOOD ONES DROPPED
Christy Matliewson Tells of Stars of
Today Who Once Knew Bitterness
of " Being Unceremoniously
Sent Back to Bush.
BY CHRISTY MATHEWSOX,
The Giants" Star Pitcher.
MARLJN, Tex., March 14. (Special.)
There will be a lot of disappointed i
ballplayers between now and May 1,
when the prospects are weeded out
of the Spring crop of recruits that went
South to the training camps of the bis
league clubs and the rest are sent back
to the bushes. But incidentally this is
the most trying time of the year for
the manager, because he has so many
recruits to look over, and he does not
know whether he is passing up some
thing good or not after he lets one go.
Therefore, when a youngster is re
turned to the minors, he should not .be
altogether discouraged unless he him
self realizes that he has some funda
mental fault.
Many a good man has come up and
been sent back, either because the
manager who had the first look at him
did not have the ability to recognize
talent when he saw it. "Jimmie"
Archer, whom I now rate as the best
catcher in the game, and "Joe" Jack
son, the great hitter of the Cleveland
club, are a couple of the stars who
were turned back after having come
up to the majors the first time.
The story of "Joe" Jackson is an
interesting one. He came to the Ath
letics In 1D08, and, of course, "Con
nie" Mack saw in him a great slugger,
but "Joe" was just naturally home
sick for his South Carolina, and he
left the Athletics in Washington and
went back to Greenville. Again Mack
brought him back and offered to edu
cate both Jackson and his wife. Once
more "Joe" ran out on the team. Then
"Connie" Mack did not believe he could
do anything with him, one of the few
players "Connie" has ever made such
an acknowledgment about, and he
cut Jackson loose entirely. Jackson
lad the South Atlantic League in hit
ting the next season, and Cleveland
grabbed him. He must have preferred
the conditions in Cleveland to those In
Philadelphia, since he has stuck there.
Through the irony of fate, Jack
son has always been exceptionally good
in his hitting against the Athletics.
And there is none too much kindly
feeling between the Philadelphia club
and Jackson. It seems that he was
just a few points behind Cobb in the
batting averages toward the end of
last season after the Athletics had
cinched the pennant, and there was a
chance that Mack might send some of
his second string pitchers against
Cleveland to ease off on the regulars.
However, "Connie," with the strict
fairness of his kind, did not want to
give Jackson any advantage over Cobb,
as the great Detroit outfielder had
been forced to bat against the top
notchers right along, so the best the
Athletics had went to the box In the
Cleveland series.
i
"Rube" Oldring was just a fevw points
hy of the 300 mark at the time of this
series I have in mind, and he was eager
to push his average over it so as to
close out his season in the select circle.
A few more hits would do it, and
"Rube" was rustling for those hits.
He banged one out the right field foul
line, as I get the story from members
of the Philadelphia club, that looked
as good as a million dollars. It had all
the marks of a two-bagger, but Jack
son came charging over and picked the
ball off his shoe tops, crashing into the
concrete side of the stand in order to
make the catch before he could stop.
Thereafter the Athletics worked hard
er than ever to keep the Cleveland slug
ger's average down, and no ball he hit
was too stiff for them to make a try
for. It is a great reflection on the
honesty of baseball that such sluggers
as Cobb and Jackson do no "lobbying"
for hits when they are in such a tight
fight for the batting championship as
they were last season. By "lobbying"
I mean asking pitchers to ease up
against them when nothing depends on
the result of one particular game or
series.
The Athletics and Cleveland teams
did not jibe very well last season any
way. In fact, the Naps were not pop
ular with any of the other clubs in the
American League, according to the
gossip I have heard, and the story of
the free fight between the members of
the Red Sox Club and the Cleveland
team after one game in Cleveland is
well known.
Vanity Is Alleged.
"As soon as they started to be pen
nant contenders, they all began to
strut," one American League player
told me of the Cleveland players.
"They wouldn't even speak to the
members of the other clubs, and they
acted as if they were playing a lot of
bushers all the time."
"Jimmie" Archer was' actually with
the Detroit team once, but Jennings
did not see any great star in him. As
a matter of fact, I don't think he gave
him a careful lookover, as many re
cruits come up for inspection by every
manager during a season and it is
hard to watch them all closely. Be
sides, Archer has a style of catching
that would not naturally attract a
manager to an unknown. "Jimmie" has
always been a squatter behind the
bat, and most managers would believe
an unknown could not throw from- this
position. However, no one in the Na
tional League who has tried to steal
a base against "Squatting Jimmie"
doubts his ability in this direction
now.
James has always been an arch ene
my of the Giants, and he has beaten
us out of more games than any other
one man in baseball. I believe, with his
timely hits. I wish Jennings had rec
ognized his ability and kept him In the
American League.
"Reb" Russell, the sensational young
pitcher of the Chicago White Sox, was
elated to go to the minors last year
after- the Spring training trip of the
AVhlte Sox in California. So little was
thought of Russell when the club
broke camp, so they tell me. that he
.vds sent along home with the second
squad. However. -his work in the ex
hibition ' games played by the second
team was so startling that Callahan
made tip his mind to hold on to Russell
and I guess he has never regrettej his
decision, as the youngster was the
find of the season.
Even "Ty" Cobb was once releaHed
by a minor league manager when he
first began hfs career in Augusta be
cause he could not hit . the ball hard
enough, according to this judge.
"I got a double and a home run in
the first game I played with Augusta,"
Cobb told me once, "and the next day
I made a single and a couple of sac
rifice hits. 'Con' Struthers, the Au-
gusta manager, released me that night
and I went to Anniston, Ala."
Therefore, managers are extremely
wily at this time of the year not to
overlook any coming stars among the
recruits. "Connie" Mack makes it his
habit to stick with the youngsters on
the way north in the Spring and puts
the regulars in charge of some veter
an. His average in picking the real
stuff out of the flock of recruits is
extremely high. Mack realized Jack
son was a coming player when he had
him. but could not get him over his
desire to go home.
McGraw has not overlooked many
bets, either. You seldom hear of a
man coming back and making good in
the majors after "Mao" has passed him
up. Of course, he once had "Dick"
Rudolph, the pitcher now with the
Boston Nationals, but he was not big
enough physically to suit McGraw. He
has twirled good ball for Stallings,
and he pitched the Giants to death
once or twice last Summer. Still, many
of the other managers overlook good
material, so the youngster should not
be entirely discouraged if he is turned
back.
Copyright, 1914, by the Wheeler Syndicate,
' Inc.
PITCHER IjBO KEAKDOX SIGN'S
James Only Prospective Member of
Seattle Teant Xot Signed.
SEATTLE, Wash..' March 14. (Spe
cial.) Pitcher- Leo Reardon signed
with ' Seattle ' today. Bobby James,
DIRECTING HEADS OF O
1 -
third baseman, is the only prospective
member of the Seattle team not under
contract.
Manager Raymond announced today
that after the squad reported March
25 games with outside clubs would
take the place of the usual stunt, reg
ulars vs. yannigans. All of the young
pitchers are to be tried out in these
games.
Pitchers and catchers will report
March 20 or earlier. Al Gipe, who will
be the star of the team if his arm is
right, and Pete Schneider will not
leave Los Angeles until March 19.
President Dugdale is still badly
crippled from rheumatism.
Pitcher Pulls Fake Fit and
Chases Umpire
Erve Hlgglnbutham Daubn Face With
SoapMuds and Drives Snnta Maria
Arbiter From Purk.
P ANTA MARIA, Cal., March 14.
J (Special.) Rube Waddell and Bugs
Raymond may have been great cutups
In their halcyon days, but for sheer
deviltry Erve Higginbotham, Portland
pitcher, has both these backed up a
coal chute.
The other day, with half the popula
tion looking on, Hig pulled a cataleptic
fit in the pitching box and it was so
realistic that it scared a 200-pound um
pire out of six-months' growth.
The stunt was one for the scrapbook.
After chasing said local character
twice around the diamond, Hig finally
was overpowered by his teammates and
the frightened arbiter. Perry Doane by
name, was induced to return to the
game.
Hig had him so completely buffa
loed, however, that on one occasion
he called him safe at every base as
he ran around the circuit.
Later Higginbotham emerged from
the clubhouse with his face daubed up
with soap suds, allegorical of froth,
and sent the crowd into spasms by
driving the ump out of the park.
"Something should be done about
that crazy pitcher when he takes
those fits' declared Doane after
wards to a crowd of villagers. "They
ought to lock him up. I tell you he's
liable to kill somebody. I tried to
get Rodgers to take him out of the
game, but he said he was afraid to."
Hig's idlosyncracies are known all
over town.
Students Will Hear Hayward.
MARSH FIELD, Or., March 14. (Spe
cial.) Bill Hayward, athletic instructor
for the University of Oregon, is here
and will speak on athletics in the high
schools in Marshfield, North Bend, Myr
tle Point, Bandon and Coquille.
The population of Ireland has been
most halved In 75 years.
si-
IN CALIFORNIA
1 fA
:::: w- --,v
xrr ir- -""x x-w
new' - ' "s
HIGH TO
IN SPORTS
New Institution Is Expected
to Be in Interscholastic
League in Course of Time.
BASEBALL SQUAD FORMS
Change .in Method of Disposing of
Gaines and Deciding Champion
ships Will Have to Be Ar
ranged as a Result.
If plans of Robert Krohn, physical
director of the Portland public schools,
materialize the new Franklin High
A. C. BASEBALL TEAM
-m
School will be a member of the Port
land Interscholastic League.- At pres
ent six schools make up the league,
three high schools and three private in
stitutions. The Franklin High School started up
for the first time at the beginning of
the present term and although only
few more than 200 attend, athletic
teams are being formed. A baseball
squad is in the making and with the
grounds adjoining the school in good
condition the aspirants for the new
team will have a better chance than
some of the other nines of the league.
Should the Franklin -High be ad
mitted to the local league, which will
be only a 'matter of time. ' a different
method of disposing of the games of
the various forms of athletics will have
to be secured. . Take, for example, the
football season.
Trnlning Time Short.
The 1914 football schedule has the
first game coming October 7, barely
three weeks after . the, first day of
school. ,'The teams'which startthe sea
son, have very little opportunity to de
velop teamwork or learn the finer
points of the game. The final game is
slated to be played on November 25,
the day before Thanksgiving.
Fifteen games are played according
to the schedule and all games are fin
ished before Thanksgiving day. In but
few cases has it ever occurred that a
team of the league played after De
cember 1. In all these games the
standing of the Portland Interscholastic
League was not altered when the re
sult was turned In and all were post
season games either as a money-making
scheme or to settle the title.
With the advent of the Franklin
High six more games will be added to
the schedule bringing-the season to
a close sometime in December. From
past performances it has been shown
that it was not the best policy to
keep the players In training after
Thanksgiving day. When the cham
pionship eleven goes over the final
date and plays games with outside or
local teams then but one aggregation
is kept on the training table.
Hardship In Seen,
If these six games were added then
all the teams of the league would have
to keep in shape, from the tailender to
the leader. This would work a hard
ship on the contestants.
One of the logical solutions for the
problem would be either to have the
four high schools in a league against
the three private institutions and the
winner of one play the champion of the
other, or have the four teams of the
East Side settle which was champion
and then have that aggregation meet
the winner of the Lincoln High-Portland
Academy-Hill Military Academy
series. ,
Both the track and field teams and
baseball squad are out practicing and
from all accounts a good representation
THEY CALL THE BEAVERS THE
lit
FRANKLIN
SHARE
- " I - t V
.m ,:. v
Ilillpi liifeillii
- &c Utttizi
can be expected if the school Is taken
Into the fold for the coming baseball
and track seasons.
SIX-DAY RACE IS SUCCESS
Rldgefield High School Track Team
Races Daily. . '. i
RIDGEFIELDr Wash., March 14.
(Special.) The annual six-day ' race
which was held by the track team of
the Rldgefield High School during the
week of March 2 to March 7 and which
finished on March 7, was a grand suc
cess in every way.- Eleven members of
the local tracks team entered. All but
one finished..-?
The track artists ran 10 minutes each
day for six days. Better time was made
all around in. this year's race and the
athletes were in splendid condition.
Following are the names of those par
ticipating and the. number of laps cov
ered, in the six-day race of 60 minutes
actual running .'time, and the order
which they finished: Murray, first, with
84.3-4 laps; ahn. second, 84 3-4
laps; - Morris, - third, 84 2-5 laps
Potter, fourth,--84 2-5 laps;. Griffiths,
fifth, 62 3-4 'laps;. Brunkow, sixth. 80
1-4 laps; Weber, seventh, 76 laps;
Keith, eighth, 72 laps; Rosenau, ninth
67 1-2 laps, and Johnson, tenth, 62 3-4
laps. ' -
The following gold, silver and bronze
medals were awarded to the first, sec
ond and third winners; Myles Murray
gold medal, first; George "Vahn, silver
medal, second; Thomas MorrfS, bronze
medal, third. . The following track ar
tists will graduate- this year: Murray,
Brunkow and Keim.
BASEBALL LURES liY
FORTY CA X DI DATES FOR PLACES
.OS O. A. V. TEAM.
"Dralna in llaneball" Is Slogan of Coach
Clarke, Who Drill 'HeadTvorfc."
Into All Asptrauta.
OREGON AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE,
Corvallis, March 11. (Special.) Base
ball is king at the Oregon Agricultural
College. Forty men, ten of whom wear
the monogram, are turning out each
day, and roseate visions of a champion
ship team have by no means been dis
pelled in the minds of the dopesters.
Captain Culver smiles -as he views the
scores of men who 'are. "working out
with the one -ambition of making
bench-warmers out -of -the men of last
year's varsity, and Coach Wilke Clarke,
though non-committal, has hopes that
his lads will develop into pennant win
ners. The student body is enthusiastic,
and large crowds are turning out to
watch each evening's practice.
Coach Clarke's slogan is, "Brains in
Baseball," and he has been working
hard to induce, the locals to use their
mental powers while on the diamond.
"Headwork is what a team needs be
yond everything else," said the local
mentor. "The man with mere technical
skill may make an occasional bril
liant play, but it is the player who is
constantly using his head who is go
ing v to win games." From these re
marks players and fans gather that the
man who cansistently pulls "boners"
this season will soon' find himself der
ricked to the. bench. ,
Several .innings of baseball played
each afternoon have given the fans the
usual early season assortment o'f er
rors, wild pegs, and passed balls, but
have also served to show that some
of the varsity men will have to play
gilt-edged ball to hold their positions
of honor. In the games thus far, an
ever-changing scrub nine has been sint
against the monogram nine at hand,
consisting of Weller behind the bat;
Goble at first; Hutt at second; Smith
at short; Fryer at third, and Shaw,
Loof and Bobbins in the outer garden,
and the bushers have been showing
considerable ability. Culver and More
land, varsity heavers, have not been
sent into any of the games thus far,
although both have been warming up
each day. Clough and Tammerlane
have been hurling for the varsity. Wil
liams, of Jefferson High, would seem to
be the best of the newcomers in the
pitching line, and should prove a help
In the delivering department to Ben
Culver, last year's work-horse, and
Moreland, his assistant. Seiberts has
not been pitched as yet, and it is doped
that should he land on the team, it will
be at second or short rather than in the
box, although Clarke could use another
good heaver to advantage.
Hayes, of Pasadena. Cal.; Supple, a
prep student here last Spring; Houck,
Moist, of Lebanon, and Mark ham, are
catchers who have their eyes set on
Weller's backstop job. Funk is a rangy
rook with aspirations for a job at first
base, and Seiberts, Price, S. Weller and
Seeley are candidates for second and
short. Wilson, whose cracked ankle
retired him at the beginning at the
season in 1913, will be Fryer's chief
rival at third. He is a clever lad, and
may shade the present occupant of the
berth. Wilson has not reported yet on
account of poison oak, which is keep
ing him confined. Dewey is another
infielder who will appear as soon as an
injured eye, received in the last Ore
gon basketball game, permits. The Ad
miral may be tried out in the outfield,
where Shaw, Robblns, and Loof are de
fending their posts against Sinclair and
other men of class.
The varsity has been fitted out with
natty gray shirtless suits, and the more
promising of the freshmen are embel
lished with blue suits with the words,
"O. A. C. Freshmen" engraved across
their chests.
Ashland Police in Uniform.
ASHLAND. Or., March 14. (Special.)
Members of the city police force have
discarded plain clothes. Chief Portei
and Assistants Atterbury and Christie
are now resplendent In regulation uni
forms. This is in accordance with an
order adopted by the city authorities,
which went into effect Friday. The
uniform suits are complete, supple
mented with hats, helmets and badges.
DUCKS THEIR ANTICS PICTURED BY ROSCOE FAWCETT SPELL THE SAME
..!
SOX-GIANTS FAIL TO
SHUT MONTE CARLO
World Tourists Risk 5 Francs!
r: Each, but Few; Make Even
; - $500 "Killings." V;
f r
MANY SPECTATORS THERE
"Wise Ones" Are Welcomed and Big
Share of Moiiey Raited in Comes
From Americans Visitors - ,
Take Auto Prom Nice. '
BY G. W. AXEL30K. ...
MONTE CARLO, Feb. 14. The. bank
at Monte Carlo is still doing business.
This despite the ' fact that some 50
husky athletes and other members of
the White Sox and Giants party de
scended on the roulette and baccarat
tables a few hours after ' reaching
Nice.
There had been a lot of saving up
on the trip in order to give the "bank"
a touch of high life. Umpire Bill
Klem had spent his spare moments in
working out a system whereby he ex
pected to put Monsieur Blanc and the
Prince of Monaco in the poorhouse, but
at latest accounts "both are getting
their "three squares" a day.
. There are mighty few in the party
who are much on games of chance, but
it seemed to be second nature for each
one to risk at least a 5-franc piece.
Some of them got tnei'- original capital
bacli, while others did not. . Others
were lucky enough to make a "killing"
if $500 could be called such.
I The majority, had seen the game be-
rore and knew that the percentage or
the game to1 the' "house" would eat
through any pocketbook, however well
lined. Consequently the winning or
losing of Just one 5-franc piece satis
fied the curiosity of most. They spent
their time watching the show.
Noble Mix With Thieves.
As spectators they had plenty of
company, several hundred. It was a
miscellaneous collection, men and wom
en of noble blood, American, million
aires, adventurers from all parts of
the world, old and. young men arid
women, touts, thieves, pickpockets, all
rubbing -elbows around the enchanted
tables. The tourists noted with sur
prise that possibly the majority of
players sitting down around the nine
tables in operation were middle-aged
or old women. There were also young
girls and boys still in their teens Jos
tling with octogenarians, all trying to
get something for nothing.
There was no question about the
game being uncertain. It was more so.'
It was hazardous. Tense faces to the
number of . 20 around each table in
chairs, with a fringe of five deep
standing up, watched with varying
emotions the spinning of the wheel.
With monotonous regularity four
croupiers at each table would reach
out a long arm and rake in a quart of
silver, gold and notes after the ivory
ball had dropped into its niche. Pay
ing out was less regular. Some way
or other the lucky number was more
often than not' left "uncovered," but
still after each spin of the wheel a
shower of gold, silver and paper de
scended. No pistol shots resounded through
the marble corridors, nor did any of the
party see any newly made grave in the
private cemetery, but tragedy could
be seen written in more than one face
as the last louis was thrown into the
hopper, which always yawned for
more.
One of the keepers explained that
it was a square game and as long as
humans wanted to gamble, why not
profit by it? He pointed out that the
percentage against the player was less
than in the United States. At Monte
Carlo there is only one "0" instead
of two.
"Wine Ones" Welcomed.
There are one or two other noints
which lessens the percentage for the
'house," but the edge Is still there.
and there is not a chance in the world
to. even theoretically "break the bank
at Monte Carlo." They welcome "sys
tems.". Anyone with a big bank ac
count and an infalible system is guar
anteed a royal entertainment. M.
Blanc will cheerfully pay his living ex
penses at $25 a day just as long as
he is willing to sit at his table and
break the bank."
The player with the roll need not
associate with the common herd,
either. Monsieur Blanc will provide him
with a, membership card which admits
him to the inner recesses of the gam
bling hell. As a rule this costs 50
francs. There is, of course, no admis
sion charges to the general rooms.
Those inclined to worship at the shrine
of chance will have paid plenty before
they again emerge. There are certain
Restrictions observed in gaining en
trance, but they are not arduous. The
name and the place of residence is re
quested, and In return a card of ad
mittance Is Issued. This scrutiny at
the door is necesary in order to keep
any citizen of Monaco out.
None of the subjects of Prince
Charles is allowed in thp Casino. The
Prince probably knows something
about the percentage against them, and
thus it has happened and Is happening
that non-residents have built the
$1,000,000 Casino, furnished the price
less paintings and tapestries on the
Types of
Successful
Men..
Who's to Blame for the
Man Who Gets Drunk?
usually the man himself. Thcie may be
some retailers who still sell drink to intox
icated persons, but they're few and far
between. This liquor is not offered for
sale to men who eet drunk: it is not the
kind of liquor that drunkards like or
prefer. It is-pure and consequently strong.
It is too strong to be taken in large quan
tities. The drunkard likes "mild" liquor
which is another way of saying he
likes "adulterated" liquor.
James E. Pepper
The National Whisky"
is offered for sale as a medicinal whisky ; a body
stimulant for men and women who know that a
little liquor does them good. Endorsed and used
in practice by 40,000 physicians; the original
letters proving this .r mendous acclaim
are all on file in our offices. If you
want the best whisky for home use,
buy a bottle. Its superiority is guar
anteed or money instantly refunded.
Rothchild
Exclusive Distributers
PORTLAND. OREGON.
"' I - I ' ii him I ii imi jiijini mmm i nf;i2prliwMtAM
walls, paid and pay the army of em
ployes, build the roads, clean the
streets, support the entourage of the
ruler, erect palaces for the nominal
proprietor, and, in short, pay all taxes
and expenses of this minor league prin
cipality. Americans have furnished a large
share of the coin raked in. There were
a number of well-known financiers who
watched the show while the players
were there. Few gambled. They were
content in watching others feed the
bank. The majority of Americans at
the Casino spend the Winter on the
Riviera. They cannot be blamed for
doing that if they have the price, as
it was the unanimous opinion of our
globp trotters that no spot on earth
can compare with the Italian and
French Riviera, which includes a cou
ple of hundred miles of the Mediter
ranean shore.
The millions left along the shores
have undoubtedly been put to good use,
as magnificent driveways and imposing
palaces and gardens skirt the calm
waters of this almost landlocked sea.
Kvery one in the party "blew" them
selves to an auto ride between Nice
and Monte Carlo. It was worth the
price, as in song and story the grand
cornice road taking the traveler above
the clouds now and then Is regarded as
nature's and man's masterpiece.
VAII.SITY HAS XEW t'XIFOKM
Baseball Squad at I'lillmaii to Be
Arrayed in Rod. (Jray and White.
MOSCOW. Idaho, March 14. (Spe
cial.) Th varsity baseball squad this
Spring will be adorned in brand new
uniforms. No jackets will be worn.
In their stead will be substituted tight
titting, low-necked jerseys of a deep
rod in Folid color except for the
sleeves, which bear about a dozen nar
row circular stripes of white. The
socks are red with circular white
stripes. The caps are of gray save for
the red letter "I" which stands out
in prominence on the front. The
breeches are gray with stripes of red
running lengthwise and a wider stripe
of the same color on each side seam.
The suits arrived yesterday and will
be distributed next week.
It s.Ai H
I y j. .
I j f
Ml
Bros.,
AND
SPALDIXti
BASEBALLS. GLOVES,
SHOES. BATS. MITTS,
UNIFORMS, ETC.
Tennis Rackets
A FULL LINE OF
WRIGHT & DITSON,
SPALDING
AND
SLAZENGER'S.
TENNIS RACQUETS
RESTRUNG
WRIGHT & DITSON
TENNIS BALLS
AND. TENNIS SUPPLIES
SPALDING
GOLF CLUBS,
A NEW AND COMPLETE
STOCK.
SPALDING'S ATHLETIC
LIBRARY.
ONEYMAN
HARDWARE CO.
FOURTH AT ALDER.