The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1905-03-04
plqTSBURG PHIL
MADE A STUDY OF RACING AND
BACK ED HIS oWNJUDGMENT. !

Always WNtcHAMas tuc WYNN SA Ah"AsSss
He Amasscd a Fortune EcIipsing the
Records of Other PIunsers-Feared
by the Books, He Resorted to Tricks.
Although Pittsburg Phil left no will,
it Is said that his heirs will divide
more than one million dollars in per
sonal property and real estate. The
bulk of this fortune was made by play
ing the races, which will probably spur
many other would-be turf plungers on
to deeds Of daring IN the betting ring,
But it will be many years before there
is another Pittsburg Phil The aver
age plunger on the turf is erratic. Most
Of them try to be cold biooded and lier'
Wy, but many of thdht at different
times lose their heads, and that is why
they go to the wall. Possessed OF a
natural instinct for gambling, they will
bet their money on the fiimsiest infor-
nation in many cases. and If. lucky
they will press their good fortune with
Wagers SO large that In the case Of an
unexpected reverse the bank roll
shdivels up like tissue paper before a
blazing match.
AS a result Of these peculiar gcharac-
teristics few OF the great plungers Of
the turf will be able to leave as much
hard earned money as did gPittsburg
Phil. George Wheelock, president OF
the Metropolitan Turf association, is
- ,.in1 al, q
how to hang on to his wealth as wisely
as did the man who in his youthful
days was a cork cutter In the Smoky
City. Solomon Lichtenstein,, the boot
maker who likes to bet heavily when
he thinks he has an ace In the hole, is
another man who believes In taking nc
very great risks with what he has al.
ready got. Then there Is David Gid
con, a millionaire, who was a terror to
the books last year, Gideon has made
all of his money out OF the speculative
end of the turf and has put it away
judiciously. But aside from Wheelock,
Liehtenstein, Gideon and a few others,
it may be said that the plungers In ac-
tive operation on the race-tracks OF
America are solely dependent upon the
smiles Of old Dame Fortune.
Davy Johnson is up one day and
down the other. He has been broke
half dozen times, but he has always
come back with another bank roll
playing recklessly and constantly
johnson has never been called a care
full player. He has paid too much at
tention to alleged inside information
and poor judgment on the part OF
friends as well as himself. Joe Yea
ger is another soldier of fortune who
not long ago declared that in future he
would devote his time exclusively to
bookmaking, for the reason that he
had made a failure of plunging. Go
down the line and you can count the
plungers who are in the Johnson 7 ca
ger class, and who are going ahead
| biindly, even though they realize that
their bank rolls are growing thinner
and thinner each day.
How many. of these plungers follow
their own Judgment? Any race-goe1
! can appreciate what difficult matter
it is to turn deaf ear to information
which floats about a race-track as free
ly as the snow that drops from the
clouds A man who makes practice
of betting money on. race-horses
whether in a pool-room or at the track
| usually finds that. no matter which
way he may turn, there is information
valuable or worthless, which is passed
up to him by all sorts Of persons. II
| is this so-called information that has
| been the ruin of many spectators
even including some Of the wise mer
| who have followed the game all theil
lives.
THE only way to play the races is tc
watch the horses yourself, form youl
own judgment and bet accordingly
| paying attention to nobody's advice
Never follow the play of a plunger
You are sure to go broke If you do"
That was the kind Of advice that
Pittsburg Phil gave to friends who
were anxious to know the secret Of his
success, in order that they might be
able to amass fortune for themselves
But how many could follow that ad
vice, even if they were willing to try:
Pittsburg Phil was unique. AS pool
room player he was marvel. He was
a phenomenon at the track. He was
well suited for his profession, for he
had no bad habits and possessed a
head filled with gray matter.
In all of his twenty years of expert
ence on the turf this remarkable plum