The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-09-16
Joseph and the Joke.

VOW that the baseball season is over II
| nj will not hurt to let the public in on
| little joke that the ball players OF
| - the American association and part OF
the newspaper scribes have been laughing at
since Aug. 20. - &
1t is on Joe O'Brien.
After the inquisition at Milwaukee in August
| when the frightened three could not find sufh.
Gent evidence upon which to send Mike Kelley
| to the cleaners, and sidestepped sending ii
up to the national commission, Joe Donegal
| OBrien got even by leaving Kelley under sus
pension. tie was not big enough to admit that
he was beaten again, but lert Kelley, he
| thought, high and dry. He had bauished him
| from the bench and naturally Joseph thought
| he had chased him OF the grounds. -
Then Kelley got busy. Michael is something
| Of speckled hen when 1t comes to agitating
the think tank. Joe has nothing Michael
| save bunch of jollickers the chin, and
Mike has been too busy with fines and sus:
pensions to grow alfalfa. ...
Michael drew the club carpenter to one side
and the two assembled the pennant pole in center
field to have talk where it was quiet and
far away from the rabble Of the streets.
They came down. The carpenter dug up his
saw, Ratchet and some planks and Michael
| HE'D him away to a department store and bought
several rolls Of heavy wire netting The TWO
Fenians met at the park and started to cir
cumVent the cunning of the Milwaukee CO.
| patriot. The stage carpenter did the work and
Michael acted as supervising architect.
The carp cut out nice panel just back of
| the players bench on the Minneapolis side of
| the grandstand. 1t was a panel eighteen inches
deep and seven feet long. Then Michael had
! his wire screening tackled up. The carpenter
| built house around about the atmosphere and
| the hole and put on door and lock. Then he
constructed a bench for Michael and the king
| OF NicOllet park mounted his throne. It worked
| nicely. 1t gave a splendid view of the ball park
| In whole and the manager could whisper to his
players as they sat on the bench and they
could hear him. His head not ten inches
from their caps. He could signal them when the
team was the field or to the base-runner by
changing the position Of his hand on the screen.
He was complying with Joes ultimatum that he
could not sit on the bench and must keep of
the field, but his compliance with the rule
made Joe smile all over the circuit Not a
player In the league would tip it to Joe, altho
1t Is safe wager that every one of them
knew of 1t.
Out-of-town scribes wondered how the miller
team could keep on playing winning ball so
far removed from KeIleys advice and counsel.
They were not. They had it all Of the time.
Joe was circumvented completely and 1.-THE
COOP came to be laughing post all around
out Of the breadwinning class but had stubbed
| his toe-stubbed it badly. If the jumps were
on they gave no sign that they knew it. Mr..
Owens and Mr.. Kane have not been sent back
here since the day the fans initiated Clarence
into the Order of the Busted Egg, and Steven
Kane since they bounced pebbles off his idea
incubator has SHE'D at Minneapolis like coun.
try horse climbing locust trees to get out of the
way Of bubble They didn't know Of the
grandstand parlor and couldn't tell Joe
Minneapolis had the services of Kelley as
| manager right up to the last, but thru no thanks
| to Josephus. The Milwaukee lad put his brief
| authority up against brains and brains won.
It was great 1oke-great coop. 1t gave
| Minneapolis the benefit of Kelley's services and
| kept him from rushing forth on the field and
biting the umpires in the calf Of the leg wher
| they were bad. For Milwaukee says that NJ. J.
! Is about the rip-roaringest rowdy who ever went