Los Angeles herald., 1907-06-17
BALL LEADER MAY
SOON LEAVE GAME
M'GRAW SAID TO BE GROWING
TIRED
Is In Partnership with Tod Sloane and
Prefers to Remain In New
York Rather Than
Travel

travel
John j. McGraw, manager of the
| New York Giants, is to retire from
baseball soon. He may quit the game
at the end of the present season or he
may wait another year-he does not
know positively which-but he will
quit soon
McGraw is very much cut UP at the
bitter criticism which his actions have
brought upon him during the last tws
years and, as he has fortune, he is
anxious to get out of the game. If his
team does not win out this season-and
there seems to be little chance that ii
will-his retirement will be fastened.
Since his fatal mistake in New York
last season, when the Cubs were his
guests and he refused Pulliam's UNI
McGraw and his team have been liter
ally roasted alive" by the New York
and outside press. He has made similar
mistakes this season and these have
brought other severe criticisms until
today McGraw is sick and tired of IL
all.
Just at present the row in New Or
leans this spring when the Giants left
the field in a game with the Athletics
is causing him some worry. President
Kavanaugh of the Southern league is
preparing evidence to show that Nc
Graws action was in violation of his
contracts and deserving of punishment
and the matter will be placed before
the national commission which will be
asked to fine the New Yorker.
President Kavanaugh has been adj
vised that the matter is one over which
the commission has jurisdiction, but he
says he will insist that the same pun
ishment be given to the major league
club that would follow a Southern
league clubs refusal to play when the
umpire orders The Southern league
fine Is $1,000.
New Orleans Trouble
"The national commission will recog-
nize that the public was mistreated
when they get evidence in McGraw's
case at New Orleans" said President
Kavanaugh, land 1 will urge that the
New York manager be punished to the
limit"
McGraw is a follower of the horses.
He is shrew Handicapped, and his ex-
tensive acquaintance with horsemen
places him In an enviable position so
far as obtaining inside racing informa-
tion is concerned, and he is likely to
enter the racing game.
He has a billiard room at Forty-sec-
ond street and Broadway in New York
with Tod Sloan for a partner. Aside
from this he has money in the bank
and is well fixed financially.
He does not have to play ball. His
fourteen years of service has yielded
him excellent returns, and now that so
much of bitterness is creeping into re-
views of his play he wants to get out
of the game.
Off the field McGraw is a gentleman
and an excellent business man. His
family hates the criticism to which he
is subjected, and he fairly writheS with
pain when called "Muggsy."
He asserts that what he most hates
in the baseball life is travelling. To a
close friend he said recently:
II detest more than 1 can express in
words this moving from place to place
throughout the playing season. have
been travelling from one part of the
country to another so much, to say
nothing of my trips to foreign coun-
tries. that the very sight of a railroad
train appalls me.
81 want to stay at home, right here
in New York In spite of my sporting
proclivities my tastes are domestic and
want to quench forever the feeling
that 1 am a slave to the Pullman
sleeper and the tender mercies of the
hotel in the next city"
1t will be recalled by those who know
anything of Mr.. McGraw's career that
he has in the past made no public bluffs
for salary. For some years, while in
the employ of Edward Hanlon on the
Baltimore team, neither Robinson nor
McGraw signed contracts.
John j. McGraw was born in Trux-
ton, N. Y, and started out early in life
to make his own living. He was de-
voted to baseball and in his early youth
he was engaged to go to various towns
to fill UP gaps in various semi-profes-
sional clubs. Then he was regularly
signed by the Bay City, Mich. team.
Starts at Baltimore
In those days the Baltimore base
ball club had varying fortunes, mostly
bad, and Manager William Barnie got
McGraw, with other young timber, for
his club. McGraw played generally on
the bench. He was only 10 years old at
the time, and Barnie, when he did trust
Mac on the field, sent him to short
stop. This was in 1892.
In 1893 Edward Hanlon became man
ager of the Baltimore baseball club.
Then there developed the Big -Four
McGraw, Jennings, Kelley and Keeler.
1t should have been big five, for
Catcher Wilbert Robinson was tower
of strength.
John McGraw was appointed man
ager of the team in 1899, which the peo-
pie derislvely called THE Leftovers."
McGraw hustled for players, especially
pitchers, and looked over the list of
reserves claimed by Hanlon. One of
these pitchers was Joe McGinnity.
McGraw's team and Hanlon's Brook
and Augusta, Ga. In Augusta they
came together and McGraw downed
Hanlon In a majority of the games
played. and Foxy Ned was wonder
stricken. That year McGraw struck
other persons with wonder, for his