Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-05-03
By Clarence L. Cullen.
Special Correspondence Of The Star.

NEW YORK. May =. 1908.
Word trickled ever here the other day
that Joe Cantillon had put his gutta-per
cha nit, down hard on the game OF draw
SO far as the Washington base ball ciut
was concerned 1t wasn't. of course. un
Gerstood over here among the fans who
keen track of these things that the WASH
ington club chaps had been in the habit OF
willing away any more of their time OF
coin at the enrapturing game of poke'
;han the members Of any other ball clut
Ct the major circuits. The interest that
the announcement aroused came from the
fact that Cantillon is the second of the
American League club managers to bulge
out fiatfoctedly against the pokerishness
among his troupers during the playing
season. Now it is confidently expected
that all the rest of the managers will
have to weave along to the firing line
with the same poker Inhibition.
Clark Griffith. after watching the work
ngs OF the poker thing for a good many
years of kicking up and down the land
with hall clubs. got busy and framed uI
a dictum for his contract-signers this
spring.
Are you some pokerist. young fellow
he inquired of the new boys, one by one
as they swung along.
Can flicker 'em little teeny bit" was
the usual reply. the replyers not knowing
what was coming.
ooh. you can flicker 'em a little teen.
bit, hey?" said Griffith then. well
femme tell you something. son. You're
or any kind of a bit while you're on the
pay roll of this hereintefore mentioned
ball club. 1t doesn't make any kind OF
difference how good a fiickerer you are OIL
think you are. that stuff isn't going tC
happen as a part of the daily or nightly
routine of this fitont of ball pluggers
this year of 1908. Poker is canned and
Cancelled as a feature of the menu of the
Highlanders. otherwise the Yankees. this
year. Get that Keep it. If you dom
get it and keep it. and 1 happen to clomr
in on you at any time when you've for
gotten it. and are engaged in pulling some
of that flicker stuff. I can see you right
now playing back on the skinned lots in
Oskaloosa. and | wouldn't have you think
this is any persf1ageous rave for any
thing in the whole wide world
Not only that. but the yOungish chaps
had to fork over their promise. besides
that they wouldn't mess up with any OF
the pokerishness during the playing sea
SON.
Then Clark got hold of the old heads OF
the outfit and said many. many things
unto them. What he said unto them was
N essence. about what Joe Cantillon as
We hear. said to the members of the
Washington team.
'"The poker playing ball player hence
forth" he remarked, rs going to look
just like the ball playing rummy to me
and he's going to be treated Just the
same That means that he's going to
have a hull lot Of clips grabbed off his
paw envelope, and it means. again. that
he'll be carrying bats and stiff ening UP
around the playing portions OF his
anatomy until l can make di.:ker to
send him TO the bushes. i hope you dc
not consider that I am conversing for
the purpose of getting in some vocal
culture This will be about all
IT is expected that all Of the Dan club
bosses will have to put the exiting usher
on the poker stuff after Griffith and
CantillOn have gone on record in this
manner. There isn't the least doubt in
life that there has always oeen alto
gether too much of the draw thing
among the ball players. Somehow or
another it seems to come natural for
ball players to be poker fiends. The
poker thing has. of course, been more
or less discouraged by the managers all
the time but none of the managers
until quite lately. has felt like Coming
right out and absolutely forbiduing his
players to daily over the baiZe. The re-
suit OF the Indulgence OF the managers
in this respect has Inevitably been that
the players have taken advantage of
the Indulgence. They've banged along
at the anteing game in season and out
of season. at home on tours on the cars.
everywhere. to the destruction of their
nerves, their batting eyes, their general
playing ability.
The poker thing is genuine evil in
some clubs / could mention club or
two where half dozen or so of the
poker fiends crawl off somewhere 10 the
room of one or the other and begin the
old shutting and dealing even before the
hour of luncheon. when playing III their
home towns. Then. as soon as tie even
ing dinner is over they get RICH. back
to where the chips are heaped UP and
piddle away at the thing until iii hours
of the morning. On the railroad jumps
they start the game agoing/just as soon
as they get their suit caseS slowed. and
they kick around i'm the smoking COM
partment peeking to see If they've got
openers, until the manager, IN ms pa
jamas. rockets out of his berth and
positively avis them into their hunks.
Now. the everyday man. who doesn
have to keep himself fit for athletic
stunts, knows very well how much
poker playing takes out of nim. He
knows that one long poker fiesta-be-
ginning say, at or in the c"ening
and lasting until 3 or in the morning
makes him feel the next da- as II
he'd been on protracted janboree.
and this. too IL he hasn't drunk drop
of anything stronger than ginger. pop
while fooling with the cards. Poker is
a game where the players nerves have
got their coats off at every stage OF the
Journey. It's the baby Of a pastime for
sapping the vitality 1t doesn't make
any difference. either. whether you win