Omaha daily bee., 1908-04-05

players In this matter. The fans began
to buck up and behave Just as soon as
they saw that the players were going TO
be on their good behavior
Helped I'm Pittsburg.
'Pittsburg adopted this system too.
Everybody knows what a tough gang OF
baseball fans Pittsburg used to have,
solely, as / take II. because the Pittsburg
players, particularly in their relationship
to the New York club OF the National
League-which wasn't blameless itself. re-
member-conducted themselves like hood
lums on the field and often enough off
the field. But the Pittsburg players and
fans were shsmed into behaving them
selves by steady and vitrioiic public crit
oism. and last season was the decentest
the Pittsburg club ever had.
"A certain amount OF ruffanism still
fingers with the Chicago fans. but the
campaign against the bully boys who start
something at a good many OF the games
out that way has been pretty warm one
of late years, and It's a pretty good
gamble that the up to date, modern spirit
of good behavior and fairness will take
hold OF its Chicago crowds during the
coming season.
zone thing that won't happen at the
Chicago and St. Louis games any more,
| II I'm any prophet. Is the chucking OF
bottles at the umpire and players. 1 think
the lesson taught by the case of the UNI
pire who was nearly killed by a hurled
bottle at a game in st. Louis last season
will serve 10 stop any further bottle toss
ing.
Bottle ThrOwers in Chicago.
1 "The Chicago and St. Louis fans used to
be the great bottle tossers. In Chicago
particularly, where bottled beer has al
ways been sold to patrons of the game in
stands and bleachers, this practice pre-
vailed among the toughs who were seized
by the irresistible impulse to damage up
somebody in the ball yard who displeased
them. But during quite recent years the
Chicago bottle tossers have so far sue
ceeded In restraining themselves that they
merely hurl the bottles into the lot and not
at umpires or players. once at a Sunday
game that I witnessed at the American
League Park in Chicago about three
quarters OF the crowd of about 5000 fans
present seemed to develop a crouch against
| the umpire all at once. The bottled beer
sellers had been busy in grand stands and
bleachers and it seemed as IL nearly
every other man at the game had an en-
PITY bottle in his hand When the long yell
over one of the decisions OF the umpire
began all over the park I stood by pre-
pared to see that umpire buried under an
| avalanche of bottless
But the Chicago fans showed then how
they had learned to restrain themselves
All at the same instant, 1t seemed to me-
they Just tossed their bottles out on to the
sandy Chicago lot. without trying to land
on the umpire. The sound of several thou
sand beer bottles thuddng on the sod at
practically the same instant was as curious
a thing to listen to as 1t was, in its way,
| entertaining to watch.
"As to the comparative fairness of the
| fans, I think Boston is entitled to stand at
the top Of the list in this respect. In fact,
the Boston players of both major league
! clubs declare that the Boston fans are in
clined to carry their sense of utter fair
ness to an extreme.
Example of the Boston Spirit.
"A few years ago, when was managing
the Detroit team, l saw a remarkable dem
onstration of this fact. The game was
played on the afternoon of Bunker Hill
day, a holiday in Boston, and there was
an immense crowd at the game The De-
| troit club had cleanly walked away with
three games of series Of four in Boston,