The Alaska citizen., 1910-10-31

Manager Connie Mack has been responsible for furnishing to Phil adelphians an article of baseball fully in keeping with its superb park furnished through the enterprise of the president Of the American league club. Mir F Shihe Dur ing the early part of the fully in Keeping with il With the exception Of the early part of the first season 1901 when he was compelled 10 build up a team wi hout a nucleus Mir Mack exper. fenced a great deal of trouble in getting his team going. but toward the middle of the season. by judi Cious trimming and changing he started 10 move up on the leaders, and succeeded in finishing fourth. losing third place 10 Detroit by virtue of one more defeat Since then the Athletics have finished but twice in the second division. and only once was their percentage less than 500. In six of the ten years frs, or second. and have finished champions for the third time al the close of this season.
 Probably the most important move that Connie Mack made in his en- tire managerial career was inspired by the trouble he had in securing a first baseman in the early part of the season Of 1901. Seybod had been tried there. and though Socks did everything well that he attempt ed. it was evident that he was not the man for the place although he performed yeoman service for the Athletics in the right field. and al the bat and was big factor in landing two pennants. Charley Carr probably the best fielding first base man that ever happened-at morning practiCe-was also tried, and found wanting Finally the name of Harry Davis. who had played at Providence in the season of 1900. was suggest quit baseball and had obtained a position with the Lehigh Railroad Company. with headquarters at Mil ton Davis was sent for, joining the team at Washington, in May, and playing his first game al Chi cago. Here was an example of base ball luck Manager Mack secured first baseman, who in his all round attachments. has never had his su- perior at the initial corner and Davis had the opportunity to give many a manager who had passed up his services, the merry laugh. With Davis 1t was not case of coming back" for he had never been away. It was simply a case of fat.witted managers who did not know a real live player when they saw one.
 Encouraged by the fairly good showing made by his team in the last half of 1901. which was strengthened by the addition of Topsy Hartsel Monte Cross. Elmer Flick and other. Manager Mack en tered confidently upon the campaign of 1902 But before the first game of the season had been played-in fact while the opening game in Baltimore was in progress Manager Mack re ceived a telegram from his Phila- delphia attorney stating that the Supreme court had reversed the de cisiOn of the court below in the Lajoe case, and warning him not to play Larry and the men who were affected by the decision un der pain of being arrested for con- tempt of court This would cer tainly be a body blow, the loss of four players of the caliber of Jaloie, Bernhard. Flick and Fraser. But as it turned out it was a blessing in MT Mack brought into play all his resources. Danny Murphy took the place of Lajoie, the peerless, and thanks to the superb pitching of Pete Husting at the beginning of the season. and Waddell toward the close, to say nothing of Plank's consistently good work throughout the Athletics won the champion ship, while the enterprise shown by Charles w. Somers of Cleveland in offering inducements which avert ed the return of Lajoie and the others to thI National League gave the game in the Forest City an impetus which it had never ex- perienced before.
 In 1903, the first year of the new National Agreement, the Athletics finished second to the Bostons, with percentage of .551, 10S points back of the leaders, and 1904 they fell back 10 fifth place, with a percent age of 536 But the value of the ex- perimenting which Manager Mack indulged in in 1904 was made mani fest in the season of 1905, when the Athletics landed their second pen nant, after one of the most spirited