Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-12-16
STARK MANAGER
MONMOUTH TEAM
Another of Popular Islanders
Follows Route Taken by
Tighe and O'Leary.
NICE INCREASE IN SALARY
Fans Losing Player Whose Absence
VIII BE Missed More Than
Any Other of Local Club.

diSanDearing from the vision of the
local fans. three having dropped from
the ranks in the last month, in each
case to become a manager. First,
Jack Tighe signed with Seattle, Wash,
then Dan OLeary became manager of
Davenport. and now it is Stark. The
ioviaI Claude. alias Tommy" was
sold last night TO the Monmouth club
of the Central association after a con-
ference between officers of the Rock
Island and Monmouth clubs. Three OF
the Monmouth officers were here to
make overtures for the release of Stark
by the local association. They were
Secretary D. W. Burtsall and Directors
Bruce Meek and ]. R. Firoved. The
price asked for Stark by the local club
was finally met by the visitors and
Tom passed over to the Monmouth
club, of which he is to be the manager
The price paid for the Islander has
not been made public but it is thought
to have been $500. Immediately after
being released by Rock Island Stark
closed his terms with Monmouth. He
has a six months contract at a figure
far in advance of the salary he drew
full and complete charge of the Mon
mouth aggregation.
Is Valuable Man.
Stark is a valuable asset to any
team on which he plays. not only be-
cause of his natural ability either be-
hind the bat or on first base. but be
cause of his temperament. which never
fails to have harmonious effect upon
his teammates Where Tom is there is
little chance of a disagreement among
the players. as he keeps everyone in
good spirits all the time. As catcher
Stark is and always has been consid-
cred one of the best in the Three-Eye
league. His strongest point is his abil-
ity TO learn the weakness of opposing
batsmen and use his knowledge to adj
vantage. In addition he throws well
and keeps his pitcher working all the
time. On first, Stark is not sensa-
tiOnal but is a steady. reliable man
who makes very few errors and who
goes after everything that comes near
him. He is valuable field captain.
also. He intends TO play first base at
Monmouth.
No Equal COacher.
AS side line cOacher Stark's equal
has never been seen around the Three
Eye circuit He has a line of talk and
actions that has the best of them
wiped off the map. His antics and
speeches on the side lines take any
where and there is nothing forced
about it. He enliyens a game that is
a hundred to nothing against the home
team and makes the spectators go
home well pleased. His success as a
Coacher mas brought forth many mi
tatoTs from time to time among Three
Eye players. but none of them has ever
compared with the Incompatible Tom
my He never fails 10 be i'm right with /.
the umpire. and as no one is capable of
getting sore at him he gets away with .
a bunch of stuff while coaching that
no one else possibly could. His coach /
ing as much as his playing has made
him the most popular player that ever
dOnned an Islander uniform, and the /
fans will be sorry indeed 10 see him
leave here.
Comes Here From Peoria
Stark made his first appearance in /
this city in 1902 as the catcher of the .
Rockford team which won the pennant
that year. He was at that time CON
sideTed the best catcher by all odds i'm
the circuit and he deserved the title
Later on he went 10 Dubuque and
helped win pennant there. In 1908 /.
he was secured from Peoria by the Is Il
landers. Tom had sustained an injury
to his hand which had kept him out
of the game during the opening month
of the schedule, and as Manager Don /,
nelly had another baCkstop who was
going well, he decided to dispose of
Stark. The crippled Tom and Eddie
Wise were secured in exchange for AL
Swain, Louis Cook. then manager of
Rock Island. having arranged the deal
1t was not long before Stark rounded
back into form and the following year
he aided Rock Island in winning the
pennant, his work behind the bat and
on first base being a strong factor in
the final victory. Last year he was
worked alternately with Dan OIeary
behind the bat and at other times he
played first
Has Big job Ahead.
Stark has a big job ahead of him.
as he will have to sign up and build
an entirely new team at Monmouth.
Thus far there are only three or four
players under reserve there and he
Will have to scare up the rest. He is
to have full charge, however, and he
believes that he will be able TO land
the men to make up a first-cIass team.
He will leave Rock Island early in
April to take up his duties at Mon
mouth, but in the meantime he will be
busy signing men and corresponding
with players whom he wants. The
panltorium business engaged in by him
and Jack Tighe will be continued, al
though both the men will be out of
the city during the baseball season.
They both will be back again in the {
winter to claim Rock Island as their |