Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1910-10-19

Professional base balls chief asset is
firm public belief in its honesty in the in
tent to win. The recent outburst Of popu-
lar indignation against certain members OF
the ST. Louis American league team
charged with deliberately Sinking in or
der TO allow Larry Lajoie OF Cleveland to
make hits and thereby beat out Ty Cobb
Of Detroit for the automobile to be
awarded the champion batter Of the year
was an evidence of how strongly the pub
lie chershcs the honesty Of the national
pastlme, When such cases as that al
legged to have arisen in St. Louis are pub
lshed they attract attention all over the
country, even when they take place i'm the
smallest Of minor leagues.
Professional base ball has been peculiarly
free from suspicion that the players were
not on the field to win. Players have
been convicted Of every offense, from pro-
family 10 manslaughter, as result Of dcs-
perate attempts to win at any cost and
II was this motive which made the fans
regard them loniently. Deliberate efforts
to throw games are almost unknown
About thirty years ago four men were eX-
PEELED from professional base ball for life
for this crime against honesty, and since
then nothing OF the sort has been proven
In any Of the larger leagues. Base ball
differs markedly in this respect from
wrestling, foot racing and professional
sculling, all OF which have lost their vogue
because Of agreements on the part Of one
contender to lose, and 1t stands immeasur-
ably above boxing and horse racing, in
which pulling or quitting have been proved
many times
The intensity of the winning idea in base
bali was perfectly demonstrated by the
case of DR.. Mike" Powers, the wonder
fully popular catcher Of the Philadelphia
Athletics last year. He was stricken by a
complication of intestinal troubles toward
the end Of a game and must have suffered
horribly, but said nothing about 1t and re-
manned until the last hand was out. He
was scarcely in the club house before he
was Frustrated by agony so intense that
hypodermics brought no relief He was
hurried to a hospital and died in a few
hours
Similar examples, but without such fatal
consequences, are by no means rare. Harry
Bemis the Cleveland catcher who has
been relegated to the minors this season,
was i'll and badly cut up but continued In
the game when Cleveland was thought TO
have a chance for the pennant Bob
Unglaub, the Washington first baserhan,
played half a game one day this year with
the big toe on his right foot knocked out
of place and badly twisted to one side.
Nothing shows the desire TO win more
clearly than the retention of the really
barbarous spikes used by all ball players.
These are not spikes at all, but three
blades about an inch wide arranged in
triangular form on tine heel and the toe
of the shoe. For years efforts have been
made to replace these vicious, cutting
machines by something less harmful, but
the players have opposed the changes
| because all substitutes hitherto invented
were supposed to detract from the speed.
This season a number of experiments with
spikes, consisting Of three duh pointed
brass cones, have been tried and have
proved fairly successful, but the old
! timers and the ones who have been injured
worst by the present style are the strong
est opponents of the innovation
! one of the worst spilling cases on record
was that by which the career on the play
! ing field of John j. McGraw, manager of
the New York League team, was ended.
McGraw is a small man but was famous
for the reckless manner I'm which he slid
into bases feet first. threatening serious
| injury to anyone blocking him. Numerous
| threats were made against him but he was
undeterred. Finally, one day in Baltimore
when MsGraw was playing third for the
Baltimore team, Dick Harley of St. Louis,
jumped straight at McGraw as he came
| into that base and caught him below the
knee with his spikes The flesh and
! tendons we're laid wide open and McGraw
was in bed for weeks.
About the most highly respected man in
| base ball is Cyrus Denton Young, now
with Cleveland and formerly with Boston
He won his 5OOth victory this year. He has
almost perfect control and when he finds
batter stepping up on his shoots he
warns him to be careful If the batter
| disobeys he is almost sure to stop shoot
with his head and go to a hospital. Davy
! Altizer, with Minneapolis this year and
drafted by Cincinnati, ignored YOung's
warning in desperate attempt to win al
American league game one day. He step
ped up on Young's curves, although he
knew the danger was knocked out and
1t is believed, has never entirely recovered
from the effects Of the blow. He is one OF
half dozen others who has incurred the
same risk for the same purpose and have
paid the same penalty.