Evening star., 1912-09-15
ENDED CLOSE RACE
Virginia League Clubs in AL
most Even Finish.
ROANOKE GETS PENNANT
Wins Out in Final Game by Two
Point Margin-Gossip of
Virginia Circuit.
Special Dispatch TO The Star.

race in the Virginia League this year
proved to be one of the most spectacular
of the minor organizations. for it was not
settled until the second game of the last
double-header of the season, the last
series being between Roanoke and Peters
burg, the contending teams. BY cop
ping the last game the Tigers got the
championship by the narrow margin of
points. Had Petersburg taken both
ends Of the double-header the Coolers
would have been champions a second
time by 2-point margin.
The Coolers owe their undoing to Jap
Ef1rd, the old Washington and Lee Uni
versity finger, who showed more form
in the past month than at any time dur
ing the two seasons he was with the
Magic city aggregation. When the final
series opened Roanoke needed to defeat
Petersburg twice to win and Petersburg
had to have three of the games. Peters
burg lost and ESfird pitched in both of
the games allowing the Coolers twelve
hits in eighteen innings, with a single
tally.
Richmond and Petersburg have made
money at the gate. The other teams
have hardly collected salaries at the
gates, and if they are around an even
it will be by reason of the sale of play
ers. Norfolk got $500 for Ffnneran and
Dodge; Portsmouth squared accounts
with Atlanta, but got no money Tor play
ers. Richmond sold a couple, but sales
| amounting to much coin by the other
teams have yet to be announced.
The finish this season was the closest
in the history of the Virginia League
| though the race was not as spectacular
| as it was in 1907 when for weeks five
| clubs were fighting for first place and
| six of the teams wound up with a stand
| ing of 800 or more. In 1909 the cham
pionship was not settled until the last
series and even then it required a de-
ciSion of the league to award the fght
to Roanoke. Norfolk beat Portsmouth
| two games at home, one of the games
having been transferred from Portsmouth
| without consent, while Roanoke split the
| final double header with Richmond. With
the Portsmouth postponed game counting
| for Norfolk the two teams were tied Tor
| first place, but the directors promptly
threw the transferred game out. thus Civ
| ing the championship to Roanoke by
margin of three points.
Lynchburg won in 1906, the first year OF
the league, beating Norfolk by .0S1 points.
In 1907 Norfolk won with Danville Q3l
points behind in second place. The next
| year, 1908, Richmond had runaway, fin
ishing with $50. the highest ever made in
the circuit, with Danville second. just
| .O93 points behind Roanoke got the
1909 flag and in 1910 Steve Griffin piloted
the Danville team to the championship.
when he went from sixth to first place by
fourteen straight wins, which is still a
| record. Danville stood .6Oo and Roanoke
was second with .567. Last year Peters
burg came from the bottom and won,
| beating Norfolk, in second place, by .01S
points.
The season was not a brilliant one
| from an attendance standpoint. Peters
| burg drew WELL and Richmond. while
hardly up to former years, was still the
backbone of the circuit Norfolk drew
poorer probably than ever before. and
Newport News and Portsmouth were dis
NAL disappointments. Roanoke, in last
or first place, draws about the same small
crowd.
President Boatwright experienced not a
| little trouble to hold his good umpires,
and much complaint came from incom-
potency with the indicator. AL Orth was
| the real goods on the staff until the mag
mates permitted him to go to the Ma
tional League rather than to prevent
| him from going up. Generally, the rest
| of the staff was about as much in hot
water as 1t was out of it, though the UNI
piring was hardly as bad as it was in
| 1911,
| George Stanley Bigbie. first baseman of
| the Norfolk team. Is being severely criti-
| cised over the circuit on account of an
| assault made by him on Pitcher Perry
I man, who was pitching for Richmond
| against Norfolk in the last game Of the
| season at the Richmond diamond. Big
| bic was struck over one OF his eyes by a
pitched ball. and Bigbie Immediately
| hurled his bat at the big pitcher, who
| was still in the vicinity of the mound.
| Perryman managed to dodge the stick.
Bigbie knew the blow was an accident.
| and his assault on Perryman seems un-
warranted, and some of the scribes are
clamoring for Bigbies dsbarment from
| base ball despite the fact that he has al
| ready announced that he has decided to
| retire after this season.
| The report comes from Norfolk that
| Charley Shaffer. this years manager of
| the Tars, will retire from the game at the
| seasons end Shaffer has been i'll nearly
all summer and he could not give his at
tention to the club, nor did he figure in
the games at any time. He is one of
the best known players in the minors.
| having played three or four years in the
| Virginia League and in a number Of cir
cults in the west Last year he was
with st. Joe. in the Western League. in
| the capacity of assistant manager or
| trainer. For Norfolk he got together IA
| good team this year, but the club did
1 not get in the race because he could not
| give 1t his personal attention for any
| length of time. 1t is announced by DR..
| McCray, president of the club, that George
Kircher will handle the Tars next year.
| He is outfielder-catcher. who was
| drafted in the fall Of 1910 from one of
| the Blue Grass League teams, and for
| two seasons has been valuable man
| for the Tars. He had charge of the club
| much of the time this season.
| Charles T. Bland, president of the
| Portsmouth club, Is quoted as saying
| Count" Lou Castro will not manage the
| Truckers again next season. although 1t
| is reported by Castro's friends that he
has already signed to fill that berth next
year. Bland says that at this time he
/ Is in no position to make a statement as
to the 1913 management, excepting that
Castro will not be the man. Castro gave
money. until he had to let some of his
high-priced men go, and even after that
the team was able TO finish with an even
| break. although 1t was in fifth place.
Nothing has been heard recently of Cas-
tros request for an investigation of the
charges made some time ago by the Off
GERS Of the association at Portsmouth
| that Castro and his men were not giving
! the team their best services. The prob
abilities are that this will blow over and
that the last has been heard Of it.
| 1t is reported that DIR. Pressly. who led
the Roanoke team to the championship in
spite of many handjcaps. has determined
| to quit the game and hang out his shngie
/ in some southern town. Pressly got his
plaster last spring from an Atlanta med
| ical school and he is a full-fedged doctor
of medicine. He has always been much
liked in the Virginia League on account