Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-04-04
THRIVE IN WINTER
Umpire Crop Looks Good When
Thermometer Is Around Zero.
FLOOD OF APPLICATIONS
Hot Weather and Trenzied Fans
Burn Up the Would-Be
Arbitrators.

Umpires thrive in the winter time. writes
Billy Evans in the Sporting News. When
the thermometer is lowering around the
zero mark the umpire crop looks best.
Base ball league presidents will tell you
that during the cold season they are
swamped with applications from men
who desire to demonstrate to the base
ball world that Jack Sheridan, Hank
O'Day. Tommy Connolly. Silk O'Lough-
lin, Cy Rigler and the other big league
umpires are jokes in comparison with
themselves.
Base ball history proves that warm
weather has a most depressing effect on
tine Empirical inclined Even in the
spring the harvest is only fair. Many of
the men who in the winter time were
strong at posing as heroes have decided
that the factory, the store or the farm
garner in the coin.
Invariably the heat Of July or August.
abetted by the frenzied fans, totally
burns up the crop of umpires. League
presidents who were defuged with appl1-
cations for jobs during the winter md II
practically impossible to dig UP couple
of men willing to take a chance from the
waiting list.
It is a pipe" to sit around the fire in
sporting headquarters and tell just what
to do with Swat" Milligan. Home Run"
Haggerty or any other scrapper PLAYER
IL he should have the temerity to question
a single decision. It is different in the
good old summer time, when such things
actually take place, and when every fan
in the crowd is invoking some dire rate
for you. It is so very different that 1t is
little wonder most OF the boys decide
long before the close of the season that
they are cut out to shine in some other
sphere of activity.
Naturally it is the ambition of every
umpire to hit the big show" as umpir-
ing in the major leagues Is spoken OF.
Every year the heads of the two major
organizations receive thousands Of letters
from umpires who are dead sure they will
burn up the big circuit Many of them
are peeved because they are not given
chance to show.
If the ambitious youngster, DESTROYS of
shining as an umpire, only knew it, he
hands himself the worst kind of knock
every time he writes to tell a major
league president what dreadful mistake
he is making in not signing him at
fancy salary.
Umpiring in the minor leagues is an
unenviable position II there ever was one.
Every man holding a job in the major
leagues today. however, has been subject
ed to minor league knocks. Most umpires
want to skip the hard part, and jump into
the select class at a bound The bush
leagues" as the smaller organizations are
known to the base ball fraternity, are the
training schools for the major leagues,
just as high school instruction paves the
way to college education.
Any yOungster who regards the big
league as his goal must get his start in
the pushes He should not be foolish
enough to write and tell how good he is.
If he has the ability it will not remain
long undiscovered. The many big league
scouts who are constantly on the lookout
for star players are also taking note of
the umpires. A few words in an umpire
behalf from some man of standing In the
base ball world goes heap further with
the men in command than million let
tiers written in ones own behalf.
In base ball it is customary to refer to
men who have q craze on the game as
being bugs on this or that subject II
is needless to say that the umpire bugs
shine very prominently. For some reason
these so-called bugs believe the are just
a little better umpires than any of the
men who are paid salaries for dAciding
plays They cannot understand why
they are constantly being overlooked
in the shuttle. These men always make 1t
a point to visit the major league UNI
pires in the various cities and impress
on them their greatness
One morning last year the telephone
bell In my room rang at the unearthiy
hour OF Z o'clock in the morning. HAN
asleep / said Hello"
"Is this Mr.. Evans?" was the response.
I answered in the affirmative.
I'm coming right up to your ROOM
said the man at the other end of the
wire. 80.
lust a minute" l interposed. Il
should like to know who is going to
favor me with call
I'm a poor bush Lacquer he answer
ed.
was just a trifle sore about havlng
been awakened so early to talk base bali,
but. knowing what a hard row the minor
league umpire has to hoe. and thinking l
might cheer him up Dit. toio MIN 70
come up. After introducing himself he
told me that he wanted very mucn TO M
League staff l could not conceive what
he meant when he referred to Sheridan.
and told him that he had better chance
OF getting any of the other mems JOBS.
Then he flashed the morning paper On
me. It contained an account or Sherl-
dams retirement, given out from wash
ington.
politely informed my visitor that Mr..
johnson selected all the umpires for the
American League staff. He insisted. how
ever that the place Wouiu NC MS -
1vo,,1d wire Mr.. Johnson that l knew just
the man to step into sheridan's shoes. !
informed him that I would do the best l
could. and then attempted to shift the
conversation to another subject. But he
refused to accept any other topic
"What are you doing at present.? l
asked him. l supposed he had just re-
tired from some bush league.
I'm a bricklayer, and have steady en-
n,ovment the year round" he answered.
and when he added that he was married
and the proud father Of nine children I
nearly tainted.
I'm a steady Job, at which he was as
sured of So or 81 day. to take a chance
ON umpiring. My fellow umpire. Jack
Egan, afterward suggested that nine chill
dren was enough to drive man to DO
almost anything.
finally got rid Of the ambitious candi-
date, but not until he had handed me
this farewell: