Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-01-02
By Percy H. Whiting.

"A n
never get killed" or course.
that saying isn't literally
true, but it's true enough so that
the exceptions haven't enabled any
undertakes to retire on their prof
it's
To begin with, ball players are
the luckiest folks in the world about
railway accidents They ride as far
as a commercial traveller, they tTav-
ell mostly at night and on the fast
est trains. They ride on railroads
that, Heaven knows, kill enough
folks every year And yet who ever
heard of a ball player hurt in a
railroad wreck?
or course, your historians will
recall that one baseball team was
almost wiped out of league not
many years ago IN a railroad acoa-
dent that claimed q toll of both
dead and injured among players.
But barring that one exception. bail
players have. usually managed to
escape wrecks and have almost In
variably succeeded in escaping
death in them.
OF course, only last season the
Cardinals figured in one of the
worst wrecks of the year.
Shortly before daylight on the
morning of July II. an engineer
misunderstood signals and the New
York, New Haven and Hartford
train that carried the St. LGalis
players jumped the track and
plunged down an embankment in
the suburbs Of Bridgeport. Conn. A
dozen passengers were killed and
many injured. but the players.
thanks to their occupying the rear
sleepers, escaped with only a slight
shaking up. Roger Bresnahan rush
ed from the train and. with his 81
teammates, helped to rescue many
Of the injured from the wreckage.
The ball players pulled many per
sons out of the debris.
RUDE Geyer was the only St
Louis player to sustain the sem
blance to an injury. He slightly
twisted wrist while rendering aid
to an injured passenger. 1t Was not
his pitching hand, however, that
was affected, The team landed in
Boston late that night, and the next
day. double header was pIaved.
The Cards won the first and tied the
second contest. In the last game,
Geyer relieved Harmon. and twirl-
ed with bis usual effectiveness.
4 far as anybody can recall, no
Southern league player was ever
seriously injured. and certainly
none was ever killed in a railroad
accident since the Dixie league
started. They travel on railroads
that contribute their share, TO the
gIisy total. of course but thus far
they have escaped trouble.
Bill Smith said the other day.
AS long as I have been in the
Southland that's some time-I
don't remember of a player being
killed or badly hurt in q railroad
accident, in this league or any other
in the South"
y ALL players never seem TO think
- that they run any risR in tray
cling. They are vastly more afraid
Of Motel biscuits than they are OF
railroad wrecks.
And yet there is an occasional
exception Atlanta had one player.
Joe Wilkes. il memory serves. who
was in mortal dread all the time he
was travelling. His teammates used
to tell it that he was so frightened
that ne always fode on the platform
whenever possible to be near an
exit And. perhaps because Joe was
small, he never licked any Of them
for telling it. though ! seem to re-
call that he agreed TO (but didn't
punch my head once for publishing
the yarn.
- ICkNESS is a rare.thing among
- ball players IN season. They oc-
tdsionally fan victims to typhoid.