Norwich bulletin., 1913-02-08
KELLER BEST oF AHTc FouR.r
But Famous Baltimore oriole Is Not
 Manager. as the Rest.

I The only member of the "big four''
 or the ancient and honorable Balti- more Orioles that hasn't copped a
 managerial position, but who must be 1 satisfied with merely having bored a
 niche in the hall of baseball fame as one or the greatest players that ever Rved. If no not the greatest is William heeier- The bfgz four of the classic l congiomerat1on that once upon time
 tn the '90ss made Baltimore look like
 a real baseball town, were Mugsy 1cGraW who was third sacker l Hugheys Jennings, who was shortstop;
 Joe Kelley, who was in the outfeld, and Willie Keeler of the same dis l trict
 The rabble knows full well where | McGraw and Jennings hang their chapeaus today. A few less know that Joe Kelley is managing the Toronto Leafs of the international league, and doing so more or less successfully. But keeler-even some of the most ardent diamond shouters will have to scratch theIr heads when placing him. Yet Keeler was the peer of the tbig four'' Tn the halcyon days. If anyone would at that time have been asked who, if any. was destined to lead some later troops Of husky gents to international Tame. the answer would have been something like this: "KeeIer is the gink to do 1t, for ain't he Mhe top
 liner in the Oriole quartet? And can't
 ne make more hits. get to first oftener,
 Iand more runs. drive in more tallies ana steal more bases than any of the
 others? Sure. Mtkel Keeler will be
 famous as manager some day; while
 McGraw. Jennings and Kelley might
 So the patient reader will surmise
 that the probabilities were with Keel
 CT, 1n the popular conception, while the
 possibilities gave him the go-by and
 alfghted on the other quartet mem
 bers. Keeler bumped the ball in the
 grand old style of a headliner in the
 days of Bill Lange of the Chicago f<aI1 la.,
 membrance of Lange and allege that
 he was the best ever of ball player.
 somehow they forgot that during those
 same years when Lange was at his
 department. In those same years he
 batted higher and was considered the greatest player Of the age. He was
 the Ty Cobb of the period, but, un-
 his powers of slambanging began to peter out Hence much of the glories that he wrung from the big show in his pa1my days Is swallowed up by the also ran proc1ivities that nature developed since.
 In his case there were two ways to stay famous-become a successful manager ma or quit He did neither
 When the Baltimore team was subject to managerial disintegration at the hands of Ned Harlon and the imperial highnesses of the National league. keeier already was slowly going a bove the general run of high class per formers and was taken along to Brooklyn when the Baltimore club was given the Indian sign and suddenly and overnight deprived of it's great stars and left with the bench warmers in the regular lineup. Keeler went to Brooklyn and helped Hanlon nateri- ally in winning another pennant
 Finally Keeler reached the point where he was not good enough for the big league. He had a bean on his that was worth two of any others in the league, and his mus cles were getting tardy. It was then | that he was fired into the Interna- | iona1 league, where he played for To- ronto From that circuit he drifted i pack to the BrOolzlyns, where he is | coaching the youngsters in batting 1 and baserunning