Evening journal., 1914-07-18
UNPIRES Of TODAY
HAVE A REAL CINCH
Live in Golden Age, Com
pared With Those of
Years Ago
MANY USED REVOLVERS
TO SETTLE TROUBLE

" OIL LIZ NJ OA<A<
A few Of them may not believe 1t,
but present-day umpires live in a
golden age and have a lovely time,
compared with the life some of their
predecessors of a few decades ago
we're forced to lead. At least this
is the statement of f. II Wood, one
Of the Old-timers Of the Western and
National leagues, who declares that
he can remember when the umpire
was Stunned by everyone. No per-
son dared to called him friend.
"Umpires had to have nerve and
lunches of It when | was in the busi-
ness many years ago." says Wood
Those we're the times when we had
to fight il out with the players on the
ball field, and we didn't have Ban
Johnson to back us Up. We could,
II is true, tack fine Of So on an
offending player, but we couldn't put
him out of the game or bench him.
So you can see where we got off
IL remember once when / was an
umpire in the Western league a foul
tip ball hit me in the throat and
couldn't talk above q whisper; had
to work by signs when l called 'em
out Every decision was trouble for
me.
II was in Denver when l first heard
oowpunchers firing reyolvers from
the stands The stands then were
like the bleachers of today, a bunch
of boards piled together. The cat
tlemen were holding their convention
there at the time, and / remember
It sounded like sham battle. The
cold sweat poured down my back
whenever 7 made a decision against
Denver. and I could almost feel the
bullets clip me on the feet or take
my hat OF | was a tenderfOot them
Perhaps the worst experience
ever went through was in the West
ern league the first day / officiated
at Wichita. Baseball was in its in
fancy out West then. The umpires
were the goat for spectators and
players and every game was a night
mare
THAT was a battle I'll never for
get and you never will know how
welcome a safe hit was until ] tell
you this. The game went II innings
and Kansas City, Wichita's hated
rival then, was playing. The stands
over near the third base didn't have
a fence and it seemed as if every
decision was made either at third OF
at home.
After the ninth inning every time
man was put out at third or at the
| plate more spectators came down and
gathered around the field. BY the
twelfth inning the players and my
| self we're almost surrounded. They
kept saying what would happen to
me If Wichita lost.
"Finally-it was in the seventeenth
Tom Mansel came to bat He was
! famous before he hit the Western
league as a batter. Suddenly he
leaned on the ball. The center
fielder took one look at il as it sailed
over his head and then started in
The game was won right then and
there. l don't believe they evel
found the ball
1T was quite some distance TO the
depot, but l led the procession al
the way and broke all records get
ting on a train. / never umpireC
there again, asking the league presi
dent to send me elsewhere in th'
future. They tell me they have
never quite got over the habit of um
e piro-baiting in Wichita. and that evel
now the indicator-holder often has Il
run for his life after giving decision
that don't agree with opinions he'll
by the fans.
b at Peoria one day came somethin
e. I still remember with great clearnesS
They used to slide head first theI
and a runner forget his name
= dived headlong for second In thi
, game and managed to knock the bal
: out Of the tagger's hand as he touche
him | didn't see It, but the runne
got hold of the ball and stuck it /
his shirt as he lay there sprawlinl
He got up. and as the player
we're hunting for the ball he starte
for third. He bluffed around for
moment and then dashed for hom
He slid in. Then, coming to his fee
] he busted himself of and wake
ieisurely for the bench. During a
this time the other side was fraI
d tically looking around for the bal
When he finally got to his bench b
Z took the ball out of his shirt an
tossed it back on the field.
They yelled for a decision.
called the runner safe. Honestly
y believe all records for speed from Il
e park 10 the hotel were broken
e mo after that battle"