Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1914-07-23
is a shadow, reputation is
a bubble. and fifteen years is
Il long time, but there may be

some who recall Solomon Lee,
who pitched the Corsairs to two pen
nants before the bright lights got into
his eyes and blinded him.
Lee came up from nowhere with q
good right arm, a steady nerve, a
strong body and an individual STYLE
Which set the baseball world ablaze. He
copied no pitcher that ever lived, and
every move he made was hallmarked
With the peculiar individuality OF Solo
mon Lee.
Lee was a sensation for two seasons,
ana then bright lights got him. He
maze the common mistake of thinking
that youth. strength and nerve force
are lndestructible qualities. The sput-
ter OF the limelight was music to Solo
mon Lee. He loved to have men point
hlhl out as he walked along the street.
Ihe sports flattered him. and he
swallowed the flattery with the drinks
winch they were proud to buy for him.
solomon Lee was "a good Teller"
Which means that he was a combina-
ton OF a bad fellow and a fool. An
fathlete does not last very long after
the bright lights begin winking at him.
solomon Lee began to fade during
MS third season and snu1fed out en-
Ifely during his fourth. Ed Terrill.
the veteran manager of the Corsairs,
found that he could not trade Lee.
Inc once great pitcher was an eyplod-
ed skyrocket-an empty shell. Nobody
wanted him at any price. He had a
reputation rs Il demoralizer. and no
manager wants that sort of a PLAYER
on his pay roll.
olomon heard the mutterings of the
approaching storm and paid no atten-
ton to them. One morning he picked
up his favOrite sporting page, and the
hrst paragraph which caught his eye
stunS him until the red crept into his
neck:
Soly Lee is all through as a big Lacquer.
lie VIII go to the minors next season. 1t
seems q pity TO say it, but he will never
De missed. He has been an evil influence
on the team and has reflected no credit
on the national game. His conduct has
been a reproach to all decent ball play
ers, MS dlSSipations have become a scan
GAL, and, as a result, Solomon Lee, who
might have continued on as a great pitch
er Tor years to come. is all done when he
should be beginning his career. The mem
DRY which he leaves behind him is in the
nature of a warning. Men like Solomon
Lee add nothing to the dignity of clean
sport and leave nothing but a bad name
behind them when they go.
That night at the hotel he re-
ceived no less than fifty letters, all
%1nclosing the same paragraph from
: the morning. paper. Two or three of
the writer's. friends of the bright light
district, urged Solomon to whip the
newspaper man, but all the rest We're
on the other side of the fence.
One anonymous fan wrote:
You've been a drunk and a bum, and if
it hadn't been for you we'd have had an
other pennant this year. l hope they tie
the can on you SO tight you'll never be
able to get it off.
Another:
Read this, you big stiff. We're getting
on to you in this town.
Solomon Lee was not strong on logic.
and when forty-five men sided with
the paragrapher he changed his mind
about revenging himself. He read the
article over and over again, and some
OF the sentences burned themselves
into his memory deep enough to leave
a scar.
Men like Solomon Lee st S. s. leave
nothing but a bad name behind when
they go" Nothing but Il bad name.
That was the phrase which hurt the
most. Never one had he looked the
situation fairly in the face, and now,
at tWenty-siX, just when he should
have been OF the crest of the wave Of
popularity, he found himself in the
breakers with the rocks beyond.
Before he went away he had a long
talk with Billy Bigelow. Billy was
the clever shortstop Of the club, the
brains Of the Corsair infeld and the
only real friend Lee had on the team.
They SAY I'm all DONE" said Lee
bitterly. Its a dirty lie, Billy. Don't
you believe it. Pm as good as I ever
was in my life, but things haven't
been breaking right for me this season.
You know that. Terrill never had any
use for me, and those stitfs on the
bleachers have been after me all sea-
son. Pm going. Billy. but I'll be back
again. Bet your shirt on that. And
I'm going to come back stronger and
better than ever. 1t would serve Ter
rill right if some of these other man
ayers got me. and what I'd do to this
team would be a shame! Oh. I'll be
back"
I'm pulling for you.' said Bigelow.
Get in shape as early as you can in
the spring. cut out the booze this win
ter and show them that you're still
there. Terrill hasn't got it in for you,
Solly. You know you've been stepping
some pretty fierce heats, and that row
you had in st. Louis didn't help mat
ters any"
Yes" said Solomon Lee. Give a
dog Il bad name and then everybody
takes Il kick ut him. I'm down now,
but won't stay down. III make Ter
riIl send for me-"