Evening star., 1914-08-23
ATHLETICS WOULD LIKE
TO PLAY THE BRAVES
Beating Giants Is Monotonous and
Stallings Is Remembered as For
mer Leader of Phillies.

PHILADELPHIA. Pa, August 2s.--
Worlds series talk. which is very late
In getting started this year. is beginning
TO crop up here in the east Followers
OF the Athletics are confident that the
White Elephants will again be the en-
trant of the American League. The only
cloud on their horizon Is the fact that
about this time last season the Athletics
showed signs OF going stale, and it was
a mighty difficult problem to get them
going right again. There has been no
such indication of this during the pres
ent Campaign.
The White Elephants are going along
serenely. beating all opponents. There is
no hospital list, the players are showing
no signs of going stale and they have
such a Dig lead that they could afford
n rev reverses without worrying. Their
latest achievement was the winning of
seven successive games and twenty-four
out of twenty-six contests
1t took Walter Johnson to put the
brakes on the worlds champions This
occurred last Friday, when Walter
pitched Washington to a 2-to-1 victory
at Shibe Park. Johnson not only twirled
in magnificent style. but he also hit
home run. This defeat was the first
sustained by the Athletics in eleven sue
cessive games at Shibe Park.
They'd Like Braves to Win.
Unless something goes amiss with the
Mack machine in the next three weeks
the fans of this city. like those through
out the country, will keep their atten-
ton focused on the gallant fight being
made by the Boston Braves to over
haul the New York Giants There are
many fans here roofing for the Braves
They are doing so because the average
individual loves to see a leader dethron-
ed, Then too, many would ike to see
George Stallings triumph. 1t was in this
city that Stallings got his frs. chance
as major league manager Tha, vas
back in 1897.
The following year Stallings had a
wonderful collection Of ball PLAYERS and
the team was starting to make a run
away race of ii in the National League
which at that time consisted OF twelve
clubs. But just when things looked ia
me rosiest Stallings got into a iamb
with Lajoie. Delahanty and some others.
The players went on strike, you see
Dear Reader. strikes are not exactly new
| in base balD, and they declared they
wouldn't play unless Stallings was fired.
A. j. Reach. who was then president
| of the Phllies. happened along at the
critical moment. Mr.. Reach took the
side of the players and Stallings was let
| out. From that time the Phillies began
to lose more games than they won, and
they didn't win the championship. Nor
was Ed Delahanty or Napoleon Lajoie
/ ever connected with a pennant winner
| Stallings may come nearer To perform
| ing this feat than any of the men who
| went on a strike against him.
| In looking over the wonderful rush to
the front of the Braves one cannot help
( recalling what glorious possibilities such
| clubs as the Pirates. the Cubs and the
| Phillies let slip. All of these teams be-
| came discouraged or the microbe of dis
! satisfaction got in their systems before
| or after the race had run one-half of
its course. Had the players of these
| teams kept their minds their work
| there would be more than one or two
! teams giving the Giants scare at the
! present time. The way the Giants have
! rIayed this season this was certainly the
4 year when "A dark horse had an oppor-
/ tunity to get to the front. Ii begins to
| look as though the Braves had gathered
| up the golden harvest which had been
kicked aside by the Pirates. the Cubs
| and the Phillies.