Imperial Valley press., 1914-02-02
Athletes Declare
Booze a Barrier

1t was at the dinner in the Belle
vue-S -Stratford hotel that the citizens
of Philadelphia recently rendered the
Athletics in appreciation of the hon
or the team has brought the city in
winning the baseball championship Of
the universe. Ira Thomas, the vet
eran backstop, was speaking. Among
the first things Ira spoke of in his
discourse was the unfounded yarns
often told of baseball players.
Thomas, as all his friends know, is
q total abstainer. He does not touch
liquor in any form. Yet, according
to Ira, some of the fans had him down
as a roustabout. Ira said that during
series the Athletics were playing
in one of the rival cities friend Of
his happened to be sitting in the grand
stand near little group of Philadel-
phia rooters. Just after the batteries
were announced and the spectators
were informed that Thomas was GO
ing to do the catching for Philadel-
phia, Ira's friend was surprised to
hear one of the fans exclaim:
$50 Thomas is going to receive
Bender, eh! Well, that means punk
game! Why, Thomas was drunk as a
fiddler last night! / was out with
him and believe me / had my trou-
bles getting him back to his hotel"
When Thomas told the yarn at the
recent dinner it occasioned a huge
laugh, for most of the diners knew of
Ira's exemplary habits. After getting
his hearers in good humor, Thomas
gradually drifted into more serious
vein, and said:
"The papers have been full of sto-
ries of our famous million-dollar in
field In McInnes, Collins, Barry and
Baker we undoub btedly have the great
est infeld in the annals of the game.
Our infield is the backbone of the
team. But just let me tell you gen.
tlemen here, who possibly are not
acquainted with the facts, not sim
gle one of the four stars of our in
field is addicted to tobacco or liquor
in any form.
"Stuffy, Eddie, Jack and Frank
neither drink, smoke nor chew. No
one can tell me that the fact of their
not being addicted to tobacco or
liquor in any form hasn't lot to do
with their wonderfully smooth and
steady playing. The nerves of the
four are absolutely free from the eff
fects occasioned by the use of alco-
hol or nicotine. Perhaps Stuffy OF
Ed or Jack or Frank might be able
Ito duplicate their wonderful play if
she was liquor or tobacco user-but
i doubt it.
"While l am on this subject, let
me say just a few more words. Every
one here knows that the Athletics
have won the highest honors possible
in baseball-the capturing of the
worlds championship. Now we
haven't a liquor user on our team
and very few of the boys smoke dur
ing the playing season, and, if then
very sparingly. Connie Mack can put
a team in the field of which eight of
the nine players never use liquor OF
tobacco in any form, and, believe me,
that same nine could lick any team
on the diamond"
Just like that fan in the grand
stand informing his hearers that Ira
Thomas, a fellow who never touches
liquor, chad been drunk as fiddler,
so ofttimes do athletic fans spin false
alarms about our track celebrities
Weird tales are told about this or
that athletic champion. Sometimes
there may be grain of truth to back
up the rumor-a champion, like any
other mortal, is only human-but
ninety-nine times out of hundred the
wild yarns about such and such a
champion are fabrications pure and
simple.
Perhaps the two greatest runners in
the world today are Hannes Koleh-
mainen and John Paul Jones. The
flying Finn has hung up distance fig.
ures that haven't been approached