Evening star., 1914-10-12
WORD RETIRE" IS UNKNOWN
TO MANAGER "CONNlIE" MACK
Athletics Remarkable Director Insists He
Will Continue in Active Charge of Team
as Long as He Lives.
By Leo.

base ball classic. That famous infield
duo may still be clinging to the dia-
mond spangles in some capacity. But
IN this story we are going to deal par
ticularly with the king of managers.
and IL he is permitted to visit upon
Mother Earth until he has passed the
three score and ten years allotted to
| man, he'll be director of the Athletics
base ball club.
Retire! That word does not exist,
| SO far as Cornelius McGillicuddy is
concerned. They may erect a steel bar
ricade around Shibe Park. place a cor
don Of police on the four streets which
eanna it. sa9R ,sse sssm wth ns .ns
employ a. fleet of Zeppelins to
guard the air-we say they may do all
that, but it is rather certain that the
king of managers will find a way to
that favorite seat of his on the bench.
Connie Mack means to manage a ball
| club just SO long as he lives. He is
authority for that statement. Further
more. since he happens to own more
! than so per cent of the stock in the
Philadelphia American League club,
there Is more than idle talk in what
ne says Then. too. his associates in
the base ball business believe in him
ana depend on him. which makes it
Unanimous
however. after every new triumph
Tor the marvellous Mack machine, the
rams begin to wonder whether Connie
one rumor-well, you know the answer.
Before long, Mack's retirement becomes
q general topic. and sooner or later a
| news item. The following spring Con-
southern training camp. and the fans
forget that he was expected to be a
gentleman of leisure.
While Life and Health Last.
Now the millions of base ball fans in
America need not permit that wonder
seed to be sown this fall. Connie Mack
| was discovered watching the Phillies
play Brooklyn not long ago. and that
afforded an opportunity to broach the
| subject to him.
We'll. pretty soon you probably al
| ways will be a spectator at a ball game
as you today" was the entering
| wedge.
Not so long as l can avoid it. was
! the prompt reply.
Don't you ever expect to retire from
| the active direction of the Athletics"
was asked
absolutely never. while life and
health last he shot back.
why. base ball is my life," continued
the king of managers. Il know it would
kill me il quit the game. 1t probably
will kill me anyhow, in time But, like
the man in another business, l want
/ to die in the harness.
| Il can't understand why folks think
| 1 am going to retire. First of all, I
haven't the money with which 1 may
Quit wcrk And il / had the money l
| wouldn't quit. l am bench manager,
and there is no reason why 1 can't con-
tinue in my chosen field SO long as l
can get to and from the bench.
"The newspapers print stories about
tba great amount of money in base
ball. It's just the gross receipts they
get. however. The expenditures are
not made public. I'd be satisfied if l
could get the dollars which pass over
tthe counters of a large department
store in week. l guess l could eat,
sleep and ride around the country in
inv automobile for the remainder of my
does not get that immense amount OF
money. He has to pass the big per-
centage Of 1t out to the wholesaler, the
clerks, and to keep up with his fixed
charges And so 1t Is in base ball We
have our high-salaried players and our
fixed charges, too. It's not all velvet
| by long shot.
II merely mention this as a probable
retiring. They undoubtedly think l
have so much money that l don't need
to worry with base ball-for it is a
worry. Many time. after hard cam
lost sleep nights figuring out how we
were going to win the games necessary
to give US the pennant, l have said to
myself. well. l wish this was the last
year of this grind But a week after
| the worlds series was ended 1 was
planning for the next year. !. had forgot
ten all about the worry, and really was
losing sleep through anxiety for the first
game to be played in the next season
But you'take it from me that I will
worry through the hard base ball cam
paign just as long as live and am able
to get to the ball park, unless they can
force me to quit the game. It's simply
a case of I couldn't II would and
wouldn't II could with strong en-
lphasis on the wouldn't
Ambition Prods Him On.
Where Is the fascination in base ball