Americus times-recorder. [volume] (Americus, Ga.) 1891-current, 1914-04-03
BILLY EVANS ON
SUPERSTITIONS OF
BASEBALL PLAYERS
IDDIE COLLINS HAS ONE OF
THEM AND THE RAT-BOY SUI
FERS-CHANGING HOTELS BE.
LIEVED A HOOD00.

second baseman extraordinary, muss
up a pile of bats when his club is be
hind and the emergency must be met
by few runs. To the despair of the
bat boy, Collins sometimes scatters
thirty or forty bats in such way as to
make it pretty hard for player to
find his own.
Billy Evans, umpire of the Ameri
can League, mentions this superstition
of Collins in an article on Freak
Plays and Superstitions" in the April
St. Nicholas Magazine, in which a Sc
RES on Baseball; the Game and Its
Players" is running. Baseball play
ers are perhaps the most superstitious
class of people in the world" say'
Evans. This statement applies tc
the amateurs and bush leaguers' just
as strongly as it does to the big league
stars The extent to which they allow
themselves to be influenced by mere
superstition is really surprising.
Perhaps nothing will illustrate
this statement any better than a little
incident in connection with the recent
worlds series. The Athletics, team
made up mostly of college men, ard
supposed to possess more intelligence
than the average ball team, were the
actors in this little comedy OF supper
stition. For years the Philadelphia
club has stayed at the same hotel in
New York, one very close to Forty.
second street. Naturally all the hotels
were crawded during the SERIES This
| particular hotel had arranged to take
care of the players in it's customary
satisfactory style 1t occurred to Man
ager Mack that perhaps it rnght be
better to have the players stay at 4
hotel farther uptown during the SER
les. He thought this would enable the
team to be free from the noise and eX-
element in the downtown hotels. Ar
rangements for the change ned been
practically completed when the play
ers heard of the proposed shift.
In five minutes little groups of play
ers could be seen in various parts OF
the hotel lobby engaged in earnest
conversation. After time the various
groups got together in one large con-
ference which lasted several minutes.
Then the meeting ended, and one Of
the players, a college graduate, made
bis way to Manager Mack. He called
the leader aside, and addressed him in
substance, as follows:
"The boys understand that you in
tend changing hotelsT'
Only during the world series, an
swered Mack. q thought they would
like to get away from the noise and
hustle"
"They have delegated me to request
that no change be made in hotels dur
ing the series"
ANY particular reason for not
wanting to changer" asked Mack, who
failed to see a good reason for the re
Guest, because, in many ways, the he
tel to which he intended to move far
surpassed the teams headquarters at
the time.
We'll, ball players are superstitious,
as you know" answered the player.
eve have won several pennants, and
always stayed at this hotel When we
beat the Giants for the worlds seres in
1911 we stayed at this hotel. And the
boys would much prefer staying hero
during the present series. Most OF
them think a change in hotels would
surely 'jinx' or hoodoo them"
THAT settles it" answered Mack,
with a smile. Right here, then, is
where we will stay"
The PLAYER who had acted as a COM
mittee Of one rajoined the others ana
made known the outcome of his con
ference. And then, to justify their