The true Democrat. [volume] (Bayou Sara [La.]) 1892-1928, 1914-05-02
BASE BALL FACTS.

Did you ever know that McInnis, Col.
Inns, Barry and Baker, that famous
100000 infield of the worlds champion
Athletics never have known the taste
of alcoholic liquors?
Did you ever know that Connie
Mack, the manager of the worlds
champions, can, at moments notice,
put nine first-string men on the field
who never took drink in all their
lives?
These revelations are made in an
article by Harry Beach Needham in
the May number of McClures. 1t is an
interview with Connie Mack, whose
Philadelphia Americans, during the
thirteen years of their existence, have
brought home five remnants and three
worlds championships.
"Clean Living and Quick Thinking"
| is the title of the Needham article. 1t
tells at first hand-right from the man
who knows all about it-how system
of right living makes the real cham
pion ball player.
1t is story with a fine moral It's
about baseball, but it can be we'll ap-
| piled to almost any walk of life Mack
the master of the diamond, opens up
his heart and soul and divulges the
secrets which have caused so much
speculation these many years.
at was directly after the worlds
championship had been won by the
Athletics for the third time-a record
that broad-minded newspaper edi-
tor, who is hardly to be classed as a
baseball far" says Mr.. Needham, ere
marked that Connie Mack had more
influence with the youth of America
than any other man he could name.
All over the country said the ed
itor, mothers are telling their boys
that If they want to stand high in
sport, if they aspire to be champions,
they must not drink-they must lead
clean lives. The victory of Mack and
his team is a triumph for clean living"
Explanation in Sentence.
Asked for an explanation as to the
consistent class shown by the cham
pion Athletics Mack said:
81 have come to the conclusion that
the continued class shown by the Ath-
letics can be put down-if you want it
in sentence, right over the plate
to clean living and quick thinking.
"And without the one you can't have
the other-the quick thinking. There's
nothing to that. Temperance is fine
|thing-and don't get the wrong angle
on that temperance. For one thing, it
applies just as much to eating. One Of
the most brilliant players of the last
ten years ate his way out of the Amer
lean League. If you think that's far
fetched, remember that former citi-
zen of my home town, Ben Franklin,
spoke of men who dug their graves
with their teeth | would make the
guess that more folks die from over
eating than from starvation-tha is,
in America"
The master of the diamond then pro-
ceeded to speak more specifically Of
the booze.
"Who puts the ball player out of the
game? You would naturally say the
umpire, wouldn't you? Well, all the
umpires together haven't put as many
ball players out of the game as Old
Man Booze.
"Now, don't get off on the wrong
foot. Boozing is not common among
the high-grade ball players. 1t was
common twenty years ago, but to-day
it is rare in the majors-boozing. Keep
in mind, though, that steady, moderate
drinking gets ball player in the end,
just as sure as boozing Alcohol slows
a man down inevitably, and slowing
down is the reason for the shelving of
by far the majority of players. II you
estimate a clever players years in
baseball at fifteen, why, moderate
drinking will cut off from three to five
years-a third of his life on the
diamond
How One Youngster Was Won Over.
Macks method in dealing with a
youngster is best illustrated by single
example which he cited. Mr.. Needham
quotes Connie as follows:
Going South one spring, | took quite
a fancy to a yOungster who was to be