The Washington herald., 1914-12-27
Fred Clarke Smoothed the
Way For Griffith to Sign
johnson for Washington
Pirates Manager Called on
) Walter IN COfeyWIIe and
Arranged for the Big
Meeting.
OTHER SPORTING GOSSIP
by WILLIAM FEET.

Little by little the facts OF the recent
Walter johnson comeback stunt engi-
neered by Clark Grifith are coming to
light
1t appears that during the big baseball
/ meeting in New York Clark Griffith dug
up his old friend, Fred Clarke, manager
of the Pittsburgh Pirates. and discussed
with him the Walter Johnson-jumping-
to-the-Feds incident.
Il have a letter in my pocket now,
said IGriff, from Johnson in which
Walter says he is sorry he acted so
hastily, and, I believe that If I could
4 only talk to Walter everything would be
all right"
Fred Clarke and Grin promptly got
their heads together and little deal was
neatly framed up.
On his way home Clarke agreed to stop
) over in Coffeyville, see Waiter Johnson,
and arrange for meeting if Walter was
willing.
Clarke made good his word He spent
a day with Johnson on the Coffeyville
farm and before leaving that night wired
Grifffth as follows: Meet party in -
Hotel, Kansas City, Saturday. Every
thing o. X"
1t was upon the receipt Of this mes
sage that Grid jumped out of town at a
minutes notice without a word of warn
ing and insisted upon secrecy as to his
movements.
Secrecy was necessary because if the
Federal League got wind OF the meeting,
Griffs move might have been check
mated
1t seems that Walter was in a very re-
ceptfve mood when Fred Clarke dropped
on the train for a chat and readily
agreed to meet Grifith and talk things
over,
That Fred Clarke wired the Old Fox
to see Party was understood between
the managers beforehand. as the tele-
graph operator in Coffeyville Is a news
paperman and had Walter Johnson's
name been mentioned the chances are
that the story would have been flashed
all over the country.
But for the friendship existing between
GriE and Fred Clarke, the chances are
that Waller johnson would today be out
side the fold Of organized baseball and
the Washington ball club is lucky in pos
sessing a manager able to summons such
friends as Fred Clarke to cooperate with
him during these troublous times.
That the various organized baseball
managers and magnates have buried the
hatchet for fair, agreed to stick together
and fight the sO-called outlaws, is shown
concIusiveIy in the little favor Clark
Grifith slipped to Pat Moran, the re-
Gently elected pilot of the Phillies.
At this same New York meeting Grin
and Moran talked over the baseball stu
alton. and Moran vouchsafed the infor-
nation that Dode PaskeTt, his outfelder,
was dickering with the Feds.
Grin told Moran that he would write
Paskert a letter. giving that young man
a lot of good advice and at the same time
asking him to LAY or the Feds for the
present.
No sooner had Griffth reached W
, ington than ne received a telegram from
Moran, with a request to wire at once
the information to Paskert that if he
would come East at a certain date and
talk with President Baker, Of the Phil
lies. everything would be Strengthened
out.
Paskert once played for Grfff in Cincin-
natl and the two have always been great
friends, with the result that Paskert
needed the advice handed out by the
Old Fox. stopped his negotiations with
the Feds saw President Baker, and
signed Philadelphia contract
Its pretty hard 10 beat this organized
baseball combination when the magnates
OF both leagues get together for a COM
mon cause. Here's case OF National
League manager smoothing the path for
Grifith in the johnson controversy, and
of Grffffth, an American League man,
helping the PhiIlies TO keep a star from
falling into the meshes of the Outlaws
The following from the pen of Billy
Weart, baseball writer on the Philadel-
piia Evening Telegraph, is Of more than
passing notice. He says:
according to Frank G. Menke, who
writes for a syndicate, the Federal League
is now as classy. If not a little more so.
in matter of playing talent, as the Ameri-
can League or the National League.
Menke has gone through the lists OF the
three leagues, and, after sitting out the
weaklings, comes to the conclusion that
there are twenty-four stars in the Federal
League, twenty-five in the American
League, and twenty in the National
League.
Here is Menke's list: