The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1914-04-05
indian Chief VIII Arrive Tomorrow
and Send Out Trans
portation to the
Players.
PAST RECORD is GOOD
Has Made Great Success as Manager
and Player During the
Past Fifteen
Years.

A few days more and local baseball
dope viii be written in the past tense
instead Of the future. Manager Alb
bott is slated to arrive from Topeka
tomorrow morning. Immediately up
on his arrival he together with Sterne
and Baker will look over the con-
tracts held by the local club, prune
down the list to comfortable size.
and send out transportation.
A few days later and the boys will
begin to arrive on every train. The
pitchers, and those recruits whose
ability is of an uncertain nature, will
be ordered to report at once. The
others will report few days later.
This will give Abbott time to get a
line on the new men before the others
arrive and demand all OF his time.
Bugs who have followed the for
tunes Of the Indians during these
many years past have expressed con-
siderable doubt as to Just where the
local team will hang out on the per-
centage column when the season
drifts out into the middle OF the sched-
ule. The doubts come mostly from
the fact that Abbott is a stranger in
the Central association.
Fans Question Ability.
Some say he will underestimate
the strength of this league, and for
that reason Will not build up strong
fooy win i,, e.
Others wonder how he happened to
get out of job If he was any good
as a manager. More bleacher par
asites ask If he knows anything about
baseball club, and want
to know whether or not he Is a good
player.
The only available dope on Abbott
Or the kind of team he will put in
the field depends on records made in
the past. AS far as the team goes,
the fact that nearly all are new men
in this league is a matter OF little
concern. Minor league teams are
nearly always composed of new men
at the start of the season, and they |
should be. You can tell very little |!
about them before the season gets |
under way. The manager is far and |
away the biggest consideration on a |
minor league team.
Team Depends on Abbott
So the matter drifts down to Abbott |
and we look him up. Abbott was out
Of job when he came here and |
signed up. He was out of job be-
cause the league in which he was |
a club broke up. His club
was at the top Of the league when
the catastrophe occurred.
He has been managing baseball T.
teams for the last fifteen years. He
has managed clubs in the Northern |,
league, in the Western league, in the
Union association, and in the South
ern California league. Many gonfal.
ons have waved over teams he man.
aged, and it was seldom indeed that |!
his team dropped below second or
third place.
AS a player he has an envfable rec
ord behind him. During his time as
player he has batted a grand average
Of over .275. On a number Of occs- Il
sions he has lead his league IN field
ing and base running. Last year was 4
one of his best years His batting |!
average was $40, his fielding average /
500, and he pilfered 4S bases. That's
A pretty good record for any old ball
player to make and indicates that he
still has a good game or so in his
system.
Not . Stranger Here.
Everybody knows that any man who
las been managing baseball teams
Is long as Abbott has, knows a. good 4
ieal about other minor leagues than 1
he ones he has played in. Abb has
rad his eye on the Central associa-
ion for some time and has number
If friends playing in this circuit. He
and Doc Andrews used to swap Star !
and Horse Shoe in the good old days
back at Topeka. So it looks like he !
ought to know about what he is !
Ducking up against.
Anyway, he gets here tomorrow. If !
he meets with anything like the ap-
prevail he met in other cities where !
he played or managed teams, he ought |
to stand ace high with every fan in !
town.
-Raad To;