Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-09-18
GRIFFITH PUTS BAN
UPON CIGARETTES
viii Not Tolerate Use by His
Players in the
Future.
NATIONALS ARE AWARDED
TWO PLAYERS BY DRAFT
Names Will Not Be Announced as
Yet Because of Fear of
Federal League.
BY J. ED GRILLo,

| Griffith has put the ban on cigarettes.
In the future no player that uses
cigarettes can draw a salary from the
Washington club. This rule is to go
in effect by next season. Griffith
made this known to those members
of his team today, so that they might
prepare themselves during the winter
| and be total abstainers by the time
| they report in the spring.
| II am convinced that our failure to
! come up to expectations this season
has been largely due to the fact that
some of the players on whom I de-
pended were cigarette fends.' said
Griffith this morning. There will be
no more of it. Any player who insists
on smoking cigarettes is through. so
far as the Nationals are concerned.
and that goes so long as 1 am man
| ager Of the team. No man in ath-
| letics for a living can use them. I
don't object to cigars, but cigarette
smokers l am through with
The Washington club has been
awarded two outfielders by the ma
| tional commission through the draft
route, but their names will not be
| made known until their signatures
have been affixed to contracts call
| ing for their services for next season.
| In order to thwart the scheme of the
Federal League, which proposed to
go out and sign all the players that
| the major league might draft from the
minors, the names of the players SO
| allotted are not made public until the
club having drafted them has gotten
| them under contract
Griffith has been notified of the two
tracts, but will not make known their
| names until he has them signed and
out of the reach of the outlaw league
| Aside from the fact that Jack Bent
/; ley was bit wild in the opening in
ming yesterday, he pitched very
clever game of ball, and incidentally
showed himself to be hitter of more
with clean singles the first two times
up. Bentley gives every indications OF
| rapidly developing into left-hander
who can be relied upon to win a ma
jority of his games, and he ought to
be lot better next season than he Is
now.
| Pick, the Toronto infielder. arrived
| here late yesterday afternoon and he
Will make his first appearance in a
Washington uniform today. He Is a
| nice looking, clean cut young fellow.
against the Browns today. He has
been advertised and the chances are
| that the crowd in attendance will be
considerably larger than it has been
in some days. Crowds are not often
large at the Browns grounds these
days, though. The teams low standing
has discouraged the bugs, but a spe-
cial attraction still brings them out.
It is not unlikely that the Nationals
will be asked to play three double
headers in row. They have one here
Saturday and another in Chicago Sun
day, while Griffith is under the impress
sion that the third one will be played
two postponed games with the Sox. One
which was not finished in Washington,
and the other which was prevented by
rain in Chicago on the last trip.
stretched out, with single games Mon
day. Tuesday and Wednesday, for
Wednesday is an off day. and
the team could easily remain in
poor attendance about the only
chance to get a crowd is by Offering
bargain bills, SO the chances are the
three double-headers will appear in a
on the pitching staff. but the ever-will-
ing Altrock has come to Grifhth's res
cue and has volunteered to pitch one
Of the games against the White Sox, if
he is allowed to rest for couple of
days prior to the game. and he guar
antees to win it, too. Griffith may be
forced to accept Nick's proposition
Mike Mitchell was out of the lineup
yesterday. Mike hurt his right wrist
sliding several days ago, and 1t inter-
feres with his hitting, SO Griffith will
give him a few days rest. Shanks took
his place, and while he did not get a
hit he landed on the ball hard most of
the time His line drive in the first in
ming, which Shotten muffed. helped ma
| terially in getting the Nationals a good
lead.
Branch Hickey must be given credit
| for having good ideas about conducting
his bail team. hickey is having all the
youngsters he has purchased and Sc
cured by draft report now. There are
twenty-odd of these, and every morn
ing he makes up two teams and plays
a full nine-inning game, which Is for
blood. In this way he is getting a line
on his youngsters before the season is
over and he will not have to carry
trainload of material south with him
next spring. Right now these players,
who hail from various minor leagues,
are in the best possible condition and
are able to give the best account of
themselves. 1t is wise move, and
which find themselves in need of a lot
Of new material.
Hickey had seventeen players in his
lineup yesterday and used three others
o.
1t was one of the slowest games played
this season, for it took time to make
changes in the lineup, and the pitch
ers of the Browns, who were being hit
freely, wasted lot Of time stalling.
It seems a pity that man of the age
of Jack Sheridan should be continued
on the umpire staff. Sheridan's work
is simply ridiculous and the crowds are
sympathizing with him. There was one
occasion yesterday when Gandil caught
a runner off first by eight feet by COM
ing up behind him, yet Sheridan called
him safe, and the crowd gave him the
laugh. There is no doubt that Sheri-
dams sight is impaired, yet he is al
lowed to continue on the staff and take
the place of some young man who
might be developed. The American
League certainly can afford to pension
man who has given it the long and
valuable services that has Sheridan,
and it does not seem fair to subject him
to the public gaze now that he has
grown incompetent.
For the double-header which is to be
played here Saturday Griffith will- use
Shaw in the first game, and very likely
Harry Harper in the second. with Joe
Engel in reserve. Then he has to fg-
ure on using two pitchers each Of the
next two days if the White Sox force
| him to play two double-headers in sue
cession in Chicago. This will keep him
! busy figuring how to use his pitchers
| to the best advantage.
Having seen his pitchers hand out
| fourteen passes in two days. Hank
OsDay is strongly in favor Of an anti