Evening journal., 1914-12-22
MACK HAS BIC JOB
TO REBUILD machine
Athletic Leader Must Hustle
TO Fill Holes in the
Club
DISSATISFIED
WITH OLD PLAYERS

Now that he has disposed Of Collins,
Bender, Coombs and Plank, and made
a gap in his 100000 infeld and hole
a mile wide in his pitching staff, the
fans are beginning TO wonder what
steps he will take 20 nil the vacancies
The Philadelphia supporters of the
Athletics took the matter in mild
sort of way aud have confidence enough
IN the leader of the Athletic clan TO
dispense with worry, but this will
hardly prevent them from banning
Mack If he falls down this coming
aeasOn.
Back in 1905 Connie won pennant.
In 1906 his machine began to skid
and wheeze loudly in the joints. SO.
with the exceptions OF Bender and
Plank. he scattered the old guard
broadcast. Seybold, Hartzel, the two
Crosses (Lave and Monte) and most
of the others were retired. Danny
Murphy was shifted from second to
the outfield and by 1910 Mack had os-
tablished his present guard.
Then came the shock. Connie had
one of the greatest machines
baseball had ever known. Not
only that. but this machine was
young and good for any number of
pennant years. Within five years il
won four ponnants and three world
championships-a record never equal
ed, although the Cubs came close
with with four pennants and two
championships But where the Cubs,
Giants, Tigers. etc. in their pennant
years were big moneymakers. Mack's
organization of speed and power and
brains never was. The Mackmen, for
some queer reason, were never big
cards at the gate-as nearly as big as
they should have been.
On trip after trip Connie took his
world champions, with Baker and
Collins and all the rest. TO New York
TO meet the Yanks and play TO 1000
souls or less. And a few days later
Hughey Jennings and his Tigers,
perhaps down I'm the second division,
would go there and play to 5000 or
5000 Mack couldn't understand IT,
IL was over his head-and It takes
a high one to sell over Comics
DOME
With a machine certainly no better
Charley Murphy a.-d other Cub stock
holders acquired a fortune. But IL
is understood that I'm the last five
years OF wonderful success Athletic
owners have made less than per
cent on their investment, which in
tho main includes the money spent
on Shibe park Last season even
with ponnant winner Connie lost
$4,000 on the year This may be an
eNaggeration. but It Is certain enough
lao 40
Several reasons have been adj
vanced for the poor drawing qualities
Of the the passing machine. The
main one was lack of color--of mag
netism All the Mackmen were able
to do was TO play baseball. Their
uniforms resembled mixture of
, sackcloth and ashes wrapped around
the human frame. There were few
visible signs of aroused activity save
in the pursuit of their profession.
About all they did was TO hit a base
ball. throw II or catch il. And they
did that better than anyone else.
Anyway, there was a vast differ
ence in the attractiveness OF the
/ Mackmen and the old Cubs. Chances
old machine had far keener grip on
public affection and interest II may
not have been a greater machine. but
! il had more magnetism in a day than
! the Mackmen ever gathered in five
/ years The old Cubs had something
the Mackmen never approached-and
! this was personality of an unusual
] tyne The Mackmen we're merely a
machine. And the human side OF
this machine was rarely in evidence.
They were poor advertisers.
There was color and personality TO
tho Tiger machine of l907-1909. The
Giants had plenty of IT, Neither of
these machines had anything APP
preaching the ball playing ability of
the Mackmen. But a good many
more people wanted TO pay money TO
see Tigers. Giants and Cubs play
And the peculiar part of all this Is
that Mack's club carried the one in
GrCdiont thai leads all others in fan
popularity ability to hit that
pill. Batting is the most popular
department OF the game. IL was In
bait Ig that the Mackmen cxcelled
They had I'm Collins one of the
leagues leading hitters, and in Baker
the leagues premier slugger. And
yet with all this. they failed TO draw
So there is little wonder that Con.
mic is planning TO arrange a new
cast A club owners business in thu
main is supposed TO be TO provide
his patrons what they desire. In
this respect II seems that Connie ha.
failed. Mack himself is an icicle--
both N degree of temperature an,
share. He has fine qualities, but h
raGiates no warmth and less of cheer
AS fine leader as he is, he Ia!
lacked the ability TO make people l,lg'
him-or hate him-as they liked d
hated McGraw and Stallings and 9th
er5. We have seen the ball park il
visiting cities packed with peopl
who came out to see the Giants beat
en- because most of them hated Nc
GraW. There was something defnit
attached TO his case. The only thin
definite about Mack, outside OF hi
ability, is his aloofness and silence.
Mack is the type that should hav
succeeded above all others if IN
highest doctrines of sportmanshi