The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-03
NJ CORNELIUS McGILLICuDDY
connie Mack,
NJ the Athletics.
Dictated by Him Personally.

nag ~ The AthIetics.
Dictated by Him Personally.
I have been asked time and again to
explain why I broke up the Athletics
and why it Is that we are not up IN the
fight for the American League pennant.
IN only answer ! can give is that l
was caught mapping. 1t may sound
egofistical. but | want to say hat
broke up the greatest baseball machine
ever put together. The Athletics were
the greatest machine OF all time, be-
cause thu had longer TO go than any
of the other famous machines in base
ball. When the team was broken up 1t
was in n position where 1t could have
gone along winning pennants for about
FIVE years, had not n combination OF
circumstance compelled me to tear
apart a team that II took much effort
70 put together.
Three separate machines | have built.
and | will nave another in two years
that will be greater than the one ! just
broke up. | was prepared for the break
ing up OF the two other combinations
because the men were older and l saw
them slipping. With my 1914 team
there was no sign of decay when ! had
TO break up the cam. i hated to do II
before | had prepared and laid my lines
for a new combination, but somebody
was forced to lead the way In preventing
the ruin OF baseball, n ! think In a
few years the fans will look back and
say that | was not such "A bad fellow
and will agree with me.
The claim has been made that l
broke up my team for the sake of econ
omy. In fact. you annot convince
some people that l did not. so / do not
bother trying. The Federal League
wrecked my club by completely chang
Ing the spirit of the players. After that
change am there was nothing for me
TO do but protect myself and the club.
Before last season the boys thought
only of victories. but when the Federal
League agents started Offering salaries
all out Of proportion they forgot there
was something else besides money In the
world.
They say I like money too much.
Well. If half of the people who make
this claim were as poor as / am they
would have my sympathy. I turned
down propositions from the two biggest
baseball cities in the country in order
TO remain with the Athletics and !
would rave been independently wealthy
- ha' seSpA'u Wv ms ~ VI
now I have absolutely nothing. can
recall meeting a bunch of newspaper
boys in the lobby of the Aston House
during the winter of 1913. when the
Athletic club was giving Its banquet on
winning the worlds championship. The
discussion of baseball turned to the
financial end Of the game n one of
them intimated that | had made n for
tune out of the game. / said Boys, I
hone / wont die fn-mDrroW bapansa fha
people would say, What did he do with
his money! That Is the truth.
Reasons for the Break.
Money had nothing TO do with the
breaking up of my team. except that I
saw the time had come when some Of
the players thought OF nothing but
money and sooner or later the team
must go to pieces. 7 thought il all over
spd decided hat the break had better
come right away. l want to say there
was no chance for me to hold any of the
players | let 20. They were respon-
sible for the breaking up of the famous
machine and not the club or its policies.
Famous baseball machines go through
Q strange process which ] cannot clearly
explain. The Baltimore Orioles. a won
dsful machine of the latter '9Os.
went to pieces through this strange feel
ing that crops out in great clubs. AL
most all of that famous team came to
believe they knew as much as Manager
Hanlon and that they had made him.
They also seemed to think that they
were ready for managerial positions.
AS 1t happened some of them were quail
ihtd. but that feeling broke up that
team. When any great club goes along
fof about five years, sweeping every
thing before IL, the feeling tina. they ar.
the important cogs in the machine crops
out IN certain players and then jeal-
ousy and dissension arise.
The Cubs went the same road as the
orioles II was o veteran team and
many OF the men began to believe
Chance did not know any more about
the game Than they did md they came
To think that he was not a necessity.
The men gradually drifted away. as
they were cultivating different IDEAS.
The break naturally had to come when
that team apir!t disappeared and so
both the Oriolc and Cub teams went 70
Pieces fast, just a year or two before
their time.
Ny team was a little different In
TINS respect, as none Of the boys seemed
10 have any ambition 10 become "A man
ager, That was probably due TO the
faCt that they were yuuurcr and had
not begun 10 think about the day when
they would no longer be able 10 play
regularly. That is why my .clIn was
tie greatest OF them all II could have
gone on longer than the other famous
machines before f., but II Wal, SLOWLY
. ard surely heading toward the same
rocks.
had no waning of the approaching
= storm and therefore had not laid nv
Ices as ] had In lhc pest. In 1907 we
were in the fght right down to the wire
in fact Detroit DID not catch us until
the last three weeks Of the season %.
Ing into first plac" tho dav following
the famous seventeen inning ii. game,
10 be exact, Even though We we're nm
there | knew We We're Slipping and
were therefore prepared.
How Champions ire Made.
while the night was hottest I sllpped
IN time and again and got the men
that ] believed ! needed to fiji the weak