East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1915-06-17
FANS NEVER FORGET
BONEHEAD PLAYS OF
BIG LEAGUE FELLOWS
MERKLE'S STUNT, HAPPENING
YEARS AGO, STILL HURLED
AT PLAYER.
Laughing Larry Doyle is Latest
Now to be Declared Guilty Of
ThOughtless Act But it is Not Re-
membered 50 Distinctly as Merkle's
Latter Lost a Pennant.
BY BARRY FARIS,


/ Omitted Press Staff Correspondent
NEW YORK, June 17.-Fred Mer-
kle pulled a boner" that cost the
New York Giants a pennant That
was years ago but the fans have
never forgotten. "Boneheadn is hurl-
ed at him to this day Laughing
Larry" Doyle was guilty of a thought
less act fully as bad or worse than
Merkle's a couple Of weeks ago but
already his lapse of memory has been
I forgotten. 1t came in game that
did not count Which causes one
to think that, after all, it isn't what
YOU do that hurts-it is when YOU do
it.
Merkle's bone" as is we'll known
was in forgetting to touch second in
order to complete a play, Doyle's
stunt was an even more glaring piece
of stup.dness. With a man on third
and one out Doyle hit a long fly to the
outfield in recent series at Boston
The man on third-Burns-da for
the plate after the ball was caught
sure to score. Doyle rounded first
just as the ball was thrown in from
the outfield. The ball came directly
at him and he reached out and caught
it, tossing ii to a Boston player. Inn
mediately a protest was lodged with
the umpire, who thereupon called
Burns out because Doyle had inter-
fered with the ball.
Doyle. who has been one of the Ma
tional league stars for years, had no
alibi He frankly admitted he had
been guilty of a "boner." His only ex-
PLANTATION was that he thought as
Burns had crossed the plate the play
was completed and that his touching
the ball would have no effect
Had Doyle's play been made in a
worlds series game, as Merkle's was
he would have been marked for the
remainder of his baseball career. He
would have taken Merkle's place in
the gallery of bonehead plays. But as
Il was done in just an ordinary. every.
day battle, it quickly slips frim sight
and thought.
1t is almost a settled fact that Jess
Willard and Jim Coffey are to meet in
a ten round argument at the Brighton
Beach arena on Labor Day. The
horde of managers and promoters en-
tangled in guiding Wizards affairs
have been dickering with Promoter
Harry Pollok and Coffey's manager
Billy Gibson. and have about agreed |
on terms. Coffey is recuperating fol-
lowing his hand-busting contest with
Jim Flynn and it is understood he
won't battle before the Labor Day
date so as to be certain that he won't
run a chance of losing and thereby
kill himself as an opponent for John
sons conqueror.
A Wllard-Coffey bout now-especi-
ally a ten round affair-seems mighty
futile. That the champion will win
seems a certainty. Coffey's showing
against the battle-scarred veteran,
Jim Flynn. showed that he is no
match at least now, for the title
holder. Willard is heavier, taller. a
harder puncher and able to take more
punishment than the big Irish bat
tier. In his clash with Flynn, Coffey
gave indications of having a glass
paw. When Flynn caught him with
a swing Coffey zig-zagged around and
considerably dazed. Flynn's
poor judgment of distance is all that
saved Coffey from knockout. Flynns