The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1915-03-25
MANAGERS Put
BAN ON POKER
IN ALL CAMPS
Losses Cause Ill Feeling and
Differences Among Play
ers-Leaders Try to Pro
hibit Use of Tobacco.
eY FRANK q. MENkE,
Sporting Editor Of the international
News Service.

news service.
Poker. as form Of diversions. Is
disappearing from the baseball train
Ing camps. In the few camps where
the managers still permit the "old
army" game. the limit is limited
usually to ten cents.
Managers have found that stiff limit
poker games lead to heavy losses and
resultant i'll feeling among the play
ers which lessons the harmonious con-
dition necessary for ball clubs sue
cess.
The ban wat placed on dice games
long ago Some players still indulge
they cannot subdue the gambling
fever. And they do 1t secretly.
Play for Cent Bets.
Pinochle for small stakes, hearts at
penny heart, rum at a penny a
point and casino for five cents a game
are played quite generally in the
camps where the managers have not
placed the ban on all card games. But
run.
The Browns are not permitted to
gamble. either ON training trips or dur
Ing the regular season. George
Stovall. manager OF the Newark Fed
erals has ruled against poker So
has Joe Tinker. of the Chicago
Whales. Clarence Rowland. of the
Chicago White Sox forbids poker play
ing The Cubs haven't played poker
openly for couple OF years. Lee
Magee OF the Brooklyn Feds, permits
poker playing-but the limit must be
very small
A haff dozen other managers have
ruled against poker playing and it is
a noticeable fact that there is better
feeling among the men on those clubs
than there is In clubs where poker
games with still limits are allowed.
Used to Play Hard.
In the old days. and even up to a
few years ago, some mighty stiff
poker games were played among the
ball players. One Chicago American
League pitcher won over 800 on a
single trip from Chicago to Boston,
and during that season the same play
er's winnings tOtalled around $1,000.
The heaviest loser was a pitcher who
was a recruit that year-but now a
regular. He lost nearly $500 from the
time the training camp opened until
June 1st--a sum equal to his earnings
up to that time.
Some years ago in the Giants train
iEg camp crap games were staged
openly. But McGraw put the ban on
the game. Despite this crap was play
ed under cover one day last spring
with the result that one player lost
something like 5000 in couple OF
hourss The losses OF one pitcher at
craps over a weeks stretch are said
tv have totalled more than $500.
There have been times-and not SO
long ago-when 81, So and table stake
poker was played and when there was
from $50 to $500 at stake on the single
role of the dice. But those times are
no more.
The managers this year have start
ed general crusade against cigarette
smoking. They assert that cigarettes
shorten the wind and thus shorten an
athletes career and lessen his effect
iveness. But the managers are find.
ing the no-smoke rule q hard one to
enforce. The players don't mind the
nopoker rule so much but it's differ
ent as to smoking. That has become
maitland hard one for them to
break. Publicly they observe the rule
but in the seclusion of their rooms or
In some other place where the man.
ayers eyes do not penetrate they make
up for lost time.