The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1916-02-07
One Fourth of AL N. L..
Pilots Born in Fitchburg

Here is a statistic which is now Of
fered for the first time to palpitat-
ing world:
One-fourth of all the managers of
National League clubs were born in
Fitchburg.
Yes sir. 25 per cent. of the pilots of
the pioneer major circuit got their
mundane start in the Massachusetts,
factory city. Not such a bad batting
average for a town of $4,000 or so,
Ell. what? Fitchburg now boasts of
turning out manufactured goods
worth sixteen millions or billions a
year-the exact figure escapes US
but what is that compared to its out
put of major league leaders,?
OF course, this statistic Whitfield
down, means that F'itchburg is the
birthplace of two-count e'em, two
men who now occupy the seats of the
mighty. Said persons are, namely
and to wit: Patrick j. Moran and
James J. Callahan. Mebbe you think
Cal should be given the, precedence
because of his greater age-he. got
into Fitchburg nearly two annuns be-
fore Pat-but the new skipper of the
Rirate craft may go off and eat his
baISKKet without any further atten-
ton 1s.sen we'uns, because this is Pats
birthday, and we propose to ceIe=
brate it.
And certainly if any man in the
history of baseball deserves aduation
it is this same Patrick. With a club
which all the prophets dismissed a
year ago as a. hopeless a1so-ran, Moran
finished in front and gave the pills
their first flag. He succeeded where
Harry Wright, Arthur Irwin, George
Sta1Hngs, William Shetta1ine, Hugh
Duffy, William Murray and Red Doom
had failed. If the triumph of STALL
where in the dictionary is the word
that fits Pats feat?
Moran passes his fortieth milestone
today, as he was born ongFeb. z, 1876,
the centennial year of American indie
pendence. AS to his nationality, it
may be said without fear of successful
contradiction that he is neither He
brew, German, nor yet French.
Pats professional career began at
Lyons, in the New York State League
in 1897. He had previously played
semi pro ball with a club in Orange
Mass. He covered the third sack for
the Orange team, but when he went
to Lyons he was put behind the bat
and remained there throughout his
playing career.
In 1899 Moran was hired by the
Montreal Eastern League aggregate on,
and wore the spang1es of the Canadian
metropolis for two seasons before
breaking into the big show with the
Boston Nationals. At the close of the
1905 season Boston snapped him to
the Cubs, where he became Noisy
Jawn Kings able ally behind the bat
and helped the Chance machine to
win the pennant. Pat remained with
Chicago four seasons, helping in the
winning of three pennants.
Tt was in 1910 that Charley Doom,
who had just succeeded to the Philly
management, decided that he needed
Moran in his business, and made a
deal whereby he secured the services
of the man destined to be his sue
cessor.
The Phi1lies have had what seemed
ed by far the strongest club in the
National League several tiraes in their
history but it remained for Pat
Moran, with what seemed, except for
Alexander and two or three others,
a bunch of weak SISTERS, to grab aft
the gonfalon of glory. Wherefore.
since we all love a winner, we all join
in wishing Pat many happy returns
of teh day.