Omaha daily bee., 1916-06-11
PLAYER MANAGER THROUGH
Charley Hersog is the Only Playing
Manager Left in Big Leagues
Today, as
BENCH BOSS PROVES BETTER

New York, June 10.-The reign of
the player-manager in base ball is
rapidly drawing to a close. There
was a time when he held his own in
the big show, but now manag-
ing from the bench is in vogue, and
with the coming Of another season
or two the player-manager will be
an unknown quantity-he will be
relic of the past.
Various reasons can be advanced
why this Is true. In the first place,
good managers are not to be found
in every nook and Granny. On the
contrary, they are few and far be-
tween, and for this reason owners of
clubs have seen no reason why they
should change managers simply be-
cause the incumbent decided that he
could no longer stand the pace as
player and RELOCATED himself to
the bench. A good manager is price
less, and while new players can be
found it is far more difficult to find
good managers. y
There is another side to it. The
impression is gaining among the
owners of base ball clubs that there
is a deal of truth in the old adage
that a man cannot do two things at
once. They are beginning to be-
lieve that the playing of ball play
er is affected to no little extent when
he is burdened with the duties of
manager at the same time. Some
times both ends of his work suffer
as result.
Not many Erred" Clarkes, Fielder
Joneses and Frank Chances (when
Fielder Jones was playing and man
aging the Chicago White Sox, when
Clarke was playing and managing the
Pittsburgh Pirates, and when Chance
was leading the Chicago Cubs, flash
across the base ball horizon. They
were exceptions. /
A few years ago easily half the
teams in the major leagues were led
by playing managers, but now Char
ley Herzog Of the Cincinnati Reds
has the distinction of being the only
real out and out playing manager.
While Miller Higgins Of the St.
Louis Cardinals may get into a few
games, he is no longer the regular
second baseman of his team.
All the. Go Once.
At one time in the games his
tory the playing manager was all
the go, and it was seldom that a
bench manager worked himself into
the game. Frank Selee and Med"
Hanlon were a couple of the great
bench managers of the time before
the American league.
From the time the Ban johnson
circuit started until the present day
the playing and bench managers usu-
ally were closely matched until this
season. Now the playing managers
have dropped off the map.
In the season just before the Fed
eral league forced itself into the
limelight 1913 the bench managers
had slight lead, there being nine
against seven. In the National
league the division was equal. Nc
Graw, Stallings, Clarke and Dahlen
were bench warmers, and Tinker,
Evers, Higgins and Doom were
playing managers. In the American
league the bench managers led, five
to four. "Connie" Mack, Jennings,
Griffith, Chance and Callahan were
bench managers, while Stovall, Biz
mingham, Stahl and Carrigan were
playing managers. The last two di-
vided the season in Boston.
Herzog Still Sticks.
Herzog, a playing manager, re-
lieved Tinker in Cincinnati, but
"Charley" almost lost his job last
winter to Jack Hendricks, which
would have ended the playing mana
ger in the big leagues. Evers lost
his job in Chicago, being succeeded
by flank" O'Day, a benchie. Bres-
nahan, playing manager, succeeded
O'Day, but Roger is now succeeded
by zoe" Tinker, who is a bench
manager. Doom was replaced by
"Pat" Moran in Philadelphia.
In the American league Branch
Hickey won Stovall's job in St. Louis;
zoe" Birmingham quit playing be-
fore he lost out to Lee Fohl, and
"Bill" Carrigan says he is through as
a player.
The greatest playing managers Of
the last decade were Franz Chanee