The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-09-03
Crystal Gazer Prophesies Cub Victory SPOR
Corbett's Daily Letter
 On Great Sport Topics
By JAMES J. coRnErr

By JAMES tNoto: This is the second and final chapter of the interview with James Wood. witch tells about the exposure ot players Craver. Hall and Devlin in 1875, which resulted in their expulsion from the game and drove crookedness out of baseball for all time.)
 As soen as the full significance of the telegrans came to me-" continued Mir. Wood. "i made up my mind to trick the gamblers into financial downfall. So, instead of Delivering the messages kept them myself and said nothing to my two players aEoue them.
 The Louisville team arrived the nex; day and I carefully herded my boys tc- gether So that none of them ould come in contact with the crooked Louisville players, and so let the Louisville player s learn thar the telegrams had not been delivered.
 During the morning I had one of my friends circulate among the poolrooms or Chicago and get as much information as possible. He reported back that the poolroons were filled with lot Of strangers who were eager to bet on the Louisville team. He told me that ths odds had opened at to 1 on Chicago to win the series but that with heavy plunging the out of town gamblers nao driven the odds down to to 1 and ii some places to l. He had conversation With one or the bookmakers in one ot the biggest poolrooms that operated at that time in Chicago, and the bookmaker told him that he never before had seen such heavy plunging on the outcome Of any series
 All of this convinced me that the gam. blers apparently had figured it that Craver had successfully engineered the deal with the two players on my team and that everything was fixed for Louisville to win the series. So the crooks were bet ting every dollar they had on the Ken lucky club to win. And, to be frank, tnis news save me immense delight. Tue gamblers had trimmed the public Ions enough. 1 vas anxious to see those W 10 had been fleeced get chance to win back little of their money from the men who figured that they were betting on a sure thiEg.
 T kept my boys under cover almost until game time, and just as they were about to leave the dressing room for tse playing field l gathered them together.
 Boys I said, the gambling clique figures on making a ciean up in this series. They hoped that they could use some of you boys as tools to throw the game and to let Louisville win the series. I'm not making any accusation of crook . edness among you boys. But I do kpow that efforts have been made or will be made to tamper with you.
 And all have to say to you is this:
 TN expel from the team any player who makes an error during the Louisville series, and if his error is of the kina that isn't absolutely inexcusable, I vii! sec to it that he is driven out of baseball and that the newspapers know the reast.n why. Now, boys, go to it and win that series from Louisville in straight games I won't accept any other kind of victory.
 Since tha. time have seen many woE derfull ball games played, but never an? in which players who rose to such sublime heights as my Chicago boys that after noon, and during the other afternoons that constituted the series.s They playtu beyond themselves. They never made an error of head or hand, probably fearing they would be tainted immediately of the suspicion of being crook.
 "Oh yes, Chicago easily triumphed over Louisville in that series, and the gam blers got jolt such as no other clique of crooks ever has experienced.
 "As soon as the series was over, Iswect to William H. Hubert, the president 1f