The Washington times., 1920-08-22
ms Get Into Action---Navy Gridiron Outlook Good
COBB DENIES TALE
CR|T|C|S|NG MAYS
Insists He Never Gave Out Re.
ported interview" Sent
From Boston. 'e'r" ="
By FKANK q. MENke.

NEW YORK, Aug. 22.--fy Cobb
natly and convincingly denied that
he ever uttered one word in Boston
concerhing Ray chapman's death
that was a criticism OF Carl Mays OF
his pitching tactics.
Apparently the Boston and De.
trolt teams have been used by GER
tain Boston newspaper men 10 throw
mud upon Carl Mays" said Cobb.
They don't like Mays in Boston
haven't liked him for a long time
That's no secret. They have been
wanting TO get him, IL seems. but
they didn't have a thing on Carl up
to the unfortunate Chapman incident
when that happened they probab-
ly igured the time had come to dis
credit Mays. and probably drive him
out OF baseball. They wanted some,
body to stand for a story censuring
Mays. They couldn't get IL honor
ably because none OF the Detroit or
Boston players would condemn Mays
so they wrote and printed stories
any way"
TELLS OF INTERVIEW,
Cobb, discussing how he was IN.
terviewed, said. II was called out OF
bed by the telephone very early Tues
udS. HnOi the Olntf
end introduced himself He in
formed me that Chapman was dead
and asked IL / had anything to say.
was shocked. and ] told him so.
said it was a deplorable incident and
the greatest baseball tragedy in my
career.
"phen the man told me that he un-
derstood that the Boston players were
circulating a petition asking" that
, Mays be barred from baseball. be
cause of Chapman's death. He asked
me what / knew about it.
"I told him 1 hadn't heard about II
and that had nothing whatsoever to
say about the matter. / may add that
at the time / wondered whether the
man was telling the truth, as IL
! seemed mighty strange to me that
| the Boston players would be up and
around at o'clock in the morning
circulating petitions
HAD NO OTHER TALK.
THAT conversation was absolutely
| all / had with any newspaper man in
| Boston, and every man on the Detroit
team insists that he didn't talk TO any
reporter. yet it has been stated in
the newspapers that we are going ia
| blacklist Mays. which is an utter,
downright lie"
Cobb took the field at the Polo
grounds yesterday for the inaugural
Yank Tiger duel amid a storm OF
Kisses and boos unlike anything ever
appeared on a ball field. The $4,000
people not knowing that Cobb was
misquoted and that he had never made
denunciation of Mays. They hissed
him on every occasion. ,-,, ..
| But Cobb was unfiustered. He
answered the cataracts of boos which
were accorded to him as he came or
the field by doffing his cap and smil.
| ing to the crowd with every Other
| outburst throughout the game.
| "Cobb's statement is the absolute
| TRUTH" Hughie Jennings told Tilling-
| hast Huston, part owner of the Yarks
He never said a word against Mays
and not one man of my team made
any statement that we wouldn't play
against Mays. 1t seems to me that
the story was sent out by some per
| son or persons who wanted to put
Mays in bad, and used our team and
| the Bostons as the means"
II believe you, and believe Cobb
| replied Huston. "It seems to me that
| a rank injustice has been done to
J. Cobb in particular, and you and ths
Boston team in general by the dis
| tribution country-w wide of a false in
| terview, and will do everything pos
sible to correct the false impression