The New York herald., 1921-12-06
Babe, Bob Meusel and Piercy
Suspended by Landis for
Exhibition.
TO BE OUT OF SO GAMES
Must Apply for Reinstatement
Before May 80 to Be AL
lowed to Join Yankees.

Special Despatch to THE New Yonx HERALD.
CHICAGO, Dec. 5.-Babe Ruth. great
est home run hitter Of all time; Bob
Meusel, his able and vigorous assistant
in the making of hits and runs. and
Bill Piercy, pitcher. all members of the
New York club of the American
League, stand suspended until May 20,
1872. They are not eligible to repre-
sent the Yankees in exhibitions on the
spring training trip or In American
League championship contests until
they obtain permission from Judge
kenesaw Mountain Lands, Cominis-
sioner of Baseball, who made fnown
his decision to-day.
In addition to suspending the Offend
ers. Judge Lands ordered the with
'holdlng from the three their shares of
the world series money. This means
that Ruth and Meusel will lose s2.362
each and that Piercy will be fined
1892. sums which had been appor-
toned but not paid to them after the
Yankees had been defeated BY the
Giants for the world title last Octo-
Der.
While the players stand suspended un-
til May 20. the decision does no: say
that they Will be reinstated on that day
Judge Landis's verdict says:
There win be an order forfeiting
their share of the world series funds
and suspending them until May 20, 1922,
on which date and within ten days
thereafter they will be eligible TO apply
for reinstatement"
Not Eligible Even on May 20.
This means that several days may
pass after May 20 before the two out
fieiders and the pitcher take the field
for the Yankees. 1t also means that IL
the men decline to take advantage of the
chance to apply for reinstatement within
ten days after May 20 they will be out
for the season. That is the view taken
here.
AS the American League championship
season will be opened on April 12 the
three Yankees will be lost TO trer club
for at least thirty-eight days of tae PEN
nant fight or about one quarter Of the
season
Soon after the world series Ruth.
Meusel and Piercy defled the au-
thority of Judge Lands and started
on Transforming" tour which took in
Buffalo and other New York cities. This
tour. says the Judge IN his decision, in
volved "a mutinous defiance intended by
the players to present the question.
Which rs bigger. organized baseball or
any individual In baseball7"
The players were warned before they
set out that they were breaking a rule
OF the Baseball Commission which sfip-
ulates that after a world series all the
members OF both teams shall plny no
more baseball until the next year To
each player of the two New York clubs
was sent copy Of this rule tho day
after the series closed. and each was re-
quired to sign receipt for that :upy.
After they had cancelled the tour
Ruth. Meusel and Piercy received qucs-
tionnaircs from Judge Landis He asked
why they had made the trip and other
details. Ruth had the good sense 20 re-
ply. Just what he wrote the Commits
sioner has refused TO make public. But
Meusel and Piercy did not send back
their missionaries Ruth later went on
the stage.
Judge Landis declines to make any
comment on the decision. Here II is--it
speaks for itself" he said. Leslie O'Con-
nor, secretary to the Commissioners, also
declined 20 talk about the verdict. mo
doubt some folks viii think the decision
too heavy--some will think II too light"
he replied.
The official text OF the decision fol-
lows
These players were members OF the
New York American League team, n
contestant for the world champion
ship in 1871 Immediately after that
series. wilfully and defiantly, they vio-
lated the rule forbidding their partici-
patton in exhibition games during the
year In which the world championship
was decided.
This rule was enacted In 1911. only
after repeated acts of misconduct by
world series participants made fts
Continued ON Page Nineteen.