The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1921-03-08
lURA SIGNS
a CONTRACT
ARlSLANDERS
= aRrCE COPELAND.

n BRUCE COPELAND.
.hIIoeing Gus" Purpura, de-
W. taaana magnate, crashed in
- - signed contract Yesterday.
~ lsab.ful speculation ~ to
srpcstins in Rock Island, April
" the rest Of McQuillan's
ssnls islanders.
~ vas inclined to see more
4 his bananas than in the
~ offered him several weeks
"a after his old side-kick,
- Nsis, departed from Chicago
~ to Join the Brooklyn club
~ orleans, it is likely that the
= contract began to soar in Gus
stination.
p,,rura's signature on the club
,.smsnt indicates that the left
"a nroblem is just about settled
.sI.ss another iris Speaker-in-the-
.,ssh comes in from haunts o.
-. and bern within the next three
q -four weeks.
Chs is another who Should bene-
i materially from the McQuillan
va of coaching. The swarthy
ixtL grapefruit king is natural
MAR, fielder and base-runner. His
,rsly svats won several games
80 year. while his shoestring
4 .,h in the outfield checked many
I /, ktting rally.
Ic0uillan will permit Gus to
.nschlise as an outfielder this
nj. He will not have to be
stitched from pillar to post as he
ms last season. It is to wonder
mat Gus did as well as the records
show. As an outfielder he should
move one of the most valuable
llayers in the league;
Training Plans.
Manager McQuillan put in an
pther busy session yesterday an
,wering letters and kilograms from
players either signed or seeking
ibis. and cooperating with club Of
fcals in negotiating for improve
nents to Douglas park.
George found time to discuss his
training plans. He figures that the
first 20 days Of April will be time
enough for him to look over the
attire reporting squad of 26 play
ers. On April 20 he plans to reduce
the squad to 16 so as to incur NO
unnecessary expense during the
last 10 days before the season
opens
A high club official expressed
himself yesterday as opposed to the
plan to house the players in scat
tered boarding houses during the
training period. He suggested that
the candidates be accommodated in
the same hotel, explaining that he
believes it would be more provi-
dent in the long run.
The club should have no diff
Guilty in obtaining a reasonable
hotel rate for 20 players and &C
commodate them as moderately as
Il widely separated boarding houses
were to be used.
There is something about a
spring training season, even in the
minor leagues, that makes il
doubly incentive for the players to
live together. Manager McQuillan
hopes to have his regulars ap-
pointed by April 20 and after that
will be time enough for the chosen
ones to find commodious, reason
able living quarters.
Wait on Mclnerney.
Con McInerney is expected to
wing into line, now that Gus
Purpura is no longer a holdout. Con
ID one bird who will incur the close
scrutiny Of his boss, il he cashes in
With his contract. The manage
nnent made him a fair offer and it is
not believed that he will resist
much longer.
McInerney drew a lot OF panning
last year because many believed he
could not hit with any degree OF
consistency. 1t is granted, however,
that Con is above the average
brand of fielding. The writer is
fully convinced that the big smil-
ing harp will prove as good hitter
in the league under suitable condi-
tons.
1t Is likely that many Of McIn-
erney's critics forget that he re-
ported for practice last year as an
inexperienced player, but one who
showed unusual batting ability
The fact that he broke his leg and
was idle two months Is also prob
ably forgotten.
Mac" returned in a weakened
condition. The club was democrat
iied and it took him several weeks
70 recover his natural stride and
ms batting eye. But he found
lnem, eventually, batting well over
'sW in the last three weeks Of the
season when his extra base drives
featured almost every game.
Some Comparisons.
Ben Smith also suffered q
broken leg, but unlike McInerney
sen had to be coaxed back into the
Iolo to finish the season; and even
taen he failed to help the team be-
cause he was afraid to take a
rnance with his weakened limb
nut Ben was regarded as a finished
inter and drew no panning.
When Smith broke his leg hi
vas batting at . .342 clip, whereas
Acinerney had small chance tc
snow what he could do. Smith
came back and his batting mari
,eil 10 .3l4, slide Of Is points. Nc.
.uerney stuck 1t out on his nerve
aIng the widest chances with his
nNred leg both ON the bases and
~ me held. But he proved he wa.
90 nash Or false alarm. and that ht
could hit.
Manager McQuillan wishes Il
~ mr himself and 20 he will Civ,
sAnetney q thorough going over
az told the writer last season tina,
&c believes Con has the makings o.
. finished product, but there Il