The Washington times., 1922-08-20
PHIL GRAVES
TO PITCH WAY
BACK TO HONOR
Leslie Mann Denies He Re-
ceived Douglas Letter or
Long Distance Phone Call.
By ARTHUR ROBINSON.

u Z " . " - -fH y
.(copyrIght. ns2s. BY universal seryice,)
NEW YORK, Aug. 19.--It was
reported from st. Louis today
that Leslie Mann, the Cardinal
outfielder, had denied it was he
to whom "Shufflin' " Phil Douglas
had written the now famous
Fishing letter."
Mann also denied it was he with
whom Douglas had spoken on
the long-distance phone while in
Boston.
At his home here today Douglas
again discussed the case with Uni.I
versal Service. Less Mann amt
telling the truth when he says II
didn't write him that letter or call
him up, or else somebody got the
letter instead. wrote 1t at the
Giants clubhouse. and gave 1t to the
clubhouse boy to mail special de-
livery. a little before noon.
Boy Mailed Letter. "a
'Tt was addressed 10 Mann at the
clubhouse in Braves field, and when
the boy came back / asked him IL ne
had mailed the letter and he said he
had. After talking to McGraw Il
realized wasn't through with the
Giants, SO when got home the same
day called Mann up at the New
Brunswick in Boston. He wasn't in
at first; when got him at 8 o'clock
he said his wife was sick and he had
been out. .s4s
HE said he hadn't got the letter
yet and that he'd go out to the hall
park and get II II IL was very inn.
portant. He said that maybe the
club secretary had It but he'd tear
n up when he got it." = .'..u
Universal Service today investi.
gated this call, and from Martin
Hummer. superintendent OF the
apartment house in which Douglas
lives, learned that the former Giant
pitcher had put in a long distance
call for Mann on August z, few
hours after he had written tho let.
ter and before Mann had received II.
Amt Got No Kick.
Il amt said McGraw gave me a
dirty deal. as some newspapers re-.
ports have 1t. had gone through
a terrible suspense when wrote
that letter to Mann and amt got
no kick coming. made a mistake
after a drinking party and on top
Of this had been kidnapped. threat
ened with a black jack and then
kept shut up In sanitarium for five
days. Then the club doctor gave
me couple of shots in the arm for
three days" 81.
Douglas exposed his arm and
showed the marks left by the
hypodermic needle. For the first
time since he pitched his last game
on July 81 he appeared to be in
good shape. He conferred with a
lawyer today, and considered the
advisability Of suing the Giants for
the damages accruing from the al
legged kidnapping from the apart
ment Of a friend where he was
found drunk by five detectives.
IF they had let me alone"
Douglas said. "Is probably. would
have come around all right. but
they kidnapped me and put me in
a sanitarium and I was in terrible
shape when I wrote that letter to
Mann" ny arE
Douglas Not. Approached.
Douglas also denied the posses
sion of a letter which 1t had been
reported in Pittsburgh he had from
the author Of an alleged scheme to
beat the Giants out of the pennant
by persuading him to quit the
team. .E f" - r.g. .M-a. -t. @.
"I was never approached by any
body" Douglas said, "and never
spoke to anybody or wrote to any
body. have been clean all my
life, and I just hope to make the
public understand my position and
condition when wrote that letter
to Mann. an a.. '-aHEE.
"If McGraw had only treated me
a little different. I amt got nuthin'
much against him personally, but 1
would have won the pennant for
him IL he hadn't ridden me so hard
after they let n-e out of the sani-
tarium. II / could undo all this that
has happened in the last few days
I'd go into the box every day and
pitch my head off Just to show I
always have bern on the square
and that / was lit up with lRge
when / wrote that drunken fool let
Ia t0 Mann ~ ..H Maa.4 ...H. r..... +. ~