The New York herald., 1922-08-18

GLAD TO BE RID OF
DOUGLAS S'--M'QUADE
Treasurer Of Giants Says Club
Acted at Once in
Pitchers Case.

without doubt Douglas when right
is one of the greatest pitchers In the
game but we are glad to get rid OF him. :
said Magistrate McQuade. treasurer of
the Giants. at the Polo Grounds yester-
day. "ae was far moro trouble to John
McGraw than the public can appreciate.
When we got the goods on Douglas we
did not wait day. We acted as quickly
as possible to get him off the roster OF
the club and out of the game. ! have
no sympathy for the man.--not after
the way he treated US ana the way We
treated him."
who was the player to whom Douglas
wrote that discriminating letter?' we
asked. The Judge smiled. I'VE cannot
d!vuIge the name of the player or even
the name of his club. II would serve no
good purpose and might harm tho
player. No doubt the public would like
TO know but we must maintain secrecy
about that" he said.
1t Is regarded as quite certain that
the player in question Is member of
the Cardinals. Douglas knew jeff
Pfeffer pretty well, having played with
him on the Brooklyn club but there
Is no assurance that Pfefter was the
man to whom Phil sent the letter.
Fans Pity Douglas.
The fans here were inclined to pity
Douglas yesterday and regard him as
the simple tool of a gang of gamblers
who gave him no money but plenty of
bad advice. 1t was felt by many that
even IL Douglas had not written that
fetter he should have been barred from
the major leagues for his periodical abb
sences at the most critical times for the
Giants.
At the Douglas apartment on West
1S1st street last night Phil arrived. from
Pittsburgh and shut himself In. A tear
full wife and two wondering little girls
greeted the errant and foolish pitcher.
hoping against hope that 1t would all
turn out a mistake and that he would
be permitted to pitch for some other
club. If he is barred Phil may have tn
go back to that power house In Tracy
City, Tenn.--no world series money, no
big salary-forgotten
.'He is the victim OF frameup I
know he is, and we are making an in
vestigatlon," said Mus. Douglas.
McGraw's Punishment of Phil Douglas
Is the fulfllment of a threat which
the manager Of the Giants made
to the big right handler when he Joined
the club at San Antonio last spring.
Douglas was holdout and finally
asked what the club would offer in the
way of salary. McGraw wired him that
his salary would have to be contingent
on his behaving and that If he DID
not intend to behave he was not wanted
at all. IF you treat US the way you
treated US last year we will drop you
quick" McGraw told Douglas. And
noxu phil bas baap dropped
Douglas Victim of "Friends."
Douglas apparently was the victim OF
INSCRIPTIONS "friends" who always
swarmed around him when the biggest
series were due and they got him Into
many bad scrapes with the club. Douglas
fell from grace twice recently, when the
Giants needed him most. He came back
for day and then disappeared again.
The disappearing act came to be a
regular thing with Douglas every time
the New Yorks wanted his services
most He disappeared In 1919 at the
time OF the big series with Cincinnati
and showed up iINChicago at the end of
the season. McGraw took him back. He
disappeared after the big series with
| the Pirates last season--but again Nc
Graw took him back.
Wilbert Robinson could not handle
Douglas after he got him from the
Reds and the Cubs could not handle
Douglas after they got him from the
Dodgers. 1t was admitted that he was
one of the best pitchers in the game
/ hut always tough problem.