Norwich bulletin., 1922-01-25
WALSH WILL HAVE
 FANS BEHIND HIM

When Big Ed Walsh, former prlos of Chicago's baseballdon, saunters out toward first base to make his debut as an American League umpire he will have four of the greatest assets a new ar rival can posses. They are the conf denct Of the fans, wonderful record as a pitcher, the friendship of the players and confidence in himself.
 Somebody may rise to ask If knowl- edge of the playing rules is not ese chief requisite for an umpire, but such a question: can be squelched by the statement fthat that is less important than the our assets mentioned in the first paragraph. No one can play base ball as long sas Ed Walsh did with out acquiring a thorough working knowl- edge of the playing rules. There may be hundreds of rooterss who have made study of the code and could tangle Walsh up offhand, on technicalities or amaginary plays. But not one of these rule sharks could go out on a major | league diamond and get by as easily as Ed Walsh will at the start.
 No matter if non-player has been lthe best umpire in~the minor leagues for years, and can repeat the baseball rules backwards with his eyes shut. he is bound to have 8 touch time making good with major league fans and players. | Billy Evans, who is today the most pop ular arbitrator with both specta tors and | fans, had his head cut open by a pop i bottle thrown by an irate St. Louis bug | early in his career, but Evans stuck l on the job and made everybody like i him. If he had been a star player his task would have been Infinitely easier.
 Bill Dineen, himself a great pitcher, broke into the arbit ating ranks With l out any such troubles. Dineen once said 1 the players made him an umpire by ac- | cepting his decisions, whether right or wrong, Without a kick the first few weeks he wore the blue uniform.
 4 great majority of the rooters take i their cue from the players in the matter of umpires' decisions, and one. of the reasons why the American League games are more free from wrangles is the poll | icy adopted by President Johason of adding retired star players to the staff ;, whenever possible.
 Although more than decade wili have passed when Umpire Walsh makes his debute, baseball fans from St. Louis to Boston will-not have forgotten that record he established in 1908. which never has been even approached by sub Lsequent slab stars.
 That was the year in which the Amer
 ican League pennant race was so close
 that four teams were within reaching
 distance of the flag in the closing week
 of the schedule and the White Sox were
 beaten out by Detroit ii the final game N of the season.
 i Walsh in 1908 pitched in sixty-four ot
 the 156 games played by the Chicago
 team. There were two draw games ir
 one of which he figured. That was twelve i more than one-third of all the game the White Sox played and onIv fourteer
 less than half of t>se total lbattles ot
 his team in the average o that year
 Walsh was credited with thirty-sever
 victories, fifteen defeats and one tie 1T
 the other games he neither won no.
 'B1st;' eIae games bei4g 5izrged to
 other s,abmen!
 Big. Ed pitched 464 innings in tha
 record season. and in those rounds ht + issued only fifteen passes and struck ou
 165 antagonists. his best record for 190'
 being fifteen men in eight inning
 against Cleveland. the day Addie Jos beat him 1 to Q by not allowing a maj
 to reach first base.