The Washington herald., 1922-10-06
Game Halted in Tenth on
Account of Darkness"
As Crowd Protests.
IRISH MEUSEL HITS
HOMER WITH 2 ON
Yanks Fight Back Gamely
And Catch Giants in
Thrilling Battle.
Ru GRANTLAND RICE.


NEW YORK, Oct. 5.-world series
baseball. that unlucky scion or
trouble and gold. stepped in front
of another young tornado today
thae came near leading to a wreck
The Giants and Yankees. fight
ing out their second battle. had
lust closed out the tenth inning
win the score knotted to 3. The
minute hand on the big clock in
center field was pointing twenty
minutes to five. There was a haze
over the diamond but the Sky
above was cloudless. At this mo-
ment the two senior umpires.
George H'ldebrand and William ].
KLEIN, ordered the announcement
made that the game was called on
account Of darkness
Crowd Roars Protest.
For perhaps a second or two the
big crowd of $4,000 fans sat
stunneH. And then from almost
every nook in the grounds. from
crandstand to bleachers. a terrific
roar OF protest swept back and
forth across the field. followed by
the prolonged boo of the raspberry
chorus working at full blast. In
the excitement that followed hun
dred of enraged fans swept around
Judge Kenesaw Mountain Landts.
while thousands of others began to
nour a fusilade of burning words
against the club owners who had
no more to do with the decision
than Babe Ruth or Kemal Pasha
The two senior umpires. KLEIN and
Hildebrand. had decided an inning
before that the game should be
called after the tenth on account
of the heavy haze which~ they
claimed was obscurinE the plate
through the blur of the centerfield
background.
The two umpires rave their decision
couraCeously and honestly with no
other hope Of reward beyond an extra
days work without any extra emolu-
r1ent for the trouble they were taking
on The light was falling slowly but
in our opinion another inning could
have been PLAYED without any trouble.
Due to the immensn amount Of money
that had been paid IN and the great
amount of gossip that baseball has
drawn in the past few years. il would
have been wiser to have let the game
run out at least another chapter to
effectualIy stifle anv shrill voice of
indignant protest. fair or otherwise
Feared Serious Trouble.
With unouestioned honesty the
senior umpires thought that the COM
binAtion of slow pitching and ap-
proaching twilight might run into
serious trouble later on IL they at
TEMPTED to add another chapter to the
serial story
From their viewpoint psychology did
not enter into the question at issue.
Rut psychology ha sa way of taking
full control of a crowd that has just
maid out $4,000 to see a decisive re-
suit. il such be possible in any way.
Those who sat n the bleachers where
the light was even brighter than it
was under the heavy stands were even
more vociferous in their declarations
of wrath. The umpires merely consid-
cred the ball game more important
than the Ieclings of the fans or the
psychology of the crowd and for this
stand they will be blamed by the many
and praised by the few. A little more
far-siGhted Judgment would have
taken the chance on another inning
with the sun barely setting back of
the tall stands.
Pitching slows Up Game.
Before the umpires had opened the
chorus of that ancient ballad
Honey. Dear. Listen Here: I'm
Afraid to Go Home in the Dark" the
Giants and Yankees had fought out
one of the most desperate contests
of the year. The conflict was as
slow as frozen molasses. but for the
greater part Of the route il carried
its full share of quivering drama
sensational fielding, hard hitting
and game. skillful pitching where
a hit meant disaster.
Shawkey and Barnes, under heavy
tension. pitched with cool deliber-
ate courage that at times was en-
tirely too deliberate as the game
dragged along through two hours
and forty minutes of play.
Shawkey, after a stunning blow
from Irish MeuseI in the first IN
ming, rose to brilliant heights after
the second inning when he checked
the Giants with three widely scat
tered blows over the remainder OF
the way. But that one blow from
Irish Meusel came near wrecking
Shawkey beyond all repair. Grot
and Frisch had just nicked the Yam
kee star for two clean hits wner
Meusel came up waving a Dig war
club in the golden air. The ball left
Shawkey's right hand at good speed
but IL left Meusers bat at ever
greater pace. soaring far out into
left over the brotherly dome of the
other Meusel as il dropped into the
left field seats for a clean home run
This prodigous punch scored three
men and left the Yankee contingent
along rooter's row gasping for air
in the blistering heat that beat upon
the scene. Meusel. only the day be-
fore, had driven over the winning
run with Joe Bush in the way and
once again it looked as il his mighty
mace had decided the issue of battle
beyond any lingering doubt.
Yanks Fight Back.
But the Yankees proved they
could come from behind as well as
the Giants. Shawkey. after slipping
a trife in the second round. began
10 pump Increased speed over the
pate as he stopped the Giants L.:
their tracks. held completely under
the deadly spell of his speed, curves
and control that sought out .he
corners and kent Giants bats Dok