The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1923-05-27
CONNIE MACK HAS
BUILT ATHLETICS
INTO GREAT TEAM
This Years Outfit Recalls
Strong Philadelphia Teams
Of By-Gone Days

NEW YORK, May Zb-Long ago,
way deep in the pluperfect tense of
time, when the biggest and coolest in
town cost a nickle and Babe Ruth
was quoted at SIS pound on the
hoof, f. o. b. Baltimore, there was a
solo conference between Connie Mack
under a dusty old derby in the dug
out of the Philadelphia Athletics.
The Athletics had just lost world
series in four straight losses to the
miracle Braves of George Stallings
They seemed to be an albright
enough ball club, being mostly the
same team which had won four pen
nants and three world series in five
years, but they showed defects to
the sadly percipient eye of the
gloomy patriarch.
After the conference with himself,
Connie Mack began sending his play
ers away and what he had left when
he finished was a rickety ball park,
set of secondhand uniforms and a
lease hold of seven years extension
| in seventh position, all of which may
have discouraged Connie Mack and
probably did,
Among the players he sent away
about that time were his best catcher,
Walter Schang, and three pitchers.
Joe Bush, Herb Pennock and Bob
Shawkey. And now. this year, the
old boss who sent these men away
to careers of prosperity with the
lucky champion Red Sox and Yam
to interfere with their winning of
still another share of world series
money.
Mack Rebuflds Athletics
Connie Mack has rebuilt the Ath-
II
Yankees in Philadelphia Thursday
afternoon. 1 to O. in the ninth in
ming, is the old mans belated reply
to an eight years accumulation of
abuse, derisiGn and other distress.
There are other players on the
Yankee club who were not with Mack
when he was winning pennants, but
who hadn't the patience to endure his
frugal administration in the hope of
coming along, all for one and one
for all. as champion ball team.
Whitley Witt, the Yanks center
at baking his life away in the hot
| outfields for Connie Mack while the
silent scientist experimental with
an infield combination trying to
| make it click.
Joe Dugan, the Yanks' third base
man, was another. Mack had hoped
to keep him in the traces. for he
was a very good third baseman. But
| just when Mack thought his third
base question had been settled. Du-
gan baked, reared up and bounced
away to the Red Sox in a double play
| trade which brought him to the Yam
KEGS.
Contract Jumpers UnIucky
| There We're several other good but
| impatient young players who lay
down on the job and played dumb in
order to be released. or simply
jumped their contracts without any
prtense in those unhappy seasons.
and they might well wish they were
back with the Athletics this season
If only to be on the pay roll for next
year when the club should be even
stronger.
The Athletics had won nine ball
games from the three other eastern
clubs and had lost seven for no very
fat average when they set out for the
west couple of weeks ago. BY ac-
cident, they. had lost four of those
seven defeats to the Red Sex of Bos-
ton, whose every winning is only an
exception to prove how awful they
are. Discounting the accidents. the
Athletics appeared to be quite
strong team of cooperating, recip
rocatine units. In the west they lived
eight out of 13 games from four
| teams which were reputed to be
stronger.
The Athletics are in second place
The Tigers are yowling for assist
ance from the owners check book.
| The White Sox are a dismal hoax
and the Browns are said to be quit
| ting because their boss won't buy
| them another George Sisler. This
| leaves the Athletics with only the
Indians and the Yankees as formi
dable enemies to beat, and the realm
of possibility is wider than the
British empire. The htess wonder
White Sox and the miracle Braves did
greater things to win their first PEN
nants than the Athletics will have to
do to win the triCotine of %