Evening star., 1923-02-26
American Newspaper AlliaAos.)

DcCh COiIc8e men. nat 10 uu0 par
iy to the fact that in the early days
of base ball very few college men
took up the game as a profession.
Even in this day the college man
usually goes into base ball as q tenn
norary means Of livelihood. Love OF
the game causes many OF them to
tick. The mediocre ones drop out
and go into other occupations or pro-
fessions for which they have been
trained.
Some Notable College Men.
George Sisler. for instance. is .
college man. With his natural physi-
cal qualifications and his mental
training he jumped into fame almost
immediately. No. long spell Of sea
soning was required, Another in
stance is that of frankie Frisch. He is
II college boy. coming to US direct
from Fordham University. Friseh't
alert mind grasped the idea Of pro-
fessional base ball imm ediately. He
would notice his own faults almost
as soon as / would Without hesita-
ton he would come to me for advice
He was quick to put theory and
On the other hand take players
IKE Willie Keeler Ty Cobb. iris
Speaker or myself. While Cobb had
the benefit of considerable early edu-
W
man. | am told. The rest of us didn't
even have that advantage. As re-
suit we had to work our way up by
slow stages. always conscious Of our
came 1t and reached the top.
Realized Their Handicaps.
The lack of this early opportunity
vas made so plain to Hughey Jen-
nings and myself that we spent three
or four winters trying to get a college
education. even after we had become
big leaguers.
Whether the player be a sand lot
man or college boy. he cannot pro-
gress without using his mind. The
town lot boy. therefore. is entitled TO
all the more credit when he becomes
a star.
The man with a stubborn mind. who
thinks he can advance physically
without improving himself mentally.
rarely becomes star. I don't know
of one
Mere book learning will not do the
trick. either. A boy TO improve must
have chance to observe the ordinary
conventions of life and the ways of
Intelligent people OFF the field. have
made II point to see that all of my
young players had this opportunity.
often when a young bali player ar
rives in the big league he has never
been in first-class hotel. In the
smaller leagues he has got the i'm
preston that roughness and ignor-
ance of the niceties of life are a part
of his profession. This must be cor
rected.
Environment Means Lot.
have found that environment
means lot to him. Throw him in
the company of gentle or educated
people and he will Immediately try to
act like them. / am told that in the
army the soldier who keeps himself
&ha Nd -. ss1Y1
is usually the best fighter. Every
regiment 'strives to get esprit de
corps. as they call it, II a soldier Is
proud of his regiment and feels a
pride in its appearance he can be
counted upon always.
That also Is true in base ball
For that reason I have made a par
ticular point of seeing that my clubs
always stop at the very best hotels
that 7 can fnd. see that they travel
can remember we'll when first-cla
hotels would not take in ball clubs,
under the impression that they were a
rowdy lot. Often they were.
We have overcome that. Today most
any hotel welcomes ball team.
YounEster Soon Learns.
The answer is that when a young
fellow gets In an environment where
he discovers that people are regard
ing him as a gentleman he will soon
learn to be a gentleman. He would
not have the minds Of those people
disabused.
Put an educated ball player and an
and it will be found that the ignorant
one will try to emulate the educated
one 1t never works the other way. In
other words. IL Is human nature to
seek improvement.
The great stars from the town lots
hA poll u.h -
opportunities as this and have taken
advantage Of it. They had the abil-
ity physically and worked to equip
themselves equally we'll mentally.
are now more polished in their
thoughts and direct themselves more
intelligently than the mon who frst
gave them the idea. They have edu-
Gated hemselves-and have done 1t
. well.
Many Enter Professions.
In this connection have observed
have been more men. starting without
education, go out of base ball into
professions like law and medicine
than there have been college mon to
cave the game and 60 into profess
sions for which they had been orig
'nally trained.
In other words, the town lot fell
low had the greater determination.
with that he overcame all tho dim
.ulties. He 10 truly great man.
l could point out any number of in
stances OF this. Among those who
were not college meh and who are
now successful in life there are sew
,ral members of Congress. one or two
governors. a number of doctors and
, quite a few engineers.
/ am not sure. but I don't believe
Iov. John X. Tener Of Pennsylvania
vas college man. Then there is
Iohn Montgomery Ward. now dis
tinguished lawyer. Doc" Pond made
, a graet success in his profession
Mike Donlin has done we'll as an
actor.
Must Overcome Obstacles.
To sum 1t up. the man who makes
the great ball player or the great man
| in life is he who let's no early handi-
cap stand in his way. but who has the
determination to overcome all OBJ
stacles. 1t makes no difference whether
he be a town-lot man or a college
man.
Experience has shown me. though
that the college boy has less diff
Guilty in overcoming obstacles. II he
| has the physical qualifications and the
ambition he develops more quickly
| That i,sAwhy ] prefer the college man
as a recruit. He may not become the
greatest ball player in the world but
| his value to q team becomes apparent
l in a shorter space OF time.
! Copyright, 1923. L. S. and Canada. by Christy
Walsh Syndicate.)