The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-01-04
By HAND WAGNER

ssSeA'sNsS
 By HANs WAGNER
 -a my next chapter intend to pre- sent what think should be the grand all-American team of all times. Al 2 preliminary, though. l want to lay before you . list of great baseball men, including managers, so that you will have something to go on in case you do not agree with me.
 This thing of picking out the very best players you have seen in 30 years is no easy job. hope you will believe me when I tell you that I have spent one solid week selecting the different players and then going over them again to see if I made mistakes in judgment. Often have made changes. Little things crop up like a mans natural aggressiveness, for instance, or his great ability in a pinch. These things all have to be considered, I have given up the idea of going by the records and I think any veteran baseball man would agree with me. Some of our most valuable players in winning ball games and pennants have never had outstanding records.
 To begin with I laid out the fol- claim for the job: John J. Me- Graw, Fred c. Clarke. Connie Mack. Frank Chance, Pat Moran, Bill Car rigan, Wilbert Robinson, George Sailing and Frank Seles.
 Now. every man in that lot has some special olaim to greatness Most of them never got, what was coming to them. Take Frank Selee, for instance. Very few. people know that when he was breaking down through illness he went from fn ChfrnOa and atoFtAd hnfId- ing. He laid the foundation on which Frank Chance later completed the job. Poor Frank died from his long illness and very few of the modern day fans remember him. I might say, though, that I will not make Selee my all-American man ager. He was great, but others are greater.
 To show you that I have gone into the matter thoroughly think a baseball man would be a busher not to try and do the job honestly-I have divided these managers into two classes.
 FOUR OF FIGHTING TYPE McGraw. Chance. Clarke and Stall- ings used pretty nearly the same system. They were. and are. of the fighting type-extremely aggressive. They were great students of the game and of human nature. They always made a point of studying the weakness of every player in the league, including their own players If 1t was a weakness of character or a weakness at the bat, that made no difference. They felt it their job to prey on that weakness.
 These men all were builders. They worked hard with the team at hand, but in every move they were fighting on the future. In other words they built their teams two years ahead. None of these men was ever gentle or fatherly in handling men. They were leaders who took part in the fight and made every man stand on ball players who were not ready to start a scrap or make noise. I re- member one time McGraw telling me that he had just got a tough break of luck. %
 "rve got four Irish ball players" he said, "who can hit and field. but not one of them ever makes a crack the bench. Can you imagine Irish men being that quiet?"
 Both Stallings and Frank Chance were so aggressive that, in case an argument on the bench or in the club house went too far, they were ready to settle 1t with their good right arms and clinched fists. Clarke also would go to the mat with anybody who felt like disputing his authority. Int players always admired these men because they knew that the manager not only knew what he was talking about but could do the job himself. if necessary. It means a lot to ball player to know that the manager can do whatever he tells n d0 It'a finer inc ne 10 army officer who wouldn't ask pri- vate to do-anything that he couldn't do and wasn't willing to do himself if necessary.
 THE KIND A FELLOW SLAVES FOR
 Now, Wilbert Robinson, Connie Mack and Frank Selee used another system, all about the same. They are of the gentle, lovable type of men for whom men will work their heads off just because they like them would not want to offend or disap- point them.
 Those men were particularly good in handling timid young players or the freaks who could not get along elsewhere. They made a point of finding what troubled a young fellow and nursing him along by gentleness and encouragement. Wilbert Robin son saved no less than four good and forbearing with them, and there is no telling how many Connie Mack made valuable to the league.
 Some players are really tempera- mental and get upset when ridden too hard. They are artists at heart and get discouraged when things don't break right. Robbie used to get two or three fellows like that together and take them off on fish ing or hunting trip, making them