New Britain herald., 1927-01-05
RISBERG SUDDENLY DROPS FROM SIGHT Baseball Hearing Postponed Till
 This Afternoon MYSTERIOUS PHONE CALL

Would Not Be at Meeting Until 1:3O-Player Known to bc in City of Chicago.
 Chicago. Jan. s lP-The hearing of the charges made by Charles A. "Swede" Risberg, accusing the White Sox and the Tygers of a crooked series in 1917 was postponed today until 1880 p. m. due to the failure of Risberg to appear. A half hour before the hearing was to have been opened Commis- sioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis re- ceived mysterious telephone call purporting to have come from Ris- berg. The voice at the other end of the line said:
 "Risberg will not be there until 1:30."
 Thereupon the receiver was bang ed.
 
 | 200 or more baseball players and re- porters were mystified by the call. Commissioner Landis waited 1 5 min utes after the appointed hour before ordering the postponement. He could offer no explanation for Ris- berg's failure to appear as the former White Sox shortstop had as sured him he would be on hand promptly.
 Risberg was supposed to have left his little farm near Rochester, Minn., last night.
 T don't know anything about 1t except what the voice said to me on the phone" said Commissioner Lan- dis. "The facts speak for them seves. Risberg is not here. The call evidently was local cau. one made in Chicago. I am at loss to understand it, in view of what Ris- berg promised me"
 Players On Hand.
 While waiting for Risberg base ball stars of the past and present and the hundred or more newspa- permen damned the offices of the commissioner. Buck Weaver. who with Chick Gandil and six others, in- cluding Risberg, were banished from organized baseball for the part they played in the crooked worlds series of 1919. shouldered his way through the crowd just few seconds before Landis poked, his head out of his office with the words of the mysteri- ous telephone call.
 Weaver was there to do whatever he could in aiding Risberg in sub stantiating his story.
 Risbcrg In City.
 Risberg arrived in town at 7:3O a. III. and when he failed to appear the rumor quickly spread that he was kidnapped by a Chicago news papes for the purpose of questioning him. Commissioner Landis was un- able to add any light to the rumor but he was reminded that Risberg was brought here last Saturday night, three days ahead of the time he was expected to come, by Chi cago newspaper which paid all of the expenses.
 When Commissioner Landis ask ed Risberg after a recital of his amazing story last Saturday night if he did not need some expense money the representative of the paper told Landis that he would continue to take care of Risberg's expenses.
 "Red' Faber Talks
 Urban (Red) Faber, Sox pitcher in 1917 and still one of the lead ing fingers of the club, today gave his first statement on the White Sox donation to Detroit.
 "We were playing the Athletics" he said. lat the same time Detroit was playing its Boston series in 1917. Somebody on the bench, noticing from the scoseboard that Detroit was beating Boston, said: We ought to make those fel- lows (Detroit) a present for beating Boston, The next day in New York Chick Gandil came to me to collect this money for the present to De- troit and I gave him check for my share of $45 and the shares of several others of the boys who did not have any money along with them. never heard anything about Detroit being hired to lay down to the White Sox until Risbergs story the other day. l am confident that was said of this pool for the Detroit team until the day the Tigers completed a three game se- ries of victories over Boston. Ris- berg's charges are the bunk"
 2S Players Present
 Twenty-eight baseball players, of the 37 summoned by Commissions. to the hearing into the Ris- berg scandal, gathered in the com ante-roon1s today, with the others on the way from more distant points.
 One of them. Big Ed Walsh, spit ball star of the White Sox, declared he didn't know why he had been called as he was not with the Sox at the, time of the alleged fixed erie&between Chicago and Detroit, Sept. ?, and 3, 1917. Landis' records showed that Walsh was released by | he Sox in the spring of 1917. The others present were:
 Eddie Collins, Kid Gleason, John l Collins, Ray schalk, Eddie Murphy. |
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