New Britain herald., 1930-09-23
No. S-A Question of Brains

The super-team that won four | American league pennants and three world championship in five years under Connie Mack's leadership, I1910 to 1914 always has represent ed the peak of the old master S | achievements.
 It was Mack's greatest pride, though he enjoyed more personal satisfaction in piloting another world championship club 15 years later. It was the foremost example of his organizing genius, though it's breakup in 1914 was a bitter blow to him. A.ss -
 "It may sound egotistical, but the Athletics were the. greatest team of go than any of the other famous ma chimes in baseball" Mack wrote in 1915. u,..', .-.
 When the team was. broken up it could have gone along winning pennants for about five more years had not a combination of circum- stances compelled me to tear apart a team that it took much effort to put together"
 The nucleus of this world beating combination was a pitching trio famous for all time-Colby Jack Coombs, Crossfire Eddie Plank and Chief Charles Albert Bender. the In dian of whom Mack once told me:
 He was the greatest one game | pitcher I ever Knew. I used to tell Rhe Chief to get ready to pitch on a tcertain date. He grunted assent l might not see him for days, but on the appointed date he would appear, ready and fit, usually unbeatable.
 Blenders only bad habit on the lsmound was tendency to relax when he felt he had the opposition under control. At such moments Harry Davis used to walk over from first base, berate the Chief in good, old fashioned language. Thus admonish ed. the Indian would bear down again.
 The forthcoming champions gave a hint of what was to come by bat ting the Detroit Tigers in a desper- ate pennant fight in 1909. Before hand, Mack's team was considered a joke, and contemporary scribe wrote:,
 For catchers he (Mack) had only material that other managers had turned down. Death robbed him ot Ei ct ho al the opening of the struggle, and he had to depend on Ira Thomas. whom Hugh Jennings (manager of Detroit) had discarded. His infeld boasted one veteran. Harry Davis at first Baker at third. Nichols at short and novices. In the outfeld his two veterans, Hartsel and Danny Mur- phy, were reputed to be going back
 "The wise ones called it baseball luck when the team started smooth ly and predicted they would blow But somehow they didn't.
 Nichols. the shortstop, was re- placed at the end of the college sea. son by Barry, just out of Holy Cross who immediately made good. Baker the tryo at third, was breaking uI games with his trusty bat. Collins the guardian of second, was winning the admiration of opponents by hi. brilliant work in every department He was even threatening to wrest tho batting honors from the mighty Cobb.
 How do they do it? There is bu one answer-the baseball brains O Connie Mack"
 | With no vital alterations the Ath letics rose to the top in 1910 witt an irresistible display of power, fea tured by the work of the pitching Big Three" and the sensationa quartet that later became famous a. the S100,000 infeld. Twenty year! later the same four would have beer worth s1,0OO,Ooo
 All the brains on this club weren' concealed beneath the thinning gray thatch of Mack. He was the tutor, but he had apt pupils. Three mem bers of the great infeld later becam, major league managers, No smarttl keystone corhbination ever operated than Barry and Collins.
 Collins was one of the first to per feet the pivoting motions as middle man. on double plays. He and Bar ry also developed defense agains the double steal by men on first anc third, On this play one or the othe, cut in sharply for the catcher throw. Invariably they "got thei man" at the plate.
 These Athletics were the first t' adapt the deaf-mute finger languag, ' for rapid transmission of signals They practiced in the dining room carrying on elaborate conversation in sign language to the compet amazc ment of onlookers.
 Stealing" enemy signals was an other habit of these willy Mackmeh Collins. Bender and Coombs wer adopts at this stunt. Nothing that th opposition didn't nail down was sa f from the artful As.
 The team finished it's first ViCtori