The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-09-16
L ALKING
IT OVER
BIZ JOE WILLIAMS

1 Y yard gossips of baseball tell me
1t is all set for Hack Wilson to
move over to the Phillies next
spring, presumably in exchange for
the smuggling Chuck Klein and a
hale Of dough.
Wilson has had verv singular career In
baseball. AT one time he belonged to the
Giants. But due to a clerical oversight in
not including his name on the reserve list.
he was lost to the club Within
few years he became the hardest hitter
in the National League Last year he set
league record for home runs He ever
finished ahead Of Ruth and he set the big
league record for runs batted in This
advanced him to the important money
class
There was an interesting note in his ne
sotiations for new contract-a note
which emphasized the awe with which even
the PLAYERS regard Babe Ruth. Wilson
was asked how much money he thought lie
ought to get. We'll. I'm worth half as
much as Ruth anyway" he answered
Ruth gets 100000 Wilson ultimately eot
$4,000. record salary for a PLAYER in
his league.
In less than twelve short months. VII
son finds the biscuits have turned to con-
crete. Overnight he lost his genius for
hitting long smashes into the stands. He
worked up a mental fever broke training.
got into a brawl. was dismissed and fined
BY the Cubs. and is now a baseball outcast.
year ago he was on top OF the world.
today he's iust another guy who was good
when he had It,
The change in the ball undoubtedly con-
tributed something to Wilson's fall from
greatness. He belonged to that mushroom
school of sluggers who came into promin-
ence with the vivacious pellet. year ago
MS 'ong flies went for home runs. This
season. VITA the pair 9eadened. they fell
into the hands of outfielders.
n
FINDER any manager but Rogers
" Hornsby, the collapse of Will
son would not have been considered
unusual. The setting was such as
to make it understandable without
any important mental reservations.
The fellow would get his hits with
the lively ball and he couldn't other
wise.
To me this sounds convincing enough.
And vet there is a popular feeling that
Wilson'S grief is tied up in some way with
Hornsby's management.
A correspondent urges me to do some
thing about the frightful situation. charg-
ing that 'Hornsby is a Jealous person with
a vile temper and that 1t is obvious he
made life so miserable for Hack that he
became discouraged and quit on the 'ob."
This is quite improbable and not little
fantastic To begin with. Hornsby regard
ri IN
ieopardize his managerial success bv ruin
ing the best hitter on his ball club. More
over it isn't likely that a player getting
big money for the first time would allow
the personality of manager to impede
his own progress.
mean it is difficult to picture Wilson
going to the bat and saving to himself:
"That Hornsby's mug. I'm going tc
strike out"
Hornsby is a strange character. People
saw he's trouble maker. He has been
in several bitter controversies. They fired
him in st, Louis after he had won a world
championship. A year later he was dis
missed by the Giants amid mysterious cir
cumstances. Last fall he replaced the
popular Joe Mccarthy as manager of tie
Cubs In some way the impression was
Carthv's lob
What the actual facts were in all these
incidents don't profess to know. But the
net result has been that Hornsby is not
a great popular figure and whenever any,
thing unpleasant or untoward occurs on
ball club with which he is associated there
is always a rush to pin the blame on
him.
,et,t &c of oil
intrigues that have been laid at his Ieet
it is astonishing that he has had any ire
left to set batting records and win pen
nants and the records will show that III
these details he has been fairly success
full.
r DON'T know how Hornsby and
l. Wilson hit it off in social way
Of hand, the only time I recall
Hornsby mentioning Wilson'S name
was in connection with that world
series game a couple of years ago in
which the outfielder missed couple
of fly balls in the SUM-.
An outfelder accustomed to playing the
sun field would have made the catches.
The balls were not hard hit. But Wilson
lost them III the sun, they went for hits,
and helped the Athletics win. wilson's
performance was wholly excusable. He
shouldn't have been playing the sun field
in the first place.
That night was standing with Horns
by and several other players in the
lobby of a Philadelphia hotel. Wilson
came down in one of the elevators with
his 4-year-old son and walked out into
the street
THAT guys heartbroken" commented
Hornsby. II hope we can go out there
and win for him tomorrow"
don't believe those words represent
precisely the venomous mounting of
sinister character.