The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1931-01-03
Talking
IT OVER
By JOE WILLIAMS .

ID Il JOL WALLAA4t1O -
ATEW YORK, Jan. 3.-The news
IN papers show pictures Of Ban
johnson, the old baseball executive
and fire eater, propped up in hos
pital bed convalescing from an
other organic attack He looks
worn and thin, and It is easy TO be-
licve him when he says he never
expects to take an active part in
the game any more.
y
johnson passed out Of the picture three
Years aKo when his resignation as presi-
dent Of the league be had founded was
forced on him by the club owners. He
had never ceased to resent the Eutoeratic
mower with which the club owners in
vested Judge Lands and bis zntaGOniSms
kept the American League constantly In
political trouble.
In his day Johnson was the biggest man
IN baseball, a fearless. resourceful, treleSs
eontrbutons to he ENHANCEMENT 1 Of the the
same Ills record Of aehieve@ents VII
man to forfeit the unexpected term Of his
contract viii a value Of $500 900. When
! qnit. my pay quits TOO, ne said; But
hat.
TOHNSON'S last big crusade for
- the betterment OF baseball was
against the gamblers. If 1t hadn't
been for his zeal and persistency the
world series. scandal of 1919 might
have been permitted to pass into
ohscurity. johnson insisted on
public exposure of the fact and kept
after them until the sordid story
was brought to court.
The welfare of the game was at stake
and Johnson was always acutely sepSi-
tive to that. His experiences in bringing
The case TO trial make an interesting docu-
meut. He was never able definitely to
link Arnold Tcothstein with the plot. but
IL is stII his belief that the slain gambler
was the key man.
johnson came to New York early in 1920
and had conference with Eothsteln;;
The sampler told me St ts hss TINE t sad
10 him and asked for 100000 TO finance
tell I asked him why and he. said: 7
like baseball for one thing, and besides
1t looked too dangerous
n n
JOHNSON claims that instead of
- losing money on the streets
Rothstein won between 100000 and
100000. I'VE were able to check
two winning bets he made, one OF
100000 with Sinclair and another
of $4,000 with Smathers, and there
was evidence of large operations by
his agents in Chicago before and
during the series" Johnson later
publicly accused Rothstein Of cor
rupting the series. The gambler
announced he would sue johnson
for $500,000, but of course the suit
was never filed.
AtelI had promised seven White Sox
players a total Of 100000 and had stated
that Rothstein was the man behind the
sVFoney. Apparently this was assurance
&, ough for them. because they threw the
s1sst game without any advance whatever
from AtteII. After the first game Atteil
met five Of the implicated players at their
hotel in Cincinnati and gave them $4,000
He had managed TO raise this amount by
appealinE to western gamblers who were
pro6tinR by his information. That $4,000
was all Atteu and his clique ever paid.
n
The gamblers failed to clean up on. the
series because they had bet on single
"a NYipiOaI agreement ana
the White sox crossed them by winning the
third and sixth game. which Kerr lnot
m oh W yne p ptebe9 by ccotte one Of the
traitors. From the start Cicotte had de-
manded that he be allowed to win one
game so as to make the performance look
authentic.
A CCORDING to johnson all the
"A big winnings were made by
Rothstein. "EIe double-crossed At
tell. While he refused to advance
the 100000 he called in two gam
blers from Boston, gave them $40,-
600 in cash, the names OF the play
ers they we're to fix and shipped
them to Chicago. This was two or
three days before the series opened.
a
zone of the first players RothStein's
men saw was CicOtte. They gave him
$4,000 and the pitcher promptly sewed
it in his clothes. where it remained until
he got back TO his home in Michigan"
u u
Rothstein won heavily because he bet
on the. series, not on single games. John
son says that before the series ended
-a..a.
the 100000 the players had been led to
believe they were to get from AttelI.
=
This made a total of $4,000 they got
for throwing the series but was not as
much as they had expected. They still
believed Attell was going to produce an
additional 100000. for by that time they
were playing both ends against the middle