The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1932-03-12
TALKING
ITOVER
BY Joe WILLIAMS

FLORIDA BOUND, March r.
Il Your correspondent is bouncing
over the rails in the company cf
Colonel Jake Rupert, owner of the
Yankees, and heading in the gen.
eral direction of st. Petersburg.
where the high salaried athletes are
steaming out under a semi tropical
sun. (Advt.)
Your correspondent and Colonel
Jake have some very serious bust
ness to take care Of. We must sign
Babe Ruth for next season if it
takes the last dollar Colonel Jake
owns. Personally, I do not care
how far the Colonel goes in this
matter. In spite of the depression,
have decided to be very liberal
with the Rupert bank roll.
we DO not anticipate any great trouble
In forcing Mr.. Ruth's hand. We are pre-
pared TO offer him $40. 900 for six months
work in the open air. playing a game that
he is very fond Of II Mr.. Ruth refuses
b 70 ae .2s 6o6 our offer we viii probably give
have no friends"
of course Mr. Ruth should realize that
IN making him an offer Of $4,000 we are
being fairly generous. considering one
thing and another. plus the fact that this
clubs expect to take In all summer. let
hope nobody will start worrying seri-
ously about the situation. especially the
boys in the breadline, because your CORE
spondent and the colonel will see to it
that everything Is taken care Of in the
proper manner, and that Mr.. Ruth will
not be reduced to such stark circumstances
Ihst ne WI have to sell four Of his cars
II
IT may be that the colonel is
Il stringing me along and that he
does not really need my assistance
in signing Mr.. Ruth. I have heard
rumors that the colonel and Mr..
Ruth have already come to terms
and that this flying trip to the
southland is merely publicity come
on. AS to that I am not sure.
At any rate It doesn't make very much
signing OF Mr.. Ruth is no longer spec
and the element OF suspense is practically
non-existent. Everybody knows that he
will sign. and that If ne doesn't get what
AS I have written before this is no time
Tor Mr.. Ruth to effect defiant attitude
Reezer, well past his prime If he couldn't
get what he was actually worth in his
heyday there, is small chance OF his col
lectinR fantastic figure now.
Ana besides this Is not an opportune
moment for professional athlete to strike
count on the sentimental support of che
customers. But not now. Too many of
the, customers have important worries of
their own. To them $40, 600 is all the !
money in the world and twice as much
as they ever hope to see.
n n
THESE spring training trips stir
Il up memories, They do more
than that-they make a fellow real
ize how old he is. The first spring
trip I ever made was with the old |
Cleveland club. The Maps, they
called them. larry Lajoie was still
in harness, playing second. He had |
just been supplanted as manager by
Dode Birmingham, a comparative
youngster.
>, Joe Jackson was the star, of the club.
ne traveled IN state, in a drawing room,
along. Among other travelling accessories. /
MT; jackson carried a parrot sud five
ever figure why he carried the parrot.
The parrot had one talking line: Lousy
II taught him that" beamed Mr. Jack
son, who shared the average ball players
contempt for umpres. Mr.. Jackson was
properly. almost pathetically. proud of his
superiority over the parrot He could
neither read nor write himself But that
didn't keep him from being a great ball
PLAYER. Connie Mack has repeatedly called
him the greatest natural ball PLAYER he
ever saw.
on that same trip were a couple of
rockies who we're destined to write their
names large in the history of the game
Bill WamhsgansS. the second baseman. and |
Steve ONeill. the catcher Both starred |
in the 1920 world series against Brooklyn.
WambSganSS made an unassiSted triple
plav. the only time this has ever been
done in the fall games. O'Neill's blocking
at the plate was a remarkable exhibition
OF nerve and gallantrv.
Wamhsganss is better known to the trade
as Wambv. Even the records of the game
him anything else while he was in base
ball. and I doubt that even he knows how
he came to be called Wambv. Frank Ros-
took. now a successful publisher in Gin
cinnati. gave 1t to him.
Rostock was baseball reporter at the
time and a stickler for correctness and
detail But WambsganSs was too tough
name, to handle in debating running
plavIby-play story, don't remember
his OPERATOR. At env rfte after -four or
i've attemnts Rostock exploded: "Ah hell
call him WGmbv for short"
The operoto had sense of humor that
tra~ecorsod Rost""'-'s f"ir for hrevitv.
You mepn call him Wombv for second
don't YOU? he Snappered.