Evening star., 1932-07-27
HELD CONDITIONER
BY SPIKE SHANNON
Says Diamond Pros Should
Spend Much 0ff-SeaSon
Time on Links.
BY GEORGE A. BARTON.


would be hiking over the
Geld hogging the daylights out of
a little white ball I would have
knocked 'em off by saying they
had gone daffy, yet here am at
the age of so getting just as big a
kick out of playing golf as ever
did out of professional base ball
and college foot ball"
The speaker was a husky individual,
whose tanned and heavily-lined face
and keen, penetrating eyes convinced
you that you were talking to a man
who had starred in athletics. His
name? William Porter Shannon, more
fami iarly known Gs Spike during
the days when he was noted out
fslder and slugger of the National
League, after first gaining fame in The
American Association, whence he was
graduated to the big show.
CPIKE, over period of more than 80
- years, has led the strenuous career
and minor league base ball player and,
more recently, that of an umpire in
the American Association, Pacific Coast
League, Southern Association and
Western League.
Spike has just as many freckleS as
ever, but his hair, once brick red, is
now sprinkled with gray, thinner than
when he was chasing fly balls for the
Giants at the old Polo Grounds.
Asked whether he thought golf af-
fected base ball players batting, as
charged by various club owners and
managers, Shannon replied: "1 think
golf is fine thing for base ball play
ers and helps rather than harms their
batting. Driving a golf ball calls for
the same balance, rhythm and eye that
batting demands in base ball.
'sFrom what l have been told by base
ball club owners and managers, they
have no objection to golf, except that
many of their players become leg-weary
from playing anywhere from l8 to SO
rounds in the morning and then Show
ing up at the park in the afternoon so
tired that they are unable to give their
best efforts to the team.
SSTOLF is an excellent conditioner
" and every ball player should put
in a lot of time on the links
during the of season in base ball in
order to keep in condition. Trouble
with many bail players is they loaf from
October until March, take on lot of
is difficult for them to get into condi-
ton for base ball in the Spring.
"I agree with the club owners and
managers that the players should re-
frafh from playing golf during the reg
ular season except when the clubs have
open dates, but I believe every ball
player would find golf a splendid way
to keep in trim during the of season"
Spike Shannon has had a colorful
career He was born at Clarksburg, Pa,
February Z, 1880. and after attending
grade and high school there, finished
his education at a small college. He
played fullback on the foot ball team
and roamed the outf1eld on the base
ball team.
"I really like foot ball better than
base ball despite the fact that I suf-
fered two broken legs, four broken ribs
and the fact that I broke both legs
four ribs and two fingers on the grid
iron" Shannon asserted with his
typical grin.
GtT GUESS I got a big kick out of
i foot ball because it was rougher
than base ball, although profes-
sional ball was far from being tame
sport during the years that ! played
with the New York Giants and st. Louis
Cardinals. There were lots of tough
guys in base ball those days and fel-
low had to know how to take care of
himself on the field, and quite fire.
quently off it.
boy, was with WOW Of ball team
when met up with John McGraw and
his Giants. A great club and a great
manager. From McGraw down they
were smart, aggressive and hustlers.
That gang regarded opposing players as
enemies and never spoke to them ex-
cept to cusS 'em. Playing In the outfield
with me were Mike Donlin and Cy
Seymour.
THE infield was made UP OF Fred
Tenney, first base; Larry Doyle, second
base; Al Bridwell, shortstop, and Hank
Devln, third base. The pitchers were
Christy Mathewson, Joe McGinnity,
Hooks WiltSe, Charley Ferguson, Dummy
Taylor and Red Ames. Roger Bresnahan
and Frank Bowerman were the catchers.
"TTTHAT was team Of tough guys,
l. but the toughest of them all was
Bowerman. He could whip his
weight in wildcats, and was by far the
best rough-and-tumble fighter in the
major leagues Frank was a graduate
Of the University of Michigan. but you'd
never suspect him of being collegian If
you ever saw him in brawl. He used
TO keep in shape for base ball by work.
ing in logging camps in the Winter.
Never in all my base ball career did
ever see such bitter feeling as that
which existed between the Giants and
Cubs. 1t required bravery to play the
inf1eld when those teams met because
the runners always went into the bases
riding on their shoulder blades with
their spikes high in the air.
The spectators were just as hostile
as the players and aided the home team
by throwing bottles and stones at the
visiting players. The fans waited after
the games and threw things al us as
we loaded into the bus for the trip back
to the hotel from the park.
TnLAYERS frequently were seriously
L hurt by the missiles fired at
them. so the club owners voted at
a meeting in 1909 to build dressing
rooms for the players at the park,
thereby discontinuing the old practice
OF dressing at the hotel and riding to
the park in an open bus or tallyho.
Il enjoyed playing ball for McGraw.
He was the smartest manager Of them
all, and believe me, he was the boss.
McGraw would signal you what to DO,
and If the play went wrong, he took all
the blame All he asked of his players
was to give him everything they had.
John had no use for dumb player.
John never panned player for making
errors so long as ne hustled but he just
couldn't forgive a bonehead play"
GCopyrixht 1892, by the North American