The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-07-11
By Joe Williams
Two Titles for Cleveland
Kilbane and Speaker Return
Former Was Champ IL Years

NEW YORK, July IL. Out in Cleveland the other day
attending the alLstar game l cut up some old touches
with two athletes who were great performers in their day.
One was Iris Speaker the bail player, the other John KiIbane
the fighter.
Oddly, both were prematurely gray as active performers
and both brought world championships to the lake front city.
This should be accepted as g happy omen by Walter Johnson,
who is now IL our w~elEknOwn midst with the Cleveland In
dams. The old swift baller Is rapidly getting gray under the
pressure Of multiplying burdens. If his hair holds out he
may succeed in doing what Speaker and Kilbane did out there.
K1sane won the featherweght championship from Abe Atten in
p94shiD from Max , BasT with a left 1T ian" remarked ma s@t, KiIOans sa+ Wen Wei that's that's
are times when that's all you need"
THEY never thought much of Kibane in New York, and the truth is
: he never seemed able to get going around here. Because Of this he
he was Somewhat o the fran sides, but he was fast clever, smart and
had a tremendously effective one-two punch. .
go into a clnch OF start backing away. This led to the impression that
take it when you didn't have to-" commented KilDane, Il usually could
openings opniss anu O""N I'LL ''~' 'H'"' " ! p@"'eO :" ""' VI H'
His record speaks for itself. He held the title from 1912 to 1923, much
iongeF tnan any iestneIWeIght champion an5 mas mas held 1t since: TO WI the m
cOnley. Patsy Kline, Tommy Dixon, frankie Burns. Charlie White. Gene
Rivers, K o Mars and Willie jackson. He would look awfuny sweet in
Eugene CTiq, the wartorn Frenchman. finally stopped him in six
rounds but by this time the Silver Fox was definitely on the way out.
Kilbanes now a playground director in Cleveland.
THE other gray-head. Speaker. is no longer Identified with baseball,
Il though he showed up some of the modern ball players by postpon-
ing an important business trip in order to take in the Al-star game as
game on their home door steps-faled to attend. Perhaps they would
have been more interested if the old-time ball players for whose bene-
fit the game as played had sent them passes.
Well, anyway, Speaker managed the 1920 club that brought the first
and up to now last American League pennant to Cleveland, and topped
this off by beating the Brooklyns in the world series That was the
series in which the athletes did everything but jump over the flag pole
in center field.
nUTFIELDER ELMER SMITH, who came to Cleveland from Thomas
- a Edisons home town in Ohio hit a home run with the bases full;
ond baseman Bill Wambsganss made a triple play unasssted,. all of these
raritieS being woven into one boisterous ball game. During this same
series ont of the local constabes attempted to put the pinch o n Rube
Marquard for scalpng tickets.
One of the heroes of that series was Steve ONeIn, the Cleveland
catcher who gave the greatest and most heroic exhibition of plate block
ing that has ever been seen in the fall playofS. Some of those old
Brooklyns must still be rubbing their bruises. The Iriher bounced them
haro, far and wide. incidentally, he's here with Cleveland TODAY a a
coach, and Speaker is heading for his native Texas to enlarge his pros
porous liquor business.