The daily independent., 1936-10-06
IN THIS CORNER
BY JACK CUDDY
Copyright, 1886, By United
PrCSSl


is a popular American pastime
called Passing the Buck and the
further you penetrate into COM
pctitiyc sports the more intense
buck-passing becomes among los
ing clubs, teams and individuals.
Because the fans love a winner,
and they pay off at the turnstileS
on a Winner-Whether it's in box
ing, tennis, golf, football or base
ball-particularly baseball.
And the guy to whom the buck
is passed last-unleSS he is in
position to give it another toss
or too gentlemanly to do So-that
guy winds up as that we'll known
American fauna the goat
That's how sail-eared Casey
Stcngel wound up, after the buck
was passed hither and yon among
brass hats of the Brooklyn Dodg-
ers. In fact the buck was Wham-
med into poor Casey'S belly SO
hard that he had little chance of
a lateral. They didn't give him
o chance to resign. They tied the
can on the tail of the Brooklyn
goat Sunday night and showed
him out into the street.
Charles Dillon Stengel unfortu-
nately was the manager Of q
seventh-place club this season.
a Brooklyn club that made the
most disgraceful finish since 1917.
In view of this neXt-to-the last
finish, something had to happen
among the dizziness boys of Eb-
bets Field, and genial Casey SEEM
ed to be the line of least resist
/ ance.
Casey, the stoCky, big-eared,
big-nosed jester with the sparse
grayish- brown hair, seemed to be
a logical fall guy to whack over
as Dodger officials went through
the hocus-pocus OF trying 30 make
Flatbush fans think they were
about to get a New Deal in base
ball for 1887. So Casey was boot
ed out.
Stengers discharge displcascd
New York and Brooklyn baseball
writer's no end. WiSe-cracking
Casey was very popular among
the writer's. They liked his wit and
his pep and his honesty. And
most of them considered him q
good manager-perhapS no mental
giant-but still a firSt-claSS pilot
And a fellow who never had been
given a fair chance to display his
managerial ability at Ebbets Field
That was what ranked the
writer's and other baseball people
there in the press fodder and
drink headquarters at the Com
modore when the news Of his re-
lease first was made pub ic. Virtu-
ally everyone said the same thing
"ThCy'Vc made Casey the goat.
They never gave him an even
break"
What did they mean when they
! said that? Casey SjCngcl ha0
just finished his third season Wi5!)
the Dodgers. Hcll-a fellow ought
to be able to show his wares III
three full seasons.
They meant just this: That
Stengcl never had been given g
ball team that any manager-that
any master mind-could have
steered into first division. They
have been feeding the sage CT
Glendale, Calf, each season Whai
Jimmy Powers. Sports Editor OF
the New York Daily News de-
scribcd recently as spawned cast
offs, lushes and mon just over
their peak"
Speaking CT last years deals, fol
example, Powers said: Last yea,
Brooklyn was fifth, Boston eighth
The Brooklyn'S traded some buns
they had for some buns Boston
had and now Boston is ahead"
In short Dodger owners have
been handing Stengel the same
sort of material tha. the st. Louis
Browns have been giving Rogers
Hornsby and saying, Nov Casey
my boy, let's see you go right tC
town. We are all behind you" ]
do not know just what compare
tive value the Browns franchise
holds in the American League,
but I do know that most baseball
owners, players, officials and writ
ers consider the Brooklyn fran
chise one of the most valuable ir
the National circuit.
1t is potentially the richest
franchise per dollar invested ir
the baseball world.
A couple of springs ago baseball
folk began calling the st. Louis
Cardinals players "coOlie help" be-
cause of the low salaries they
were alleged to receive. 1 do not
know whether those reports were
true, but I do know that even if
they were true those "coolie''
salaries would make the 1886
salaries of Brooklyn players look
extremely niggard'y.
CaScy's contract has another
year to run. He was operating On
| q thrrc- wear document. And !