Evening star., 1938-07-24

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Reggie was behind the eight ball from the
day one of the sports writer's pastered
headline across his page: SOCIETY BUTTERFLY
SIGNS WITH PANTIIERs. He had two strikes
on him the minute he walked in the locker
room and reported to the manager. Gabby
looks him over, sees a slender. wiry lad with
blond hair and a tailor made suit, and says,
so you're the guy" and Reggie says, Il
believe So" Precise, like that, and over in
the corner Spike Nolan lets out a laugh and
says, Hi, fellers-get load of the sasslety
butterfly"
see Reggie turn pink behind the ears, but
he says nothing. Gabby introduces him to all
the lads, and they shake hands and either say
nothing, or else they say, Please t meetcha,
and Reggie says, How do you do When
Spike Nolan gives him the mitt, he says, lows
Park avenoo, me lOrd?'
Gabby tosses the rookie unie and tells him
to climb into it, and Spike says, "He can't.
He amt got his valley with him. We think
that's hot stuff Then we trot out onto the field
and commence limbering up. Plenty winter
kinks in our arms, and the vets take it easy.
Nobody but the rockies show any stuff that
1
of course we figure that he's got nothing to
show
Well there amt any use repeating the story
of what Reggie had or how he made the grade.
There amt fan in the country that don't
know he's one of the sweetest second sackers
that ever come from nowhere and displaced
vet his first season out. 1t was Who he was that
seemed to interest the writer's and the fans. He
rated as much publicity as Babe Ruth during
his best years.
We was assured by all the newspaper guys
that he really was in the Social Register. He
had been turning down big league offers since
he captained the Groton team, and reckon he
wasn't really bad guy, but gosh! bunch of
roughnecks like the Panthers they hated
it when the writer's in other towns started call
ing us the Debutantes, on account we had
sassiety guy in the lineup.
1t wasn't only that Reggie was good, but
you ought to of seen the way he worked with
Spike Nolan around that keystone sack. You
can talk about pitchers all you like, but there
never was great ball club - and never will
be - without topnotch second base comblna-
ton. This one was smooth as satin even If
Spike did hate Reggies insides.
Tell the truth, none of us liked Reggie -
which was most likely due to the fact that we
didn't understand him. 1t was okay with us
that he'd been brought up in velvet, and that
he was playing ball now because when his old
man died there was nothing left but debts, and
the lad had to make living and didn't want to
take twenty y-a-week job clerking down on
Wall Street . -. Yeh, that was okay with us
but crowd that was tougher than the
St. Looey Gas House Gang -. we didn't
like the ride the newspaper lads were taking us
fer. And as for Spike Nolan - he didn't like
Reggie because he couldn't understand him.
Spike was one of them hickory nuts who
figured that anybody with nice manners must
be sissy, so he never let Reggie have a
minutes peace.
We play an exhibition schedule against
major and minor league clubs, and whether we
win or lose, folks talk about that Nolan
Mayberry combination. The newspaper muggs
interview Reggie lotsa times, and then razz
him in the papers, making out that he talks
like an Englishman when it really amt nothing
but Harvard. They call him the Butterfly, and
the Dancing Demon, and one lad - very funny,
he thinks - gets wise to the rlbbing Reggie
gets from his teammates, and dubs him The
Lone Woof.
Reggie knows they don't like him, so he just