Evening star., 1941-05-13
Major Pruning
Takes Big Toll
Of Veterans
Former Sturs Suffer
With Teams Cutting
To May IS Limit
By HUGH S. FULLERTON, JR.,
Associated Press Sports Writer

Associated Press SPORTS Writer.
NEW YORK, May 13.-Some of
baSeball's longest and most colorful
voyages are about to go on the
rocks on May Is.
That is a barrier major league
clubs can't pass with more than
Is active players, and to get down
to the limit managers have cast
adrift such once-great players as
Paul Waner, Dick Bartell, Yves
Ferrel, Van Mungo, Tex Carleton
and Earl Averill. It's also the date
set for Jimmy Dykes official retire
ment as q player, but the fiery
White Sox manager hasn't done any
playing to speak of since 1898.
Latest to go are Waner, Bartell
and Mungo, whose combined term
of major league service up to this
season totals 80 years. The first two
drew their outright releases from
Brooklyn and Detroit Sunday. At
the same time Mungo was taken off
the Dodgers active list with indica-
tions that he soon will join Carleton
at Montreal. Carleton was shipped
down to the Brooklyn farm"
couple of weeks ago, just about a
year after her had pitched a no-hit
game against the champion Cincin-
natl Reds.
Giants Eyeing BartelI.
The Boston Bees cast off Ferrel
and Averill within the past week
or two after taking them from
American League clubs at the start
OF the season. Another colorful
baseball character, Zeke Bonura,
never got to start this season, wind
ing up at Minneapolis after arguing
about the contract the Cubs offered
him.
Some of them may catch on with
other clubs. as Bump Hadley did
with the Athletics after being cut
loose first by the Yankees and then
the Giants. Bill Terry, the Giants
manager. already has shown interest
in Bartell, who spanked his club to
pennants in 1886 and 1887, and may
take him on as infield insurance
II they don't land other jobs, the
big leagues will miss them.
A few years back these players
would have been enough to win a
championship for almost any ball
club and probably enough to turn
the managers hair white at the
same time. Waner and Averill did
most of their talking with their
bats. of course. and kept out of
trouble, but "Rowdy Dick" Bartell,
the temperamental Ferrell and the
even more erratic Mungo could
create disturbances for the lot.
Waner, whose nickname of big
Poison" came from his batting. not
his size, played IA seasons with Pitts
burgh before he was released last
winter. He led the National League
hitters three years and was voted
the circuits most valuable PLAYER
in 1887 Averill's salary fights with
the Cleveland management were
almost as famous as his 318 batting
average for IL major league seasons.
Bartell, one of the champion
'holler guys" of the National League
and noted scrapper for IS years,
capped his career last season when
he made himself the sparkplug of
Detroit's surprising drive to the
American League pennant.
Ferrell's big league career prob
ably set record of some sort for
ups and downs. At his best he was
one of the American Leagues great
est right ht-handers. And at his worst
he was the kind of fellow a manager
fines $1,000 instead of $100 He
drew one such fine for refusing to
leave a game and another for the
walking off the mound when the
manager wanted him to stay.
Mungo Typical "Daffy" Dodger.
Mungo's outbursts, temperament
tai and otherwise; his quarrels with
the management and his desertions
of the club, his ailing arm, his fire.
ball and his fiery temper all con-
tributed to the lore of the daffy
Dodgers.
Only this spring he was banished
from the Brooklyn training camp in
Havana, but earned his reinstate-
ment so we'll that the Dodgers en-
phasized, in their announcement
that he wouldn't pitch any more
this year, that the decision had
nothing to do with his spring dis
grace.