Evening star., 1941-02-02
Clippings Help Pilot
Show How Pirates
Should Have Won
frankie Adds Personal
Notes to Accounts He
Hos Kept rs Years
BY JUDSON BAILEY,
Associated Press Sports Writer.

ager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, has
a success secret. He keeps scrap
books.
Looking back through the fat black
loose-leaf volume that covers the
good and bad deeds of the Bucca-
neers in 1910, he can show skeptics
how he might have won pennant
instead of finishing fourth.
It's a lot of consolation on cold
winter days.
But it's more than that. It's
plan Of battle for next year It's
bible for trades, salary talks and
every other sort of business that
calls for reference to players and
plays of the past,
The book that the Fordham Flash
scans from time to time these days
has the box score and story of every
game the Pirates played in the Ma
tional League last season. 1t has
pictures of disputed plays, and, most
Of all. it has terSe, expressive COM
ments written by FriSch on the
games, friends, players or his per-
sonal conduct.
Personal Views of Games.
For instance, in the margin OF
page covering game with the st.
Louis Cardinals will be seen in a
bold scrawl:
"Pitch low to all Cardinals except
Mize. Klinger got tough breaks"
Under a picture showing Pirate
player being called out at home plate
Is:
vicious decision"
Mementoes of Frisch's frequent
run-ins with umpires last season are
scattered throughout the book-not
only in newspaper pictures and
stories, but in the Flash's notes.
Fined S75 and suspended three
days"
Fined s75 again"
Second day in stands"
Then there are notes on the per-
formances of his players, some
caustic, some laudatory. but mostly
impartial and informative, such as:
Bowman weakened in ninth"
"Van Robays hitting with men on
base"
"Garms big help in this one"
ScrapbOoks Kept 25 Years.
And the day the Pirates made
seven errors:
Worst game I ever saw"
Frish has been keeping scrap
books ever since he was an all
around sports star at Fordahm Prep
25 years ago. His books are piled
high on shelves in closet of his
den. They're seldom brought to
outside view.
But the faded clippings recount
the saga of a sturdy, small-sized
Bronx kid who battled his way up
the ladder of success to become one
of the outstanding sports figures of
all time in this country.
At Fordham he was a football
player of national prominence;
batted in the neighborhood of 500
and put up a marvellous fielding
show in baseball. He also ran 100
yards in 10 seconds on various occa-
sions for the track team.
It's small wonder that he was
dubbed the Fordham Flash and
compared with Jim Thorpe as an
all-around athlete by the New York
papers.
Star in First Giant Game.
The day he was graduated from
Fordham he joined the New York
Giants, then piloted by the immor-
tai John McGraw, and the first
game he played he handled five
putouts and five assists faultlessly
at second base.
That started spectacular 19-year
career as player, during which
he travelled to Europe and to Japan
for exhibition games, performed in
eight World Series, won the National
Leagues most valuable player
award in 1881, and attained count
less other honors.
Every step of the trail is shown
In those scrapbooks, pictures on
the walls and trophies throughout
the house.
The Flash became manager in
1888 for the st. Louis Cardinals,
succeeding Gabby Street in mid
season. He won the world champion
ship the next season. Then the
Gashouse Gang began to deteriorate
and Frisch was deposed near the
end Of the 1888 season. In 1889 he
broadcast baseball for Boston radio
station and last year took over the
pnirc Cf tho pirates
Driver on Ball Field.
On the diamond he is a driver like
his famous teacher, McGraw, noisy,
full of fight and fire. League Presi-
dent Ford Frick levied in the neigh
borhood of $400 in fines on him for
disputing umpires' decisions last
season.
At home, however, Frisch is
cuiet, sedate 42-year-old squire with
as much pride in his 100 by 100
corner lot as in his ball club. He
prunes trees, plants shrubs, studles
birds and remps with his Boston
bull terrier or his several nieces and
nephews.
And finally, oil course, ne SpenuS
lot of his time in the winter, as in
the summer, wrapped in the affairs
of the ball club. He and President
Bill Benswanger exchange letters
three or four times week and about
once a month Frank makes quick
trip-usually by plane-to Pitts
burgh. There are newspapermen to
be interviewed, banquets to attend
and a miscellany of correspondence
to answer-with some help from his
wife.
Winter is a nice season for a
baseball manager, he says, but:
Along about this time you want
10 get started. You feel you can't
u,ait1