The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-12-10
(Reg. U. s. Pat. Of.o By JACK CUDDY

United Press Staff Corrspondent)
 New York. Dec. 10-(UP)-The death of Jack Doyle, Broadway sports oracle and price maker, leaves a vacancy that long may remain thrilled. We say this for two major reasons: CD His odds, particularly on baseball were the only ones that many conservative newspapers would print. and CD he was a walking encyclopedia of witnessed sports data, connect ing the present with the past.
 We knew Doyle intimately for years. He was the most refreshing character we ever met in sports be- cause his mind remained young and eager as his body faded-as he be- came a withered, bespectacled, semi-bald little man whose heart developed into "an in-and-outer."
 Although he had the past at his finger tips, he did not live in the past. His detours into memory lane were merely for the purpose of comparisons with events and personalities of the present. in which he was so vitally interested
 Doyle witnessed more important sports events, in various fields. than any man of his time. And he re- membered them with photographic accuracy because of his unusual brain and because he had money at stake in virtually al levents he at tended. During his 43 years in New York, he handled millions of dol lars in personal wagers and as a commissioner for others.
 His dealings were nationwide, and on some of the Americas cup yacht races he even handled com- missions from England. Tn baseball, he took personal bets each spring from fans in all sections, backing his own prices. And he always paid of.
 During Jacks regime as wizard of odds" on Broadway. he claimed he saw America develop into the greatest gambling country in the world. He often explained that when he first came to New York as a racetrack bookmaker and a sheet writer in 1899. a man who did much betting was considered a social pariah, like a fellow who hid bottle in his bureau drawer and took a drink before breakfast"
 But betting flourishd amazingly, stimulated by "the Irish Sweep stakes, contract bridge, golf, college football and the society aspects of racing" It was his opinion in l942 that virtually every adult in Amer ica, outside of those of the clergy who did not go in for bingo games, did a bit of gambling.
 The biggest betting sports, in the order of their importance, Doyle listed as: horse racing. football, box ing, baseball, basketball and ice hockey.
 Tn eight or min Saturdays of the football season, there is more wagering than in the whole season of baseball, including the world series,. he said. Almost 90 per cent of this football betting, however, is among friends.">
 According to Doyle, the biggest betting proportion in American history was the Wilson-Hughes presidential contest in 1916. He handled huge commissions on that. Next in betting volume for a single event was the Joe Louis-Maxie Baer fight in 1885. Millions of dollars changed hands on that brawl. Jack often said: "You get heavy wager ing only when the price is close. :" Doyle ran a combination billiard parlor, restaurant and bar on Broadway from 1906 to 1887. It be- come a mecca for notabies from all fields-men who liked to make a wager. On the night the parlor opened, prominents present trl- ciuded Willie Hoppe, John McGraw. Christie Mathewson, Mike Donlin. Roger Bresnahan, Eddie Foys Pat