Evening star., 1955-05-18
WIN, LOSE OR
DRAW BY FRANCIS s1Auu
It's Hardly Harmony

THESE SLIGHTLY WONDROUs Brooklyn Dodgers are
prompting lot Of questions these days. including the one
How important is harmony ball club?" Before the
started remember Jackie Robinson spoke feel
ingly of the manager Walter Aston, telling newsmen
just can't to talk to the fellow Then came the Don
Newcombe uprising which like Jackies, apparently has
been dissolved.
Complete harmony and winning ball clubs are not
always synonymous Without going into extensive research
it that many Of the good clubs because, as
individuals their players superior not because they
team
Babe Ruth was hardly team He Ruth period
He fought with his manager Miller Higgins batted
and Haunted the training rules But the Babe
played many championship team and what he failed to
the clutch somebody possibly hating the ground
on which he walked-did
WALTER ALSToN CAN count himself lucky, perhaps
If he only tolerated of the Dodgers There was
fellow named Oscar WITT some years back, VINO managed
the Cleveland Indians His players dsked him so that
petition drawn requesting his dismissal and presented
by the players to Aa Bradley who owned the club then
Few of Indians including the younger Bob Feler
would nod WITT much less speak to him. They made
up their set of signals ignoring Wits and ran the show
their And still they just missed winning the American
League pennant.
The Gas House Gang of song and story is famed for
greatness but frankie Frisch who managing the ST.
Louis Cardinals in their heyday harassed SOUL AT
one point club wasn't doing well and owner
Sam Breadon had booked exhibition on an on day. Inc
tabled brothers. Dizzy and Day refused to make the
trip and Frsch fined both.
Dizzy Day staged stdown strike refusing to pitch
anywhere yet peace of sort made and the CaroS
the pennant and World Series
CONTRARY TO LEGEND, Lou Gehrig not highly
popular with his Yankee teammates AS rookie ne was
crude and humble there verified reports by other ball
players that after Lou became star ne was not
the most tractable of athletes
One veteran player remembers that once IN an exhibition
game during northward trek Gehrg returning
to the b.>ch ordered catcher Arndt Jorgen 10
give up seat "to regular. Whereupon Tony Lazzeri
seizng the bat said to have deed Gehrg by
ordering Jorgens remain seated And still the Yankees
won the pennant.
When Eddie Collins of the Hall of Fame up to the
Athletics eventually becoming cog in of Connie Macks
all great teams he misft In the sense nat S
that Mack couldn't find spot for him.
AS shortstop Collins not up to par At third
base he still failed impress Mack put him in the outeld
and promptly withdrew him. expaining
"Son if one of those fly balls hits you top of the
head it looks like might happen you are going to feel It,
CONNIE MACK FINALLY made second baseman out
of Collins great playing alongside Shortstop JACK
Barry in the manner born But Collins had replaced
popular not so expert performer in Danny Murphy who
switched to right field and there was time before
Collins greatness absorbed Murphys popularity.
For long period the two main characters involved In
did not speak, although
Johnny and Joe Tinker were superb as nelong
combination going further back there had been the
problem of Mike (ng) Kelly when he played for the Cubs
in the long ago.
Kelly hardly was a model for youth and he died at an
early age the kids of the the deathess Slide
Kelly side!" There seasonwhen the Chcagos won
incidentaywhen front Office brass assigned Pinker-
ton detective follow Kelly and confronted the WayWaro
star with detailed report
Kelly sat quietly until the dick read "At am you took
q long drink OF lemonade"
"Thats ie" Kelly thundered. 81 never drank lemon
ade at o'clock the morning in fe 1t was something
else"