Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-02-09

baptismal certificate showing he
was born December %, 1862. and
baptized January I. 1863. by the
Rev. Thomas Sheerin at the
Church of the Holy Rosary in
Spencer, Mass.
Changed Battery Styles.
One of baseball's pillars, Mack
radically changed both pitching
and catching styles as he knew
them when he first came into
the game. He persuaded q
pitcher to throw overland. in
stead Of underhand. And he
was the first catcher to crouch
close to the batter. taking q d.
rect pitch, instead Of standing
some Is feet behind the plate
and catching the ball on the
bounce.
Mack first played baseball in
his native East Brookfleld. AS
q boy he worked in shoe factory
to help support his sisters and
widowed mother, but every leis-
ure moment found him on the
diamond where he developed into
an able player.
Comics tall, thin frame won
him the nickname of Stats" and
he was popular with the home
town fans. His fame began to
spread in 1883 when he caught
for the East Brookfield team that
won the championship Of Gen.
trail Massachusetts,. He SUISSE
quently played with the pro-
fessional club in Meriden. and
with Hartford, then member Of
the Southern New England
League.
The Washington National
League team bought his contract
from Hartford in 1886 and he
was favorably received here. One
writer was so impressed by
Comics play he wrote:
HE faces pluckily and sue
cesSfully the widest and swift
est pitching. throws accurately
to the bases. and altogether Is
one of the most promising young
catchers of the day"
With Washington Three Years.
Mack played with Washington
a little more than three years
and in 1891. after a period with
the Buffalo team Of the Brother
hood League, he went to Pitts
burgh. He became player-man-
ager in 1894 and three years
later he assumed a similar post
with Milwaukee in the Western
League. Milwaukee became a
member of the newly organized
American League and his team
finished in second place.
Under the leadership of Byron
B. (Ban) johnson. the American
League was expanded to include
the East and Mack went to
Philadelphia, where he was to
hold tenure longer than any
other major league manager.
The old National League Phil
adelphia team had never won a
pennant but Mack led his club
TO the American League title In
1902. his second year at the
helm. The World Series had not
yet started and there was no
universally recognized pro
champion.
In 1905 the Athletics won the
pennant again and played a
postseason series with John
McGraw's New York National
League champions. Mack's team
lost the series, despite the
pitching of Chief Bender and
Eddie Plank, two all-time greats.
largely because McGraw had the
masterful Christy Mathewson
who pitched three straight shut
outs for an all-time World Series
record.
Mack's team won its first
World Series in 1910. defeating
the Chicago Cubs, four games to
one. after taking the American
League pennant with 102 vic
tories against 48 defeats.
Gains Revenge on McGraw.
The AS repeated in 1911 and
Mack gained revenge on McGraw
by plotting his team to four
victories against two defeats in
the fall series with the Giants.
The Athletics were second the
following year. but came back
to win two more flags in 1913
and IA. They whipped the
Giants-who lost three straight
World Series-again in 1918.
The AS lost the 1914 series
to George Stalling's Boston
Braves miracle" team, which
came from last place on July
4th to win the National League
pennant. At the conclusion of
that set. Mack began breaking
up his team, including the famed
100000 infield made up Of
Stuffy McGinnis on first base,
Collins at second, Jack Barry at
shortstop and Baker at third.
Collins brought the then astro-
nomical figure of $4,000 from
the Chicago White Sox.
The road back to the top was
a long. dreary climb for Connie.
For the next decade his teams
finished in the second division
seven times buried deeply in last
place.
But Mack never gave up hope
OF putting together another win
ner and by 1925 1t was apparent
that he was getting close to the
goal. From that year through
1928 the Athletics finished Sec
ond or third, most Of the time