Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1959-03-23
WIN, LOSE OR
DkAW By FRANCIS s1AAA
Early Wynn 81 Years Later

TAMPA Fla. Mar. 23-lt was AL Lopez who called
up the ghosts We watching the White Sox play
an exhibition against the Braves Early Wynn cunning
and dedicated. bathing the Milwaukee hitters Every
Brave with bat in his fists was mortal enemy.
when you first saw Early did you ever think he'd
turn out to be such pitcher?" Lopez asked How long
ago was it now?"
Well it was 249 major victories ago. One more win
and Early will have exactly 100 more games than
Dizzy Dean, who is in the Hall of Fame.
1t the wnter-spring of 1888 at the Senator's
training camp. Bucky Harris managing One morn
ing this burly kid just turned 49, reported and suited
He from Hartford, Ala, without fanfare and you
could tell he hadn't spent lot of time in the pool paror
back home His skin buffed to mahogany by the
wind and the SUM-
His name sounded odd the first time you heard it.
His parIndian heritage accounted for of his deep
color But in those days nobody paid much attention to
Wynn. The late Clark Grifith had rented a boarding
house in Orlando and that where the Washington clubs
rockies lived They did not sit in the lobby of the
Angeblt Hotel and mingle with the newsworhy veterans
like al Simmons Buddy Myer, Cecil Travis, Buddy Lewis
and Joe Kuhel
rookie. What sometimes interpreted as sulenness
was tacitunity He accepted orders and carried them
out but there was quiet air of independence about him,
too Early didn't to the big leagues to stay until
1912 In 1943 he 10 games, and couple of years
later, the Senators almost the pennant in that
Zany wartime era
Back home on the sandots the kid had learned to
swing bat from both sides of the plate He swung with
zest too Like the good pitchers with consuming desire
to win Early didn't rely his teammates runs
He was no more tolerant of ineptness by his fellow
players than he was of his own failures He viewed the
AIS in the mid194Os with aundiced eye One morning
he went to Mr.. Grif1ths Office
When I'm not pitching" he announced I'D like
to play the outheld"
"Why?" Grifith asked, surprised.
"RpcauSe I hattie than IF tho opto
you've got this bali club Wynn replied fatty Besides.
aim to make lot more money than you're paying me
and want all the talking points can get"
GRIFFITH NEVER ALLOWED Early to play the out
field He compromised by using him as pinch hitter.
On December H. 1948 he traded Wynn and Mickey Vernon
to Cleveland for Pitchers Ed Keman and Joe Haynes
and First Baseman Eddie Robinson.
Wynn has 1T games since the trade Vernon still
is active and has lifetime of 287 besides playing
the best defensive first base in the game Haynes
total OF 10 in four of pitching and
Klieman didn't win any for Washington and only two
more during his career Robinson never the day he
could play first base and and hit like Vernon 1t
not one of Grifith's better deals.
Wynn is 80 years old and somewhat of an elder
statesman. All hitters fear and respect him. In turn
Wynn hates all hitters They say Early no longer has
that good fast ball. Well, he doesn't miss it. All he's
done the last two been to lead the American
League in strikeouts
Of the field he is polished and self educated He is
absorbed in improving relations between balpayers and
owners for their mutual benefit Until he traded to
Chicago in December, 1857, he wrote column for
Cleveland paper in which he minced words One of
his prime targets his boss, Hank Greenberg Wynn
did not lead the cheering when Greenbeg recently became
general manager Of the White Sox.
THE OTHER DAY WYNN asked If he intended to
write for paper again. Il wasn't going to do it." he
answered out Norman Lewis is getting under my skin
Ia like to take few verbal whacks at him."
j. Norman Lewis is the attorney for the balplayers
wynn suspects that Lewis thinks he's boss not the players
representatives.
He talks too much" Early says "He talks of getting
20 per cent OF the profits from the owners Look used
10 get $3.50 month for pitching for Washington know
what 1t is to be undergrad I'm all for higher salaries
and cut of radio and Tv money. But demanding a
cut OF concessions and parking fees stuff like that
is stupid.
We want favorable publicity from the public and
peasant relations with the asked Stan Musial
Continued on Page Ais Col. 6