Evening star., 1960-01-28
WIN, LOSE OR
DNAV By FRANCIS STANN
No Winqs for Jackie

WHO KNOW Jackie Jensen best that
air travel, as much home hearth and business in
teress caused the onetme Golden Boy to retire from
the Red Sox at the of 32 Jackie didn't mind cracking
the enemy line when he was playing football for the
University of California standing up to the pitchers
who like to dust of htters but he drew the line at
flying
Its shame" Ted williams commented when he
heard OF his teammates decision Hes at his peak and
is too good player to quit now" Noneheess Jensen
apparently has worn big league uniform for the last
time He had the American Leagues most valuable
player award but never his wings
Jackies move is not without precedent, however, II
one would care to go back some At least two others
come 10 mind who retired when younger than Jen
sen and for reasons less unusual was Bill Lange
one Of the atme great oueders The other Arthur
(Tfle) Shafer. Only the od-tmers will remember either
one Oddly. Lange shafer and Jensen all califor
mans.
AS THE STAR PITCHER of the Chicago White Sox
the late Clark Griffith teammate of Langes More
he admirer of the big, handsome outfelder who
for some called Little Eva He stood 6foot2
and weighed more than 200 pounds.
IF Lange had kept playing Grif used to say, he'd
have been as great Ty Cobo He darn was, any
how, and he quit after seven seasons"
Fans couldn't believe it when william Alexander
Lange retired after the 1899 at the age of 28 He
was tremendous balplayer, the records prove be-
cause he could do everything He had hit better than
800 for six consecutive achieving 1888 in 1885,
He had averaged "a stolen bases a during his
seven years as major Lacquer and the last to
steal 100 bases Altogether Lange stole 453
in his seven bg-league years. only IS fewer than Cobb
swiped his best stretch In those days.
incidentally, the not long, and the most
games Lange ever played in any year was 1913.
And what inspired Little Eva to quit? Love- according
to one version He fell hard for cultured young lady of
social standing in San Francisco, sumner who alegedy
looked upon beknickered grown men playing boys
game undgnifed.
THAT WAS ONE THEORY. Ira Smith, the noted base
hall ff1l1x
the basic for Bills retirement "Langes
legs light in comparison with the rest Of his body"
Smith notes "As result of all that running and sliding
his legs showed signs of going back on him"
One evening late in the 1899 season, according to
Historian Smith, Lange talking to Griffith. I'm get
ting more than share Of charley horses these days. he
told the star pitcher later to become the first
of the White Sox in the American League Il don't
know how much longer I'm going to be able to get
around like I should I'm thinking of pulling out of
baseball and going into kind of business" And, al
though he had hit 324 stolen 46 bases and elded
surely and spectacularly ever, he did.
Lange and Jensen came out of San Francisco but
Shafer was Los Angeles product, a stripping Of
10 when John McGraw acquired him for the Giants in
1909 Shafer we'll may have been Of the bestooking
balplayers of all time, and therein lay his trouble
He was too handsome to be a ballplayer
S&$+
McGRAW WHO HAD VISIONS of the young man be-
coming his next third baseman and Art Fletcher his
shortstop of the future escorted Art Shaer to the Giants
clubhouse and introduced him. Boys" Little Napoleon
said, meet nfielder"
The tough crusty old Giants surveyed the dashngly
handsome youth In those days Mack Sennet was show
ing movie called Titles Punctured Romance" starring
Mabel Normand and Marie Dressler, and the name
"Tillie" rolled easily off lot Of tongues Cy Seymour,
hardbitten veteran outheder stretched out his hand
and growed, well, hello Tilie"
The youth went into the clubhouse Art shafer and
emerged Tile Shafer tag he to carry until the
end Of his which wasn't long After three
the bench, learning at McGraws knee shafer became
regular in 1913 when the Giants third straight
pennant Tille golden boy many years before Jackie
Jensen was born, hit significant 287 and 1t looked like
Tne sky the limit.
But the last game he played at the tender age of a.
in the World Series against the Athletics So smtten
by his good looks feminine fans that scented letters
arrived by the armfu at the Polo Grounds The story is
that Te read them but the rbad cracks of his
teammates too much for him and Shafer quit the
game.
He the only player ever driven out OF baseball by
mash notes.