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10 <®OWAH STOW COW®© EXKBTC ' EDITH) S FARNSWORTH Little Jeff Refused to Tackle Anything at Catchweights :: :: :: :: By “Bud” Fisher F (NtS r > rVJ HEk’T ) f HOWE J UTA I I **•«< ?5 POvcm .• T I FISHFRMEH Cctr P'SH in S- ) COM. ooJ r n I ? / I " x M ST^TS PULu r THAT JOF T H ,S RAV f Fo^ 05 I A- ™.S w « yoo KHr>w J ->1 I WHO’LL WJ DON'T A gk aL ML J&L ><€< 1- zffigSlljl , < fcA> _ /ApW |K — iJIL ' /In T 7 r a fro toTWT AKFT . /WTTT J - \ \ —-—a; ; ;; / Ih 1 I iX^SI-> I 7 : =fe 77:| ; - ’X S^^ g 7T?' ~ *~" —•— ' ~ > / A p -i p? * ,irA g o- Bill Smith Has the Southern League Guessing + •->• +•+ +•+ •!•••!• +••!• +••*• May Spring Old Trick to Evade Salary Limit Bv Percy 11. Whiting. -/Tr.l-'l’ etn guessing," Is the LA motto of tlu two most suc- -u<■< t-Asful managers In the Southern leugtle--Charley Crank and Bill Smith. In an effort to live up to this precept. Bill Smith has grabbed one of Charley Frank’s pet ideas and has allow, d it to be rumored that next year he may be, for a blind, president of the At lanta Basebell association If he took this office he could appoint a playing manager, and thus keep down the salary roll. For, with a playing manager, only half his sal ary counts against him In figuring the total salary for the month Thus, for example, he could get one 1500 a month man -lip him in as phony manager, and only have 1250 appear on the payroll Smith may have sprung this scheme Just to get a little talk stirred up. At the. fame time, ho may right now have a high-priced man he plans to get for next year, whose salary he intends to split up In this manner. • • • OF course if Smith put through such a deal it would be nec essary to account for I’resi *dent Frank Callan ay. who Is the big mogul for next year, just as he has been for this. It would be an easy matter, however, to make him chairman of the board of directors or to give him some other phony title, leaving all authority in his hands. • • • THE thief drawback to this scheme of ma-king Bill Smith president Is that he could be kept off the bench However, at home this would be no hardship at all. for Smith could sit in the next box and direct the players just as well as though he sat among them, on the mad th. problem would be more d'-licate. At the same time, it is always possible to keep in eom • munication. in one wax qt another, with the team And Bill Smith may chance it. ♦ • ♦ AMOUNT on Bill Smith for one thing He will give Atlanta a team next year made up neither ex clusively of youngsters nor exclu sively of old-timers, but rather of a well-balanced mixture of both. Bill Smith had his fill of old-tim ers in Chattanooga last year. He figured that season that It didn't matter how old a man was. so long as he was a ball player. He found out, however, that it was one thing to have been a ball play, r and quite another to be a ball play er. Atlanta fans saw the workings of that, under Hemphill this year. TICHENOR. BLOCK. AND OSBORNE STILL IN FIGHT Match play in the three flights for the Davis & Freeman gold trophy havr just about reached the semi-final stages. - Two rounds of matches will have been completed at the conclusion of to day’s play. Here are the matches that were played Tuesday and Wednesday First Flight. First Round H Block defeated c P. King. 3 up and 2 to play. D. B Os borne defeated H. J. Hopkins. 1 up. W. R. Ticheuor defeated J. l>. Eby, 2 up and 1 to play. Second Round H Block defeated E G. < Utley. 5 up and 4 to play. Second Flight. First Round J. McMichael de feated T. P. Hinman by default. H. G Butler defeated R. Jones, 1 up Second Round —R. J. Jones, Jr, de feated J. C. McMichael, 5 up and 4 to play ; G. A Nicholson. Jr., defeated C. E. Corwin. 1 up; H. G. Butler defeated T. C. Fleming. 1 up, 19 holes. Third Flight. First Round—T. L. Cooper defeated H M. Ashe. 3 up and 2 to play; P A. Wright defeated H. L. I'ix. 3 up and 2 to plav: R. D Gresham defeated W. C Spiker by default: A W. Hodnett de feated H. Hertz by default. Just because a. man had batted .321 in the American league in 1901 didn’t prove to be any sign that he could bat better than .230 In the Southern in 1912. This year Rill Smith is "getting his gorge” of youngsters. He switched to the, other extreme at the first of tills season and tried to stock up entirely with kids. it didn't work well, as. the averages demonstrate. Next season- Bill will return to the right principles. He will have a team made up largely of young sters. but with enough old-timers on the job to steady down the kids. Most of the successful teams of the Southern league have been built on that principle. • • • A Nt>THER thing that Atlanta fans x can look for next year Is a changed attitude toward umpires. Bill Smith believes that a certain amount of word-beating and intim idation is necessary to keep the umpires giving a reasonable num ber of close decisions his way. He knows that the arbiters hate to he tongue-lashed, and he certainly knows how to apply the tongue, when the occasion arises. Bill is a peppery' individual and isn't above jumping on an umpire if the circumstances seem to war rant it. He showed that the day of the Justly famous "Shuster inci dent" —when an' umpire of that name called a game on account of darkness, though it was still broad daylight. Bill went after Shuster like a terrier dog after a rat, and if players hadn’t Interfered would have hammered him sure. Bill has been in Atlanta long enough to know, however, that the public and the press is opposed to any thing bordering on rowdy ball On the road, however, he does not feel himself in the least restrained, and he gets all out of the umpires that he can. Strange to relate, however, the umpires .seem to like Bill, and he gets along nicely with them. • • • MOTHER thing Bill Smith is going to do for the Atlanta club is to pitch overboard the tank ar tists. Bill Smith doesn't mind an occasional glass of beer Bui he will not stand for a drunkard. If a player gets to drinking on Bill Smith’s club—off goes his head Bill realizes that a drunkard is al ways an inefficient ball player— but more than one drunkard can alway s put the team on the blink by creating other drunkards • • • thing that will depart * with the coming of Smith will be indifferent playing. Under the NATIONAL COMMISSION APPROVES MANY SALES CINCINNATI, Aug. 29 The national baseball commission has announced the list of players whose releases have been purchased by major league clubs from minor league clubs since August 20. 1911. under agreements filed with and approved by the commission National League. By Philadelphia—From Atlanta, * Mayer By New York From Mobile. Detna ree. Dallas, Baier. American League. By Chicago—From Macon. Douglass; Austin. McLarry and Taylor. Birming ham, ’Johnson. Bv St Ixnils From Houston. Riggs. Sherman. Mapier: Bristol, Sloan. Montgomery. W illiams; Mobile. Wal-h. Montgomery. ’McAllister and Johnson. By Cleveland- From Bristol. Walker; New Orleans, Nagelsen and Clancy. By Detroit From Chattanooga. Burg. Alban. Ga . Berkel, Jackson, Deal; Dallas. Gibson. Vicksburg. McGehee; Jackson. Clauss By Philadelphia—From Memphis. Altman. Baltimore. ’Walsh and ’Mur phy. By Washington From Chattanooga. Moran; Atlanta. ’Agler. •Agreements not received and, therefore, subject to approv.l. THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS. THURSDAY. AUGUST 29, 1912. Smith regim" a man will have to play his level best ur get out. Bill’s whole heart is in the game, and he expects those of his players to be right in the same spot. Bill has various methods of uprooting in differenee. He gives presents to his players, he pays them all the salary the law allows (and, it is to be sus pected. more sometimes); he in spires them with his own enthu siasm; ho bawls them out and fines them If they are stubborn. Then, if they don't come around, he fires them Which Is as it should be. Gloom Hangs Heavy in Capital When Browns Defeat Great Hurler JOHNSON FAILS TO BREAK MARQUARD’S RECORD WASHINGTON, D. C„ Aug. 29. -Old Jack Powell’s glass arm was good enough yes terday to cheat Walter Johnson out of getting up to or passing Rube Marquand's w inning record of nine teen straight victories. Having won sixteen in a row, ail Washing ton turned out to see Johnson beat tile lowly Browns, It looked like a cinch for him, after the way he has been handling all the first division clubs But it was not to be. Today disappointment bangs low and heavy over the village. EVen the president is not wearing his usual happy smile. Casey fanned it? the pinch at Mudville, but gloom in that burg never compared with the layer of it that blurs Pennsylvania avenue today on account of John son’s defeat. Johnson only’ allowed four hits, against seven off Powell, but Wal ter was wild and his support was of the bush league brand. The Browns copped the argument. 3 to 2. But Johnson is game. Although the season Is getting late, he i going to go right out and try again to break the record. Greatest Pitcher of All Time. I nassutning and quiet, Walter Johnson is today the most wonder ful pitcher baseball has ever pro duced. Notwithstanding the fact that he had broken the record made by Jack Chesbro four years ago. when he defeated Cleveland for his fifteenth win, Johnson walked to the bench after that game as modestly as though he had done nothing more than what was in direct line with his diUy. There was not the least action signifying that he even thought of his great accomplishment, and instead of walfing to receive the congratula tions of the players who started to crowd around him, he grabbed his sweater off the bench and hurried to the club house. • He had but done what he considered was his work, and he could see little need for the wild huzzas coming from the atands. It is a fact that Johnson, al though he has been a brilliant per former since the first day he stood In a major league pitching box. was released by two or three minor league clubs before coming here. He started his baseball career in the West and was tried out by clubs in the Paetfi- Coast and Northwestern leagues. He was let go as being useless Probably the catchers had little use for him with that tremendous speed, and maybe they were at fault. But. anyway, somebody failed to recognize the jewel and he was allowed to drift a w ay. Trims Tigers in Debut. Al>out the middle of the year he came to Washington, and as soon ns he got here was shoved in against Detroit, then the hardest hitting and most feared club in the American league Jennings Tigers : JOE WOOD CAPTURES; J HIS 14TH GAME; HAS: 2 WON 29 AND LOST 4 • • Joe Wood, the speed hurler of • • the Boston Red Sox, is on his way • • to pass Rube Marquand’s record of • • nineteen victories. Now that Wai- • • ter Johnson has gone down to de- • • feat, Wood is the White Hope of • • the American league. Yesterday • • he won his fourteenth straight • • game. Also it was his twenty- • • ninth victory, and as he has lost • • only four games, his winning av- • • erage today is .879. Right now it • • looks as though Wood would • • break Marquard’s record. Also • • that he will wind up the season • • with the biggest percentage of vic- • • tories ever earned by a hurler, • »••••••••••••••••••••••••• FACTS CONCERNING JOHNSON’S RECORD OF 16 WINS IN ROW A.B. R. H. I Inly 3, New York2s 1 5 Retired at end of sixth, w-ith game won, 9 to 1. Musser replacing him. A.B. R. H. 2—July 5, New York 43 2 4 Pitched 12 2-3 innings of sixteen-in ning game, replacing Engel In fourth with score 3 to 2 against Senators. A.B. R. H. 3 July 9. Cleveland 33 3 8 4 July 13, Chicago 34 2 7 5 July 16, Chicago 32 2 7 Eight innings; called by agreement. A.B R. H •—July 20, St. Louis. . 6 0 0 Finished for Hughes, pitching 2 1-3 innings. Game ended in a tie A.B. R. H 6 Jltlv 22, Detroit 36 3 7 7 July 25, Detroit 34 5 6 8— July 28, Cleveland 32 1 6 9 August 2, Detroit 32 0 7 , ’—August 4, Chicago 2 0 0 Relieved Hughes in ninth, that pitch er getting credit for game A.B. R. H. 10 — August 15, Chicago 8 0 0 Relieved Cashion tn eighth w-ith score tied. Senators won tn tenth. A.B. R H. 11— August 7, Chicago. .19 0 2 Retired at end of sixth with game won. 9 to 0, Engel finishing It A.B. R. H. •—August 10, St. Louis 3 0 1 Relieved Hughes in ninth with St. Louis in lead, pitcher named losing game A.B. R. H. 12— August 11. St. Louis 39 2 4 13— August 15. Chicago 6 0 2 Relieved Cashion in ninth with score tied, and Senators won in tenth. A.B R H. 14— August 16, Chicago 29 0 1 15— August 20, Cleveland 34 2 10 16— August 23. Detroit 33 1 6 •—Does not figure in the record. figured an easy time with the awk ward-looking Western recruit, but they had reckoned wrong. Such speed as Johnson sent across the plate they had never seen. He had them backing away from the ball continually—he was wild enough then to keep the batters scared— and when the ninth inning was over Johnson was the victor over ths most tried club in the circuit and everybody knew that the Senators had picked up a wonderful pitch er. Even with a losing club, one which has been seventh and eighth so continuously that no other place was ever figured for it. Johnson has been a winning pitcher. So exceptional has his work been re garded that whenever the Wash ington club was on the road the papers in the cities would print ad vance accounts something like this: "Tlie Walter Johnsons will be here next week and," etc. Johnson has had but one poor year since he has been in the ma jor league, and that was due more tlian anything else to the very poor work of his club. His record that year. 1909. was 13 won and 25 lost, yet he finished the season with a percentage of wins almost a hun dred points better than the stand ing of the club. Here is Johnson’s record since coming to Washington: Success of Lookouts* New Manager Doubtful •?••+ -h**s- ❖•• I. -i-e-r ■£•••!• Elberfeld Rank Bloomer as Yankees’ Leader By W. S. Farnsworth. LOOKOUT fans won’t get a pennant winner next year, but they will get plenty of action nevertheless. Anywhere Kid Elberfeld hangs his hat there Is al ways a heap of life. But how-, where and why the owners of the Chattanooga franchise ever signed the Kid as manager is beyond our wildest imagination. Elberfeld, of the rowdy- type of ball player, made a dismal failure of his only out as manager. That was with the New York American league club in 1909. After having a pennant lead in May the team Y® ar • Won. Lost. Pct. 1908 14 14 .500 1909 13 25 .342 1910 25 17 .595 1911 23 1 5 .605 1912 (so far). ... 27 8 .771 May Excel All A. L. Records. It will be seen by the above rec ord that Johnson stands a pretty fair chance of excelling anything that has been done in the Amer ican league uryier the present re gime. Joe Wood is the only man ‘ in the whole circuit who really leads him in the percentages, but even at that ft is doubtful if his pitching has been as effective as that of Johnson. Wood has had a pennant-winning club behind him all the year and has been In shape since the beginning of the season. Johnson has had neither. Ask any player in the American league which of the two men he had rath er face and he will answer "Joe Wood.” Johnson is undoubtedly one of the most popular players in the league, especially in Washington. Any time the score is Close around the last couple of innings the fans, from the president down, call for the man they- consider invincible. The great pitcher has no more stanch adherent and no more ar dent admirer than President Taft. The executive rarely if ever misses an opportunity to see him work. Two years ago, when Johnson beat the Athletics in the opening game of the season by a score of 1 to 0. President Taft was in a box, and after the game was finished had Johnson brought to him and in troduced. The president warmly congratulated him and autographed the ball with which the last inning was played. That ball is one of Johnson s most prized possessions today. Pitches Without Effort. Johnson is not the Johnson of old. Instead of the awkward Westerner who began service with the Amer ican league, there is now the tall, graceful, perfectly poised figure. Every action on the diamond is almost perfection itself, and when he pitches it is with little or no apparent effort. So little does he appear to exert himself that it is often wondered how he develops his wonderful speed. In all his time in the American league Johnson has never been known to grumble at an umpire’s decision. No matter how things go against him. he never lays the blame on the poor work of the ar biter. In the box Johnson does not stand back of the rubber to get the signals and thus waste time, but he pitches, and as he is walking back to his position gets the signal from the catcher, steps in the box and immediately pitches again. When asked once why he did not take more time and get more rest while pitching. Johnson looked sur prised and answered. "That's not baseball.” The games in which Johnson works are about the short est. from the point of time, played by any of the clubs. dropped in less than five weeks to the very bottom of the ladder. El berfeld treated Hal Chase so badly that the great first baseman. jump ed the team and went back to his home in California. And when the Kid was finally disposed of he left such a wreck of a machine that Owner Frank Farrell had to build up a complete new outfit. Here Is what the Spalding guide of 1909 has to say about Elberfeld: "Nothing in the season of 1908 was more remarkable than the ca reer of the New York Highland ers. With a good getaway from the starting line, the hilltop team set out to make what looked like a runaway race for the flag, and before the middle of May they were so firmly intrenched in first place that the opinion was Griffith had a pennant win ner after many years of effort. But the belief was not to last long, for before May was ended the team started a slump which car ried it down without stopping and at such speed that in a little over five weeks the Highlanders hit the bottom never to rebound. "Before this happened the res ignation of Manager Griffith was announced and the appointment of Norman Elberfeld was made to the vacant position. But dissen sion continued to grow in the ranks and finally resulted in the desertion of the crack first base man, Hal Chase, who jumped to the California State league. From these, combinations of tough luck the team as a whole never recov ered." And from the Reach guide of 1909 we print the following concerning Elberfeld’s "success” with the New- York team in 1908: • » appointment of Elberfeld as his (Griffith’s) suc cessor led to factional troubles, which resulted in First Baseman Chase s desertion, Stahl's release NEWS FROM RINGSIDE Jack Johnson retires one day and the next day he is back in the ring. John son says he has not heard of a $30,000 oner for him to box Joe Jeannette in Paris. However, the champion said he would accept such an offer under favor able conditions. ♦ ♦ • Emil Thiry, Packey McFarland’s man ager. has the auto bug. He recently purchased the ear that Packey won when he defeated Owen Mqran in New York. • • » Harry Singer, one of K. O. Brown’s sparring partners, has secured a match in Springfield. Mo., his foe to he Art Magirl. Jack Epstein is training Singer for this match. • • w With the Joe Rivers-Joe Mandot fight less than a week off the odds are 8 to 5 in favor of the Mexican. • • • Cyclone Johnny Thompson and George K. O. Brown are scheduled to box ten rounds at Peoria September 10. Jack Dil lon was originally carded to fight Brown but ditched the club when the promoters would not come across with his demands. • • • Packey McFarland says he has no In tention of passing up his six-round fight with Young Hirst, scheduled for Philadel phia Friday. Packey says Wolgast knew this bout was already carded before he What S.S.S. Stands For The familiar letters, S. S. S., stand for Siwft’s Sure Specific, a name honestly and fairly earned by a great blood remedy. It is worthy of its title because it really CURES every ailment resulting from impure blood. The majority of physical afflictions are caused by bad blood, because a weak, polluted circulation deprives the system of its necessary strength and dis ease-resisting powers. S. S. S. cures every disorder which comes from troubles of a deranged circulation. Write for free book on the blood and any medical advice. No charge for either. THE SWIFT SPECIFIC CO., ATLANTA, GA. and consequent shifting. The de moralization was so complete that in one month the team slid from 1 the top of the heap clear to the bottom, where it remained contin- | uously without hope of redemption ' for the balance of the season.” t 1 BAN JOHNSON is quoted as saying that Walter John- J son’s winning streak was broken Monday by St. Louis. He is alleged to have said: "The win ning run was made by the St. Louis team when Johnson was in the box and the game will be recorded as a defeat for him. Johnson made a wild pitch and a St. Louts batsman hit him for a single that sent home the deciding run.” When Johnson took up the pitching burden there were two men on the paths. This alone ex- 1 cuses him from a defeat. He had nothing to gain and everything to lose. And in such a case he can not be charged with defeat. Harry Pulliam, former National league president, rendered a verdict on this question years ago and it sure was good dope, too. He claimed that the pitcher who was withdrawn from the game be held responsible for all runners who were on the paths when the relief hurlcr was rushed to the rescue. Therefore, Johnson could not be charged for a run until the two men on the bases when he went into the box had cashed. Any others that scored after that would ■ have been rightfully charged to him. But I do not believe Johnson ever gave out such a statement. It was too good a boost for his league to have Johnson In line for a rec ord. And B. Byron is one of our best little press agents. signed to meet the chagnpion and that b« 'Y an , t , % ss u up ’ even at the cost of losina the Gotham go, • • • • <oKK die R ? dd . y ’ w llO is managing Mika Gibbons, denies he has signed articles for Mike to fight Eddie McGoo?ty m in New York September 25. or In any other city for that matter. Reddy saya he received an offer from Gotham pro ”'l. t . he offer made was about 54.000 shy the lowest possible mark he has , U ‘T n f ?, r^ the St ' Paul middle weight to box McGoorty. * • • Mike Sullivan, signing himself welter weight champion of the world, says he la keen for a match with Jimmy Clabbv. to be staged at some club near Chicago, r s « y u he is . willin S to take on any the fighters right up to and Including the middleweight class. • ♦ • Grover Hayes. Columbus lightweight, who fought in this city several times laid year, sailed for Australia Monday to box in several of the foreign countries. Haves has five -0-round bouts scheduled Among those he will fight are Hughey Mehagaru Jack Carroll and Jack Russell. » • • The referee robbed Joe Coster of a de cision in New Orleans a few nights ago when he raised Frankie Russell's hand after the two had fought ten rounds, ac cording to reports from that city. weak or diseased blood, it tones up and regulates every portion of the system, and creates an abun dant supply of nourishing properties which fill the circulation and bring health to the body. S. S. S. is made entirely of healing, cleansing roots, herbs and barks, which are also possessed of great tonia 'properties. It does not contain a particle of min eral or other harmful drug, and is therefore the pu rest and s.Jest blood medicine for young or old. S. S. S. cures Rheumatism, Catarrh, Sores and Ul cers, Skin Diseases, Scrofula, Malaria and all other