OCR Text |
Show CUBS DISAPPOINTED WITH SiffilCISGO Treatment Accorded by the Coast Writers Criticised by Chicago Paper. Though do other records worth mentioning men-tioning may have been broken by the Cubs ou their training jaunt into California, Cal-ifornia, they earned brackets in one peculiar particular, says Bill Forman in the Chicago Herald. They left San Francisco the worst panned ball team that ever spent good dollars on the Pacific Pa-cific coast. From the time the Cubs arrived iu San Francisco until they departed 01 the one-night stand trip homeward they were the objects of abuse and ridicule by San Fanciseo newspaper writers. Jt was not haphazard comment, but a studied campaign intended to make the Cubs ' stay there so unpleasant that President Weeghman would not consider con-sider a return trip next year. Chicago newspaper men who accompanied accom-panied the Cubs westward were puzzled puz-zled at first by the . broadside that greeted the appearance of the team in San Francisco. In every other city the Rniins visited their reception was cordial, and in Pasadena and Los Angeles An-geles the leading citizens vvent to extremes ex-tremes to convince the ball players that they were welcome. A little investigation, however, revealed re-vealed the reason why San Francisco did not want to entertain the Chicago-ans, Chicago-ans, and the explanation may prove enlightening to any major league managers man-agers who contemplate training their athletes in the city by the Golden Gate. Jt seems that when Tip O'Neill laid out the coast itinerary for the Cubs be neglected to provide for even one night's sleep in a San Francisco hotel. Instead, he housed the entire team at the Oakland hotel, across the bay. The outlay for a couple of weeks' sleeping accommodations and provender for some forty hungry ball players is considerable. con-siderable. The San Francisco hotel men went on a rampage, and the newspapers news-papers evidently thought their complaints com-plaints were well founded. It was small-town stuff and gave the Chicago bovs a jolt. The Cubs got away to a bad start in San Francisco, losing their opening game to the Seals. Then the bombardment started. One paper in particular was especially savage. sav-age. A two-column head of large type announced that the Chicago Cubs played ball like a certain Chicagoan wrestled, anil jjravelv announced that Chicago must indeed consider California a boob state to send such a ball team out there. Other newspapers followed suit, lambasting lam-basting the ball players in every w-ay possible. Small attention was paid to details of the game. Most of the articles ar-ticles were editorials. One w'riter frank, ly said the Cubs were not wanted in San Francisco because they might take a few dollars out of the golden west which might otherwise be coaxed to remain re-main at home. The campaign naturally affected the box office, and from an attendance standpoint the San Francisco series was a bloomer. Unless the writer is badly mistaken Weeghman quit the coast a big loser. And it is probable that he will look around for some other locality local-ity in which to spend his training coin in 1918. |