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Show . IV M "T 85 Life Story of Charles Albert Comiskey, I Ll W lI 11 X for Nineteen Years President and : Oiuner o ffre Chicago White Sox. . . j he Grand Old Roman .'. a g. w. axelson i I FLA VKH.-i' JilEV'II TO SWIVEL, CIIAI?.. Omilnkcy lo'-at.ns clnh on South HMo in Ciiiritifii Winn a ;nn;i.nt ami nays "i rv to t h'j I'm-lie h Orx-n war he- ! tw-rn I.mmuu lir-iii'H out Still an- j nhfr f l.i ; for th; White Sov KMW ,Iontfi t.iki c(MM!iKin'i "Iron Man" Val;i!i p'-is Ifilo tin; picture. j IT v.'O'.ild lo an fixator at ion to con- 1 cu that ;nnv;sky cntfre.i Chicago In tlii ripriny of I!)00 with a prat j It would not bo in accordance j ( vtlh th f far I .t I o maintain that h e nio"fd lrii.i. ,l i-nlntiiil hail park, Thfl rn;i- j Jrhy of h I m plavi'M had rn vortcl on the St. I'aiil minor league dlamoml. Ills plant j IV H a put up mi lcr' proM.'iurt of douhifl 1 F.ih't.H and in ciitructlon and lookH suf- i fi!iid rif-or dlnKly. A p'MMt.rd out, Comiskey had leased thn Bi-'-hiuIm n nil rl ra wn t he plans for the I (fraud slami and oh-n fliers before Ivi h;ii 1 bui l:t?filly itdnilth.-rl. Tho al oatitc vow loi-atfl at. Thirty-ninth Htrert and I'rl it'.-cl on uveiiii':, tho lot of land havl iik l'f.-n t ho honu1 of i he Chicago Cii-kct j cluh f(r yearn. Th-ro w.ie no stand.s or b u i I f 1 1 1 1 Lffi worthy of 1 1" nam?, hut t h e i j nnm h turf uhkI's an ideal playing f hjld. Stiind Completed on Time. A 1 rt t f v 1 n : T rem t i v Into t i e r ed with tiu: huiliiiii? .f tho Kiand stand, but., tho no w luiKiiatf; ),! r.ff a tson of "Honest John' r'(Miiikf'y, luiiou artisans, waived Tanny of thn rules, nnd by working In cifiy-Ih.hr. cifiy-Ih.hr. flrk nnd on Sundays, tho seats vct n In plaro for tho Initial .tram ft April 21, Thn unlt'-d efforts prodwed a plant vhhdi. altliouf.rh far from holm an architectural archi-tectural symphony, bad the utilitarian nd-vant nd-vant juo of rapa 'dCy n nd fresh air. The fraud Ktand was rnlsed high off the jl round, affording a view from beneath, while a tleklishly bnlanced roof served aa a invert for thn reporters. For transportation thn fans depended malnlv iin the Wentworth avenue surface I linn, the eroMs town line on Thirty-ninth 1 and t lie Sunt h Side .Elevated railroad, (our blocks a way. It hud la.-on predicted that the South. PIdo would prove a inorsue for any league team, as Sout h Siders bnd never given any evidence of Inking kindly to the national na-tional pastil no. The Brotherhood team had fail rd to draw and when the Chicago Nationals had played part of their games In the park of the former, which It had taken over, l'resident Hart had found the ; ex peri trie tit cost ly. The teeming West Side had been the ba ho ha II center of Chicago Chi-cago from the inception of the game, a j fact of which Comfskey was well aware. licRplle gloomy predictions, a new chapter chap-ter w-i.s written with the very first tilt. A ! rapacity crowd greeted the invaders. The Fox did nut fill the park every day, but at ! the end of tho season Comiskey was in condition to buy up some of the out- ; fltamiiiiK stock, which he had been compelled com-pelled to distribute. So well did the fans i rise to the occasion that only a few years i elapped before he bad become tho sole owner of the club and a few more aea-1 aea-1 sons sufficed to finance a new baseball plant, second to none In the country. While Sox Winners. With Comiskey on the bench as man- , BSer, the White Sox pulled through and, i i n a tight race, won the first pennant of i l the American league, the figures reading i" fl won and fi3 lost for a percentage of ! J5a7. Milwaukee was second, four games Ye hind and in order came Indianapolis, '. I'etnvt, Kansas City, Cleveland, Buffalo and Minneapolis. The team which captured the flag1 was t composed of Denser, Fisher, Katoil and 1'atterson, pitchers; Buckley, Sudden and Wood, catchers; Ishell, first base; Padden, field captain n nd second base; Hart man, third base; Shugart, short stop; Hoy, Dil-laid, Dil-laid, M . McFarland, Brodie and Shea ron, outfielders. U could not by any stretch of Imaglna-i Imaglna-i tlon bo called a fast outfit. In fact. It ; was probably the slowest aggregation that i ever worked under the "Old Roman,'' but It was fairly effective with the bat. Strat- t?gy was furnished from tho bench. Of the pitchers. Denser and Patterson did the best work, while Sugden was an experienced ex-perienced catcher. Padden, a star second baseman, was slowing up as were several of the others. Although of a minor league caliber, it was as game a bunch as ever stopped on the bal field and the rapidly Increasing throng in the stands found it more and nioro to their interest to stick until the end of the ninth inning. A major league aggregation took the field the following year. War having broken out, tlui winter was spent in raiding raid-ing the enemy's preserves. These are the more aristocratic names found in the 1901 lineup: Pitchers. Clark Griffith, Jimmy Callahan, Calla-han, Wiley Piatt, Hoy Patterson, John Katoil; catchers, Uilly Sullivan and Joe Sugden; infielders, Frank Isbell, Sam Mertes. Frank Ilartman, Ed Burke, Frank Shngart; outfielders. William Hoy, Fielder Jones, Clarence Foster, Kd McParland. Griffith Succeeds Comiskey. With the signing of Griffith, Callahan nnd Meries, civil war was on. All three were stars of the first magnitude and their migration from the West Side ot Chicago to the South Side accentuated the , cieavapro between tho two camps. Na tional league funs took It much to heart. A bitter rivalry sprang up. which contln- ' ued until followers of each discovered that even with two teams thero could be enough glory to go around. With the close of tho U'OO season Com- '.-.ey said farewell to the bench, planted so'f in the presidential chair and n'd the managerial reins over to Clark J'fit'i. The veteran quit with a record "venten years behind him as man-au-'r. In that time he had won five pennants pen-nants and one world's championship. He c!'-J,1(l a professional career that had extended ex-tended over twenty-five years, having b.en in uniform all but two. When he stepped from the dug-out he was in his pr'.me Z years of ase and his physical condition was such that he threatened to break into the gime now and then. "If ho does he will show the rest of ua 13 p." was Isoell's sage comment. Tt was a pretty good team which took the field in V.iiH, the first year of the v.'ar. but it had to be. Tiiere was plenty of competition ail the way from Boston to Milwaukee. The list of players given i:i the preceding chapter gives a fair idea of tiie "cias," but after another stirring race Chicago asain won, vith Boston sec-end, sec-end, four games behind. Detroit, Athletic?, Ath-letic?, Baltimore, Washington, Cleveland ami Milwaukee finished in order named. St. Louis Replaces Milwaukee. On r-ipcr, at least, two clubs seemed to j have the edge on the White Sox Boston and the Athletics. Chicago had increased ! Its sptcd by the acquisition of Callahan, i Jones, Mertes and Hoy. but it was far I from being a fat combination. In hitting It wns only superior to the team of the year before, but it nuhed through un its I pitching and teamwork, the battle raging to the end of the season. With the ring cleared for the fre-for-ft 1 1 in I fK' 2 the n ' w leas: u n f on nd it con -; v en lent to replace Mi: wo uke ,' with St. I I.ouls !n the circut. As the Mound City j had l oasld two iv'bt; within its gates at ; dUYerorn times the transfer did not create j a sensation, but the defection of lialti- i more, in th. middle of the season, did I Tu- onus for the smash was placed on John M.-Grnw, who was the leader of tho Orioies at the time. He resigned in July to become manager of the New York National Na-tional and. a month later, the majority Gtork;:o!ib'r. sold the team to John T. PruFh. who that soring had obtained control con-trol of th- (jiarls. Of the team McCiln-nily. McCiln-nily. fj.nln, Medium anil lirosnahan followed fol-lowed Mer,raw, while Kelley and Seymour tvT" released to Cincinnati. Brush had been the man to engineer the deal and hu had figured that tho strategy A "family group" of the Sox-Giants world tourists in front of the Sphinx. Mr. and Mrs. Comiskey may be seen in the center, mounted on "ships of the deseret." would have the effect of breaking up Johnson's circuit or at least would force the invaders to come to terms. He never made a greater mistake. Some of the week-kneed members in the American league were for a compromise. "hot it be a fight to a finish,' demanded demand-ed Comiskey In Chicago. The league as a whole went to the rescue res-cue of tho plucked Orioles and a makeshift make-shift team was put in the field and finished fin-ished out the season. At the close President Presi-dent Johnson took advantage of the alleged al-leged underground method 3 employed by the National to Inflame the fans against the parent body and thus secured a following fol-lowing in the country's metropolis which later was taken advantage of to . the full. Baltimore Club Eliminated. When the New York invasion finally took place the American league circuit committee, still in good working order, fortified Itself by drafting backers - for the new club from the leading political, social and financial lights of the city. The elimination of Baltimore and the entry Into New York provided the American Amer-ican league's missing link, completed an organization which has not seen a territorial terri-torial change up to the present, and eventually even-tually led to peace and a new national agreement. The invectives hurled at Brush during this period by supporters of the junior organization wero as emphatic as they were picturesque. Comiskey did not join In the chorus. The turn of affairs made baseball enemies of the "Old Roman" and the New York magnate, but the Chicago owner always Insisted that Brush was not as had as painted. "It Is his method of waffare," Commy would explain to the interviewer. "We have ours and we will whip them at the gate. There, Is the place, to decide the fight," Comiskey was rlgTTt. The clicking of the turnstiles and the daring incursions Into the players' fold decided the fray. At the end of the 1902 season came overtures for peace. With Harry C. Puliiam as president of the National league it was not difficult to reach an agreement, which was signed at Cincinnati, January 10, t 1903. j With the new compact baseball was put on a solid foundation and the structure struc-ture was not again to be disturbed until a decado had passed. It is hot the Intention to go Into the details de-tails of each pennant race which followed the first year of actual warfare. Only the high spots in the career of the White Sox wili be touched upon. The statistics of the game may be safely left to the many excellent baseball "guides." New Players Not Successful. New names are to be found on the 1902 White Sox roster in Garvin, MeMackin, Kddie Hughes, Lcitner, Durham, Eddie McFarland, Daly, Strang and Green the latter "Danny" of the Cubs. Several others were tried out, but found w-ant-ing. The name of George Davis also appears for the first time. Davis had twice been manager of the Giants and, although al-though well along in playing years, was considered one of the best Infielders In tho game. The veteran braced up the infield, in-field, but other teams also had been greatly strengthened through new raids and the best the Sox could do was to finish fin-ish fourth to the Athletics. St. L.oUis and Boston were second and third, respectively, respec-tively, while Cleveland, Washington, Detroit De-troit and Baltimore trailed Chicago. The newcomers on the 1903 Wh'te Sox team, after the final foray into the enemy's en-emy's territory, were Flaherty, White, Punkle. Owen and Altrck, pitchers; Slattery, catcher; Dolan, Tannehlll, Ma-goon Ma-goon and Clarke, in'ie'ders, and Hallman, outfielder. To Griffith was assigned the task of piloting the new Gotham team and Johnny Callahan succeeded his former teammate as manager. Through a combination com-bination of clrcumstanc es, with injuries predominating, the Sox became the American Amer-ican league doormat, being unable to finish fin-ish better than seventh, Boston capturing the flac. The Athletics. Cleveland, New-York, New-York, Detroit and St. Bouts wore above Chicago, while Washington alone trailed it. This year saw the first of the Sox-Cubs Sox-Cubs series for the city championship. It proved the lorest, in point of games, bar one. which either had engaged in, fourteen four-teen games being crowded into the first two weeks of October. Each won seven, the series terminating In a draw. Comiskey Com-iskey was insistent on playing the fifteenth, fif-teenth, but Frank Seele. manager of the Cubs, demurred. He cave as the reason'' that tho contracts with the players had expired and that Joe Tinker, his str short ston. had a date at the altar in I Kansas City. Nick Altrock a Hero. The historic gameness of the Sox again came to the front in ' tills series. The Cubs were getting a long load in games early. Altrock turned the scales. He was not, at this time, eonsidere I much of a pitcher, and had been given only a minor part. When all the star Sox pitchers had been walloped Nick volunteered. I "Give me a chance." he pleaded with Callahan. "I can lick them. I have as j much as I always had my glove and that's enough." i Altrock pitched and won. The year I i 0 4 was marked bv the appearance ap-pearance with the White Sox of Edward Walsh, a giant In siz. but of small at ! tainmetits as a ball player. He bad bei drafted from the Newark club of the ivi si rn league, where he reioicei in the sobriquet of "Iron Man." He was all of that when he first reporte i to the sprlns training camp at Marlin. Texas., but that exhausted his repertoire. He had speed to burn, hut didn't know how to use it. He tus impossible as a fielder and a bunt hit In his direction was always good for at bast one base. Coal mining around Plains, Pa. , In his early days had failed to stunt his physique, and "Apollo" proved no misnomer. mis-nomer. When, however, he came to carry out the role of the Grecian divinity aside from music and oratory, Walsh fell afoul of the "Old Roman." Posing had never been an attribute of "Commy." It was an art with Walsh. On the point of delivering deliver-ing the ball he sometimes would Btand for a minute or more, with arms poised on high, shoulders thrown back, one foot a step in front of the other and ail the time never moving a muscle. Coming off the field one day, Comiskey accosted him. j "That's a great pose you got, Ed," began be-gan the Sox boss, "but I don't think you keep it long enough. When yon get your arms above your head hold the position, until they get the cameras ready." Pose Used Advantageously. Walsh saw the point, but never entirely dropped the pose. Later on he used it to develop a throw to bases, especially first, that had every runner In the league "buffaloed." The victims of the deadly snap throw Insisted that It was "balk" motion, but Kd got away with it, as no umpire had the heart to interfere with a maneuver which was the acme of artistic deception. Having looked him over once both Callahan Cal-lahan and Comiskey came to the conclusion conclu-sion that Walsh had been a whale among minnows and that he should be given the opportunity of resuming the role. Yet, somehow or other, he was retained. An I incident, considered of no moment at the I time, turned the scales in his favor and j eventually made him one of the greatest hqrlers of all time. In the Sox camp at Marlin was a pitcher pitch-er by name of Elmer Stricklett. He was the opposite to Walsh in build, and yet he handed up a ball to the batters in practice prac-tice which was unhittable. It took twists and turns in approaching the plate thai were against ail the laws of gravity. Everybody took a swing at it. Most of them missed It, sometimes by a foot or more. Billy Sullivan, catching, found the bal! wet and slippery. "What's tho idea," demanded the baek- . 1 stop, who was not enamored of handling ti:e sphere-. "Oil. that's my way of pitching," explained ex-plained Stricklett. "What do you call It?" insisted Sullivan. Sulli-van. "Don't know," was the answer. "I sup; use 'spitbair explains it as well fts anvthing." No one watched the gvrations of the ball closer than did Fd Walsh. Curiously ii"gh. Stricklett hailed from the same club ns did Walsh, although Elmer hud preceded the "Iron Man" a couple of years. It was while ho was with the I Newark club that, Strickleil had been taught the delivery by Pitcher Corridon of tlio Philadelphia Nationals. Walsh Greatest Spithaller. Corridon only pna.sesod the rul!ment9 of tho delivery, r.e knew it combined n drop and curve, both in and out, yet he never could control it. Stricklett started to perfect it while with tho Brooklyn club. When he joined the White Sox 'ie had mastered it fairly well, but before he could show its effectiveness he developed devel-oped a lany arm and was released. lie is -red'tod wi:h haviusr pitched one fc.anio for the White Pox. His pupil fiaured In 415 vcamrs and it was not until 191$ that he complained of a sore win. Walsh continued to srow as a pitcher, hut slowly at first. It was not until 1905 that he pot into his real stride. In that year he pitched in 41 games. In 1908 he fisruredi in 66, a record for the league. Then In successive years ho rolled up a record of 32, 4, 5S and 62. Ho became the master of the moist delivery, and the idol of the fans. Even C'omiskov became reconciled to his "pose." Honus'es, autos and other tokens of value were showered on him. Heroes make friends. Walsh's were legion. ITe could have dispensed with many to his own advantage.-. While at the heig-ht of his career some of his self-apopinted self-apopinted advisers suggested that lie didn't pet enough money from Comisliey. "Stand out for $7500," was the advice. It was suggested that he put his affairs In the handi of a lawyer. The attorney wrote one loVer to Comiskey. He never repeated, as "Commy" answered the first as only be could do. "So Walsh lias a lawyer now," said Comiskey at the receipt of the epistle. "He didn't need one during the three years I was paying him to sit on the bench and learn something about pitching. pitch-ing. '- Walsh irot a job coaching a colletre team after he heard from his friend the attorney, when he didn't hear anything from Comiskey be jumped on a train, came to Chicago and signed the contract laid in front of him. It was for less money than he would have received had he been without "legal advice." Signed Up as Scout. That fall he was handed a check for j $3000 to be applied toward the education of his two boys. Reports to the contrary, I Walsh was paid one of the highest sal-I sal-I aries of any player in the league. It did not nlways Vis'iire in the contract, but he got it Hi ft the same. Came the time, in the sprlnp of liU-. when Walsh switched from a base'viil to a medicine ba'.l. It was at l'aso liobles. Cal. He tossed the biir leather fphere once too often. Something F!iaped in his shoulder and he was through as a pitcher. pitch-er. For three years ho sat on the brnrh praetleally useless to the team. Comiskey spent a small fortune in irylni? to rehabilitate rehabil-itate him. Hone setters and masseurs lived in clover while the experiment was Boins on. but the minhty lutrler never aLnua pitched a game in his old-time form. Through as a pitcher, Comiskey offered htm a minor league club. Walsh hated to think that "he couldn't "come back," and turned it down. His last trial was with the American association. He failed. Ooni!np into Comiskey' s office that summer sum-mer he admitted ihtu his career as u ball plaver was over. "I knew you wero through years uj?o," said Comiskey, "but you are sill on tin White S'tx pay roll. I need a good scout." ' Com emooraneous with . Walsh wns i Frank Smith, another plant. He had all I the earmarks of a jrreat pitcher. Also some peculiarities. One- of these was a windup .with men oil tho bases, which carried the frills of an acrobatic feat. Callahan tried to change his stylo, but to no purpose. Comiskey, finally becoming exasperated, called Smith In. "When a mnn on first la trying to Fteal, while you are pitching, the catcher musi throw the ball to third base instead of second," said Comiskey, with mock seriousness. seri-ousness. "Hut why?" innocently asked the big twirl er. "Because when you pet through your : windup the runner ouht to be sliding Into that bat?," answered tho "Old Roman." Donohue also appeared for the first time on this trip to Marlin the Immortal ,Iisi?s( who after a disappointing start became be-came the most finished first baseman of the decade. Then there were Berry pnd Hoy don, catchers ; Pun don and Rossman, Infielders; Ducky Holmes and Huelsmau, outfielders. Before tho season ended, left field had a new occupant in Jimmy Callulvin. who had relinquished the managership to Fielder Jones in midsummer. The new manager Droved an ideal lead er and the Sox, through a spurt at tho close, waltzed Into third place In the race, with Boston winning tho championship. New York finished second, and after Chicago Chi-cago came Cleveland, Athletics, St. Louis, Detroit and Washington. If any Justification for the choice of Fielder Jones as manager was, needed, tho W0 5 campaign, the season of preparedness prepared-ness for greater things, furnished it. With the exception of Infieider Rohe, Jones practically stood pat on the team and made the race the most spectacular seen In the American league up to that time. For the greater part of the journey the White Sox and Athletics were neck and neck, Chicago leading In the middle of the season by a narrow margin. After falling behind when the season was two-thirds two-thirds over, the Sox came again and by a sensational spurt came, within one game of Connie Mack's whirlwinds. They played eleven games in six days away from home. The Sox lost, but they compelled : the Athletics, the eventual winners, to travel the rocky road of uncertainty un-i un-i til the third from the last day of the season. sea-son. At the finish the Athletics had won 92 games and lost 56; the Sox had won &2 and lost 60. The rest of the contenders were outclassed, out-classed, Detroit being the nearest, Boston, Cleveland, New York, Washington and St. Louis trailing. i Peace having been declared between the rival Chicago clubs, the post-season games were resumed. The brilliant playing play-ing of Frank Chance was a big factor in the victory of the Cubs, who vanquished; the Sox four games out of five. |