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Show UMPIRES ARE ABUSED Standard of Sportsmanship in Baseball Is Rated Low. In No Other Sport Is Decision of Referee Questioned as on Diamond Fans Believe in Honesty Hon-esty of Players. Is the standard of sportsmanship m baseball lower than in any other lin? of sport? On the football field no player may even question the decision of referee or umpire. The captain is perm'-tted only to inquire politely if there may not be a different interpretation of the rule. The football coach or director di-rector who openly blames an official for the loss of a game loses caste thereby there-by in the college world. In rowing, tennis, polo, the ruling of an official is accepted gracefully even if it is felt to be wrong. So far as recalled, no turf official ever-had to be escorted from the track by a squad of police to save him from rough handling. Not since the good old days of milling in out-of-the-way places to escape police, has a boxing referee had to be defended from fistic fans who did not agree with his choice of a winner in the ring. What would the average baseball fan thinksrof players who surrounded a team-mate and berated him openly for making an error which cost a ball game? There was no throng of irate New Yorkers besieging the gates of Fenway park in Boston to beat up Snodgrass after the world's series game which he lost by muffing a fly ball. The fans believe in the honesty of the players. But not one of the 16 major league umpires threatened to jump to the Federal league to boost his salary. How many ball players of today have not done that? Not one of the umpires would try to jump a contract for increased salary. How many players would not jump for more money if they could? There are not 16 ball players in the major league today who live cleaner clean-er lives and keep themselves in better condition mentally and physically to do their work on the diamond than the t6 umpires do. |