OCR Text |
Show BUSH PRESIDENT HAS HIS TRIALS (By a President.) If there is anything in this wide world of sport more exasperating, more nerve racking, moro apt to produce pro-duce gray haira than the Job of running run-ning an unstable, bush league, I have failed to ever hear of it To begin with, a president neTor knows from one day to the next whether he will be president of any league. A single rainy Sunday may put such an organization In a fix whero tho most heroic treatment will tall to bring it back to life. Kicks on umpires are so frequent that they fall to arouse either consternation conster-nation or surprise any longer. Petty politics on the part of Jealous toaml owners Ib generally passed over with scarcely a thought. Walls of players who hav been fined or suspended come as a matter of course. Any league president has to contend with theBe, but tho "bush prcxy" has to put up with a lot of things which thej head of a prosperous organization never dreams. These troubles, now comody to me, were at one time real tragedy. One of the stormiest sessions ever held with a retiring club owner can b j recalled without the least difficulty, in making up a bill of sale for the' equipment at the park, a runty old sprinkling can and three well worn baBe bags were omitted. The deposed depos-ed magnate didn't forget them, and that evening came drilling up street with the articles under his arm. An I umpire saw his burden. J "Hero," he yelled to the retired owner, "you forgot to dig up the home plalo." I got a protest on a game in which it was charged that tb umpire declined de-clined to let a batter go to first aftor four balls had been called. "You'll 1 have to hit it,' he ruled "The bases i aro full and there's no place to put vou" But to tho umpire's credit he I It said that he always olrenuously denied de-nied making any such ruling. Man fans have the delueion that the oiilv work or a prcpidcnt ia to draw his salary, assign his umpires and make up -the official averages. 11 such should have seen nie oue Sundav morning The leaguo was wobbly and a magnate had Just thrown up the sponge. A gamo was blllod for tbo afternoon, but the grouiul-keejer grouiul-keejer had quit at the same time the magnate did. Tho club manager, a newspaper man, who also acted as official Bcoror, and the league P"'5: dent, alone provided for a game that finv Anion othor things we found the home plate mlssin?. Securing a piece of fire hose, we soon had a torn- , porarv plate, and then spent tho re6t of the morning marking oft the diamond dia-mond and getUnS a few of the rough spots out of the field. But fDr all these troubles I wonlrt hato to givo up my fJob. There's fascination fas-cination and oxcltoment about It which I imagine 1 could find in nothing noth-ing else. And 6ome day when fanfl grow more tolerant, when club o apply the aaroo methods they flow their other huslness. the job is gome to be a real sinocure. |