Slice of History - 1918 World Series - 2
These articles take us back to a moment in sports history
as reported in a newspaper the next day.
The Boston Herald article 9/7/1918 on the Second Game of the World Series at Comiskey Park in Chicago (held there instead of Wrigley Field because of the larger seating capacity). The same issue had several other articles about world and national affairs.
CHICAGO WINS SECOND GAME OF SERIES 3-1
Geo. Tyler, Once a Member of Braves' "Big Three," Outpitches Joe Bush
AND HIS BAT KNOCKS IN BRACE OF RUNS
Red Sox Make Stand in the Ninth, When Strunk and Whiteman Triple
by BURT WHITMAN
AMERICANS AND FRENCH SEIZE AISNE HEIGHTS
Germans Seen Headed for Chemin-des-Dams Positions, or Beyond
GLORY OF VICTORY GOES TO U. S. BOYS
They Have Driven Enemy Up from Marne and Are Now Helping Flank Him
by EDWIN L. JAMES (Special cable to Herald and Jour-nal)
CHICAGO, Sept. 6- It took the wide, sweeping, swishing, left-handed curve ball of George Tyler, country gentleman of Nashua, N.H., and once a member of George Stallings's big three of Miracle year fame; it took more than a few adverse breaks, and it took a big inning to give the Cubs a 3 to 1 victory over the Red Sox, Joe Bush up, in the second game of the world series at the South Side Park this afternoon.
Tonight all Chicago rocks with the world series fervor, for the series is now a 50-50 proposition, each team having won once, each team mightily serene and confident in its ultimate success, and many members of both camps decidedly "het up" over the exchange of harsh words and a little more, the same occurring in the early part of today's game - very unseemly conduct, yet quite human.
Heine and Otto Mix
Otto Knabe, first base coach and "goat-getter" for the Cubs, was wholly responsible for the first man-to-man, physical contact episode of recent world series annals. After the last half of the second he issued some particularly noxious and ill-advised comments at Heine Wagner, the veteran coach of the Sox. Heinie strode over to the Cubs' dug-out, grabbed hold of Otto and the two wrestled about, it even looking as though Jim Vaughn, the hippo, added his strength to that of Otto, in putting Heinie down. The Sox veteran, a gamester through and through, had presence of mind enough not to swing or lead at Knabe, as 99 out of 100 players would do under similar conditions. Heinie has a bandaged hand, the result of a broken finger about a week ago, but this did not prevent him from impressing on Otto the inadvisability of continuing such "rough neck" tactics of "goat-getting."
In a twinkling other Red Sox players swarmed to the Cub dug-out, and a gang battle might have occurred if it had not been for the presence of mind of Wagner in not trying to put up a battle against Knabe and Vaughn. The Cubs' fans hollered and hooted at the Red Sox, after the way of a home crowd, but the blame was with the Knabe person, known throughout baseball as a "goat-getter" and not the most polished, most diplomatic coacher in the world.
Why Pick on Heine?
Indeed, it is rather a shame, from the Hub viewpoint, that Knabe did not select Mays or Ruth to wrestle instead of the crippled and veteran Wagner.
There has been altogether too much riding in this series. It is unseemly in war times for professional athletes to insert an element of this sort in the world series. It is poor judgement, yes, rank incompetency, on the part of the umpires to allow any coaching which is not legitimate. Most of all should Hildebrand, Klem, and the others see to it that personal remarks are barred. Cubs rooters and supporters claim that Wagner used some "goat-getting" tactics on Vaughn in the opening game. I doubt it, since I talked before the series with Wagner on this very topic, and he assured me that the Sox, individiually and as a team, would not stoop to such tactics..
"And doubly should this be the rule," added Heine, "when our boys are fighting in the trenches to free the world from the 'goat-getting' Hun and his unsports-manlike way." Hoorah for game old Heine. He happens to have the same nick-name our Yanks give the unspeakable Hun, but he is as thorough an American as his old pal Bill Carrigan.
Cubs Partial to Speed
Bullet Joe Bush's fast ball is made to order for the Cubs, and the surprising thing was that the Mitchmen did not make more than three runs. Indeed, it was only the tighest sort of defence back of Joe that prevented the Chicagoans from getting away to more than three. Right-handers and left-handes hopped Bush's machine gun delivery, and hit balls were the rule rather than the exception.
The attendance, as the official figures show, was larger than the opening day. With anything like fair baseball weather conditions tomorrow, the old ball yard will be stuffed to the ceiling since it is a semi-holiday and the victory of Tyler and the Cubs has boosted Cub stock for the series. Pessimists this morning wagered freely that today's crowd would be wee, but it was not so, and before the clinch is over I make bold to predict that the interest will be something like old times; not, of course, so intense, but wide and steady, as pervading as one could expect in these days when the one vital topic is the winning of the war at the earliest moment.
But for the second of unhappy memory the Sox would have won again, 1 to 0, and the series would have been on ice. The perverse little devils of the dia-mond mocked the Bostonians in that second. It was full time for the Cubs to get the busts. Bush made the fatal mistake of working overly carefully on Fred Mer- kle, a very dangerous batter, but not so dangerous that he should be walked at the start of a frame.
Bill's Eyesight O.K.
Joe got Merkle down to three and two and then walked him, a fast ball on the outside being passed up by the Cub. Then followed the crash of luck. Pick sent a hopper down in the general direction of third base. The ball would have been a putout if it had not taken a funny little skip just as Fred Thomas of the navy, rushing in fast, stooped down to field it. The ball rolled beyond third base and went as a base hit, Merkle stopping at second.
WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY IN FRANCE. Sept. 6 - The Americans and French, pursuing the retreating German divisions, have reached and occupied the heights which dominate the Aisne river. We hold the crest of these heights running east and west four kilometres south of the Aisne. The Germans seem bound to go back to the Chomin-des-Dames position and perhaps they will go further.
Under the menace of the eastward push of Gen. Manzin's army north of Soissons, and the constant pressure of the Franco-American troops south of the Vesle, they dared not hold the line any longer, and yesterday morning they started their withdrawal, closely pursued and pressed by the allied troops. The Ame-ricans are meeting stubbornly fought rear guard machine gun action in the many ravines between the Vesle and the Aisne, but no encounters in force are taking place.
Beginning of Withdrawal
Yesterday morning our patrols ascertained that the German withdrawal had begun. Fires sprang up at a large number of places, denoting German destruction raging and numerous explosions have been heard. Whole villages are aflame between the points to which the British have reached and the Hindenberg line. Here and in the northern areas the Germans are burning vast quantities of war materials which they were unable to save.
The British have reach the Athies-Ham road and are on the eastern outskirts of Bussu. At Nurlu there has been heavy fighting desperately with machine guns and trench mortars, have caused the British to pause here for the moment.
40 NEW ENGLAND MEN AMONG 507 NAME IN LATEST CASUALTY LIST
Unofficial Reports Double Number - Death of Lt. Curtis Told by His Fiancee - Lt. Redford Wounded, Then Killed

The names of 40 New England soldiers appeared among the 507 casualties announced in the list issued from Washington last night. Four New England men were officially reported killed in action, two of them being commissioned officers. In all, the names of seven officers from hereabout appear on the list. The Herald unofficial list, however, doubles the number of New England cas- ualties.
One of the most conspicuous among those announced in the entire list of killed in action in the name of 1st Lt. Benjamin L. Curtis of F company, 165th Infantry (the Rainbow division). He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. George L. Curtis of Paradise road, Northampton, and was killed in action July 28. He it was who, while lying prone on the top of a dugout, gave utterance to the now historic phrase "Give' em Hell, Boys," a slogan which stimulated his men to greater effort and was carried along the entire American fighting line."
The Chicago Public School board has decided elementary schools will no longer teach the German language or any other foreign language.
Dublin - Dublin has been severely visited by the influenza epidemic which began in Belfast. There have been nearly a thousand cases, and the schools were closed. There were extremely few deaths.

Bullet Joe Bush

 

LINKS

Slice of History Baseball - 1

Slice of History Baseball - 2

Slice of History Football - 1

Slice of History LSU Football - 1