Connie Mack responds to John McGraw’s claim that the Athletics are in debt and not turning a profit
McGraw is challenged by Mack to produce proof
John McGraw was always the cantankerous sort. Whether it was spiking a middle infielder as a player or savaging an umpire as manager, the man never shied away from a fight – verbal or physical.
So it should come as no surprise that McGraw’s tenure in the fledgling American League was short-lived. The junior circuit was run by the equally combative Byron Bancroft Johnson. The former sportswriter was an autocrat who did not take too kindly to those whose challenged his authority. This relationship was doomed from the start.
Johnson despised gamblers, profanity, and a lack of professionalism. He demanded that the American League be free of what ailed the National League. He ruled with an iron fist as his rules were non-negotiable. Johnson also famously backed his umpires in disputes with players or managers – much to McGraw’s dismay.
Unbeknownst to all parties involved at the time, McGraw’s tenure in Baltimore came to an unceremonious end during a game at Oriole Park on June 28, 1902. After a rundown in the bottom of the eighth inning and his club trailing Boston, 9-4, trouble found Mr. McGraw. Orioles first baseman Dan McGann was caught between third and home. While McGann was being chased up and down the line, right fielder Cy Seymour ran from second to third.
Boston butchered the rundown, allowing McGann to return safely to third. Seymour, aware of what was transpiring, retreated safely to second base. After McGann and Seymour had returned to their bases, Boston third baseman Jimmy Collins threw the ball to shortstop Freddy Parent who subsequently placed a tag on Seymour. As part of a then-standard two-man umpiring crew, umpire Tommy Connolly (working the bases) immediately called Seymour OUT!
McGraw bolted onto the field and headed straight for the arbiter. Connolly explained that Seymour had rounded third base and failed to re-tag on his way back to second. There were numerous differences of opinion as most eyes in the park were focused on McGann, caught in the rundown. Connolly was steadfast. Surprisingly, McGraw was relatively calm during a dispute with an umpire.
Connolly finally heard enough and banished McGraw to the clubhouse. McGraw refused to vacate the field, and, after waiting a few minutes and the Baltimore manager still on the diamond, Connolly declared a forfeit – awarding Boston a 9-0 victory. According to eyewitnesses, Connolly’s ejection of McGraw was too hasty, as McGraw was not in an angered or enraged state as was usual during his altercations with umpires.
News of the incident in Baltimore finally reached Ban Johnson’s Chicago office. Two days passed before Johnson handed down his sentence: Manager John J. McGraw and outfielder Joseph Kelley are to be suspended indefinitely. Each receiving a telegram from Johnson’s office on June 30, 1902. Growing weary of McGraw’s behavior, Johnson released a statement with McGraw’s latest suspension.
“I have had enough time since I returned from the north to make a thorough investigation of this Baltimore trouble, and I am convinced that umpire Connolly was absolutely right. He knew what he was doing, because he knew the rules, and I am glad he maintained his position and humiliated Mr. McGraw.”
Claiming he never received a telegram, McGraw fired back at his adversary, “If Johnson says he knows all about this case and has made a full investigation, he shows that his investigation is of no account and that his knowledge of the matter is all wrong.” McGraw contended that Johnson could not see from Chicago what transpired in Baltimore.
When asked about how long he thought he would be suspended, McGraw fired back, “How long do I expect to be out of the game? Well, I stand where Ban does. He doesn’t know; neither do I. What a lot of things we don’t know in this world! …Ban is a great suspender. Why, he’s almost a pair of suspenders!”
Reports out of New York on July 2 stated that McGraw was set to jump back to the National League to manage the Giants. McGraw denied the claim and said that he had no intention to discuss his future plans. Kelley was more pointed, accusing Johnson of consistently giving the Orioles the shaft because he wanted the franchise out of Baltimore – wanting to place a franchise in New York to compete with the National League.
The proverbial shoe finally dropped. The New York Giants shocked the baseball world on July 7 when owner Andrew Freedman announced the hiring of John McGraw to manage his club for the unheard of sum of $10,000 per annum. McGraw released a long statement announcing his move to Gotham and offered a parting shot at his antagonist. He squarely laid blame on Johnson for his decision to leave Baltimore. “When I said that I would never play again in the American League if Johnson suspended me, I qualified the statement by saying that it applied as long as Johnson is the head of the organization.
“It would be merely foolishness for me to stay here any longer as things stand now. I am not allowed to play, for as soon as I get in the game I am harassed and nagged by the umpires until I am put out. The consequence is that I am drawing a salary from the club for services which I cannot perform, while all the time I could be making good money elsewhere.”
McGraw was not done roasting the American League. He also took aim at the Philadelphia Athletics and team president Benjamin Shibe and manager Connie Mack. “The Philadelphia club is not making any money. It has a big white elephant on its hands. The grounds (Columbia Park) are leased for 10 years at the rate of $7,000 per year, and the principal backer of the club (Shibe) has all that he wants of it because he cannot see a penny coming in at the gate. No money was made last year and no money will be made this year.”
The Philadelphia press quickly picked up on McGraw’s remarks and fired back. “Who said white elephant? Certainly not one of the 10,398 live ones,” in regards to the large crowd who witnessed Rube Waddell mow down Boston on July 12. A column in the July 14 edition The Philadelphia Inquirer was even more pointed, “The mouthings of McGraw were just what one would expect from a person of his peculiar mental equation.
“McGraw will now be in his element (New York). He may consign the umpire to all remote regions, cast aspersions at will upon his maternal derivative and advise him to perform all sorts of impossible physical stunts, and that luckless devil will not dare say him nay. For Mugsy, backed by Andrew F. (Freedman), will be the whole works of the National League outfit. And that’s no midsummer night’s dream.” Truer words were never spoken.
McGraw’s shot at the Philadelphia Athletics angered the even-tempered Mack. As the leader of the aggregate from the City of Brotherly Love, Mack quickly shot back at McGraw’s insinuation. Mack was indignant over McGraw’s statement and challenged him to provide evidence. Mack had no trouble getting his point across when meeting with local writers.
“There was a time when I thought that McGraw was a baseball man, but since I have been closely associated with him, I have been compelled to change that opinion,” said Mack during his postgame press briefing on July 11. Mack did not stop there; he had Mugsy in his crosshairs. “His statement that the American League is in debt is too ridiculous for consideration,” Mack continued, “and he undoubtedly based his remarks on the condition of the Baltimore club, which is the highest priced in the league, and failed as a money-maker through his own mismanaged and quarrelsome methods, which kept himself and his players off the field when they should have been contributing to the success of the game.
“And furthermore, McGraw knows absolutely nothing about the working of the league, insofar as the executive control is concerned. Do you suppose for one moment,” Mack asked rhetorically, “that President Johnson would make a man of McGraw’s caliber familiar with the inside machinations of the league? McGraw knows nothing! Bet to the limit on that.”
McGraw truly had Mack’s Irish up and Mr. Mack was not done unloading on his antagonist. “McGraw says that the Athletic Club is a white elephant, that is, not making any money; that it did not make any last year, and that its principal stockholder (Shibe) has all that he wants of it. There is a quick way to settle this. I will bet McGraw $1,000 – and I think that I can get the coin – that the Athletics did make money last year, and are making money this year.”
Mack was correct, of course. In only their second year of existence, the Mackmen surpassed the tight-fisted Phillies in popularity and attendance – nearly quadrupling the Phillies’ total paid attendance for the 1902 season. Those totals did not include fans viewing the action from rowhouse rooftops along 29th Street and Columbia Avenue. The Athletics were so popular that fans carried pre-printed placards that read, “WILL FOLLOW THE CROWD TO THE ATHLETIC BASE BALL GAME!”
McGraw surely knew his comments were not factual, but the pugnacious skipper decided to burn that bridge anyway. Nearing the end of Mack’s presser, the local scribes were itching to get to their typewriters and telegraph machines – they had prime copy for the morning papers. Mack was already peeved because his team had just been clobbered by Boston, 8-2 – dropping them seven and a half games off the pace. Before calling it a day and heading home for supper, he decided to get a few more shots in at the former Baltimore manager.
“Another statement too absurd to notice is McGraw’s claim that the league is conducted by President Johnson solely in the interest of the Philadelphia, Chicago, and Boston clubs. Those who have followed the rulings of President Johnson on all important questions know that this is an untruth, and none know it better than McGraw himself. McGraw’s club suffered through McGraw’s disgrace, and had he behaved himself as a gentleman should, he would have gotten the same fair shake that the others got – an impartiality characteristic of the president of the American League.”
Having finished his diatribe against McGraw, Mack put on his straw boater, bid the writers a pleasant evening, and set out for home. Their paths would cross again – on the game’s biggest stage.
-AC
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