The hotel here is a great big place and got good eats. We got in at
breakfast time and I made a B line for the dining room. Kid Gleason
who is a kind of asst. manager to Callahan come in and sat down with
me. He says Leave something for the rest of the boys because they will
be just as hungry as you. He says Ain't you afraid you will cut your
throat with that knife. He says There ain't no extra charge for using
the forks. He says You shouldn't ought to eat so much because you're
overweight now. I says You may think I am fat, but it's all solid bone
and muscle. He says Yes I suppose it's all solid bone from the neck
up. I guess he thought I would get sore but I will let them kid me now
because they will take off their hats to me when they see me work.
Manager Callahan called us all to his room after breakfast and give us
a lecture. He says there would be no work for us the first day but that
we must all take a long walk over the hills. He also says we must not
take the training trip as a joke. Then the colored trainer give us our
suits and I went to my room and tried mine on. I ain't a bad looking
guy in the White Sox uniform Al. I will have my picture taken and send
you boys some.
My roommate is Allen a lefthander from the Coast League. He don't
look nothing like a pitcher but you can't never tell about them dam
left handers. Well I didn't go on the long walk because I was tired
out. Walsh stayed at the hotel too and when he seen me he says Why
didn't you go with the bunch? I says I was too tired. He says Well when
Callahan comes back you better keep out of sight or tell him you are
sick. I says I don't care nothing for Callahan. He says No but Callahan
is crazy about you. He says You better obey orders and you will git
along better. I guess Walsh thinks I am some rube.
When the bunch come back Callahan never said a word to me but Gleason
come up and says Where was you? I told him I was too tired to go
walking. He says Well I will borrow a wheelbarrow some place and push
you round. He says Do you sit down when you pitch? I let him kid me
because he has not saw my stuff yet.
Next morning half the bunch mostly vetrans went to the ball park which
isn't no better than the one we got at home. Most of them was vetrans
as I say but I was in the bunch. That makes things look pretty good
for me don't it Al? We tossed the ball round and hit fungos and run
round and then Callahan asks Scott and Russell and I to warm up easy
and pitch a few to the batters. It was warm and I felt pretty good so
I warmed up pretty good. Scott pitched to them first and kept laying
them right over with nothing on them. I don't believe a man gets any
batting practice that way. So I went in and after I lobbed a few over
I cut loose my fast one. Lord was to bat and he ducked out of the way
and then throwed his bat to the bench. Callahan says What's the matter
Harry? Lord says I forgot to pay up my life insurance. He says I ain't
ready for Walter Johnson's July stuff.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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