You Know Me, Al | Page 6

look her up when we get there the twenty-ninth of April.
She is a stenographer and was out here with her uncle and aunt.

I had a run in with Kelly last night and it looked like I would have to
take a wallop at him but the other boys seperated us. He is a bush
outfielder from the New England League. We was playing poker. You
know the boys plays poker a good deal but this was the first time I got
in. I was having pretty good luck and was about four bucks to the good
and I was thinking of quitting because I was tired and sleepy. Then
Kelly opened the pot for fifty cents and I stayed. I had three sevens. No
one else stayed. Kelly stood pat and I drawed two cards. And I catched
my fourth seven. He bet fifty cents but I felt pretty safe even if he did
have a pat hand. So I called him. I took the money and told them I was
through.
Lord and some of the boys laughed but Kelly got nasty and begun to
pan me for quitting and for the way I played. I says Well I won the pot
didn't I? He says Yes and he called me something. I says I got a notion
to take a punch at you.
He says Oh you have have you? And I come back at him. I says Yes I
have have I? I would of busted his jaw if they hadn't stopped me. You
know me Al.
I worked here two times once against Los Angeles and once against
Venice. I went the full nine innings both times and Venice beat me four
to two. I could of beat them easy with any kind of support. I walked a
couple of guys in the fourth and Chase drops a throw and Collins lets a
fly ball get away from him. At that I would of shut them out if I had
wanted to cut loose. After the game Callahan says You didn't look so
good in there to-day. I says I didn't cut loose. He says Well you been
working pretty near three weeks now and you ought to be in shape to
cut loose. I says Oh I am in shape all right. He says Well don't work no
harder than you have to or you might get hurt and then the league
would blow up. I don't know if he was kidding me or not but I guess he
thinks pretty well of me because he works me lots oftener than Walsh
or Scott or Benz.
I will try to write you from Yuma, Texas, but we don't stay there only a
day and I may not have time for a long letter.

Yours truly, JACK.
Yuma, Arizona, April 1.
DEAR OLD AL: Just a line to let you know we are on our way back
East. This place is in Arizona and it sure is sandy. They haven't got no
regular ball club here and we play a pick-up team this afternoon.
Callahan told me I would have to work. He says I am using you
because we want to get through early and I know you can beat them
quick. That is the first time he has said anything like that and I guess he
is wiseing up that I got the goods.
We was talking about the Athaletics this morning and Callahan says
None of you fellows pitch right to Baker. I was talking to Lord and
Scott afterward and I say to Scott How do you pitch to Baker? He says
I use my fadeaway. I says How do you throw it? He says Just like you
throw a fast ball to anybody else. I says Why do you call it a fadeaway
then? He says Because when I throw it to Baker it fades away over the
fence.
This place is full of Indians and I wish you could see them Al. They
don't look nothing like the Indians we seen in that show last summer.
Your old pal, JACK.
Oklahoma City, April 4.
FRIEND AL: Coming out of Amarillo last night I and Lord and
Weaver was sitting at a table in the dining car with a old lady. None of
us were talking to her but she looked me over pretty careful and seemed
to kind of like my looks. Finally she says Are you boys with some
football club? Lord nor Weaver didn't say nothing so I thought it was
up to me and I says No mam this is the Chicago White Sox Ball Club.
She says I knew you were athaletes. I says Yes I guess you could spot
us for athaletes. She says Yes