Page Title

Monitor, pen name of the Yankees beat reporter
for the New York World, the largest newspaper in
the city. An experienced sports reporter, his
writing is typical of that time: cynical, light, free-
flowing. His articles tended to comment on the
action as much as they tried to document it. Like
many sports writers of the day, Monitor rarely
quoted a player by name in his stories, was as
likely as not to make up the quote if he did use
one (see July conversation between Ruth and
Archbishop Mannix), but frequently spent off
hours with the players. In 1920, the Yanks,
Monitor and the city all enjoyed the resurgence
of interest generated by the arrival the preceding
January of Babe Ruth. Monitor’s interest in such
developments as Ruth’s emergence, the Black is
primarily for their potential impact on his career.

Amos Strunk, journeyman outfielder signed by
the Chicago White Sox in late July to help their
push for a second straight pennant. Strunk was a
veteran outfielder who by 1920 had fallen to
journeyman status on the downside of a 13-year
big league career. In his prime, Strunk had been
one of the game’s best hitters: as he notes, he
once finished fourth in the AL batting race
behind only Speaker, Cobb and Jackson.
Originally with the Philadelphia A’s – his home-
town team – Strunk had been traded to Boston as
part of Connie Mack’s first salary purge, then back
to Philadelphia in 1919. At the time Mack waived
him in July of 1920, he was hitting .297 and
playing regularly. He came to the White Sox
naively unaware of the extent of the clubhouse
warfare – fueled by rumors of the 1919 World
Series fix -- that has over-shadowed the team’s
performance the entire 1920 season. He is soon
forced to balance his desire simply to win one
more pennant against his own growing doubts
regarding the honesty of his teammates. Strunk
continued in the majors until 1924, and died at
age 90 in 1979.

The Turnstile Kid, a young, unnamed
Cleveland boy and a fan of the Indians. It is the
first season of his life that his team has contended
for a pennant. An altar boy at the neighborhood
Catholic church, he comes to know several of the
players who live in his area, among them Ray
Chapman, who is receiving instruction in the
Catholic faith. The Turnstile Kid is a product of
the experiences and prejudices that are common
at the time, and he at first accepts those as the
way of the world. Chapman’s death on the field is
a jarring experience to him, but even more
jarring is his subsequent exposure to the adult
side of the prejudices he has taken for granted.
This leads to a process of self-examination that
comes to full flower in the development of his
relationship with Levi. Levi is a young Negro boy
the kid’s age and a fellow Indians fan who lives in
the servants quarters of one of the Cleveland
mansions.

Part 1: The Infant Swatigy (July 15-31)
1. The Infant Swatigy
It is mid-July of the first summer of Prohibition. In New York, all
attention is focused on the exploits of the city’s newest hero, Babe
Ruth. He is rich, devil-may-care, fawned over, and in his wake many
others – Monitor among them – seek to rise to fame and fortune, each
in his or her own small way. Monitor’s way is to describe Ruth’s exploits
to an adoring public, a job to which his florid prose is well-suited.

2. Silent Welcome (Chicago)
Having just been waived by the last-place Philadelphia Athletics,
Amos Strunk signs with the contending Chicago White Sox. An aging,
once-great player, Strunk now seeks one last chance at the World
Series, and he believes the Sox, the greatest assemblage of talent in
the American League, can provide it for him. He is unprepared for
what greets him on his arrival at the Chicago clubhouse in Cleveland.
So bitter is the atmosphere that he is ignored by the two factions of
warring stars; only the scrubs will even greet him.

3. The Turnstile Kid (Cleveland)
Like all boys in the neighborhood, he is swept up in the team’s first
serious pursuit of a pennant. In part this is because one of the players,
catcher O’Neill, lives nearby and attends his church. A second,
shortstop Chapman, has recently moved into the area with his bride of
less than a year. One day, through pure luck, the boy wins admission
to the park as a turnstile kid, a young man whose job is to stand
alongside the ticket taker, rotate the gate and let paying customers
inside. The custom is that after two or three innings, when all the
paying customers have arrived, he is free to roam the grounds himself.

Part 2: The Last Two Weeks of Innocence and
Purity in the History of Baseball (Aug. 1-15)

4. “Fuck Babe Ruth"; "Fuck the King” (New York)
In Detroit, Ruth delights the visiting audience by running his home
run total beyond 40. This sets off a drunken cross-border romp into
Canada by a Yankee party led by the team’s owner, Col. Tillinghast L’
Hommideau Huston. The evening ends in the Colonel’s embarrassing
arrest for insulting the King of England. To Monitor it is nothing more
than the kind of mindless fun his readers will revel in reading about.
“Such is life with the Yankees,” he says, “and it is good.”

5. Baboons and Monkeyshines (Chicago)
The Sox perform erratically enough to raise Strunk's suspicions, but
not poorly enough to plainly be considered corrupt. When the
Yankees arrive in Chicago, Ruth’s presence creates a pleasant
distraction from the attitude in the dugout. Like the other players and
like the fans, Strunk is fascinated by Ruth, who hits the ball harder
than Strunk imagined possible.

6. Two Lucky Stiffs (Cleveland)
The Turnstile Kid and his neighborhood pals make plans to see Babe
Ruth during the Yankees’ upcoming visit to League Park. Later in
the week, the Turnstile Kid is summoned to the neighborhood
church, where the priest is giving conversion lessons to a man. The
priest desires the kid to assist in those lessons. It turns out that the
man is none other than Chapman, who is planning to complete his
conversion to the Catholic faith when the Indians return from the
upcoming Eastern swing.

A Guide to the Other Names and
Figures in the Story

Arnold: Arnold Rothstein, New York
underworld figure and central financier of
the 1919 World Series fix.

Attell: Abe Attell, Rothstein’s liaison with
the White Sox players in the 1919 Series
fix.

Barrow: Ed Barrow, manager of the Red
Sox in 1918-20; later to become general
manager of the Yankees.

Barry: Jack Barry, for many seasons a
shortstop with the Athletics; later a second
baseman with the Boston Red Sox. Barry
was not himself a great player, but he
contributed to great teams. He was a
regular on six pennant winners, five of
them five world champions, between 1910-
16.

Black Betsy: The name Joe Jackson gave
his bat.

Cahalane: Referenced in New York press
accounts of the day as chief inspector for
the New York City Police Department in
charge of security in and around the Polo
Grounds.

Chase: Hal Chase, well-known first
baseman of the era who was widely
understood to be crooked.

Chill: Ollie Chill, American League umpire
from 1914 to 1916 and again from 1919 to
1922.

Connolly: Tommy Connolly, an American
League umpire from the league’s
inception in 1901 through 1931. With Bill
Klem he was inducted into the Hall of
Fame in 1953; they became the first two
umpires so honored.

Commy: Charles Comiskey, owner of the
Chicago White Sox.

Covey, The Big Polack: Commonly used
references to Cleveland pitcher Stanley
Coveleski. (In those days, his name was
commonly mis-spelled as “Coveleskie.”)

Cruisenberry: James Cruisenberry, long-
time sports writer for the Chicago Tribune.

Cuckoo: Commonly used name for
Charles Jamieson, Cleveland’s usual left
fielder in 1920.

Donald Dixon: According to contemporary
newspaper accounts, there really was
such a boy. He was seven years old, he
really was brought to Cleveland in August
and recognized in ceremonies prior to the
game as “home run champion of
Cincinnati,” and he really did shake hands
with Babe Ruth on the field. If Donald
Dixon is still alive today, he is slightly more
than 90 years old and must have some
dandy stories to tell.

Doc: Commonly used nickname for
Wheeler Johnston, Cleveland first
baseman. In October of 1920, Doc
Johnston and his brother, Brooklyn regular
Jimmy Johnston became the first siblings
ever to face one another in the World
Series.

Jim Dunn: Owner of the Cleveland Indians

Harry Fabian: Groundskeeper at the Polo
Grounds.

Father Smith. The wedding of Ray
Chapman and Kathleen Daly on Oct. 29,
1919 was presided over by Rev. Joseph
Smith of St. Philomena’s Parish in East
Cleveland.

Father Nash: Father William Nash was
one of the priests at St. Philomena’s
parish in 1920 at the time of the Chapman
death.

Frazee: Harry Frazee, owner of the Boston
Red Sox, who in January of 1920 sold
Babe Ruth to the Yankees because he
needed cash to finance a failed Broadway
production.

Chick Gandil: Presumed ring-leader of the
1919 fix, who retired following that season.

Gleason: Kid Gleason, manager of the
Chicago White Sox

Granny: Grantland Rice, syndicated sports
columnist.

Hanna: William Hanna, sportswriter for the
New York Sun

Hildebrand: George Hildebrand, American
League umpire from 1913 to 1934.

Col. Tillinghast L’Hommideau Huston and
Col. Jacob Ruppert. Co-owners of the
New York Yankees, both portly, and both
having made their fortune in the brewing
business.

Igoe: “Hype” Igoe was a veteran and well-
known sports writer. Starting in San
Francisco around the turn of the century,
he gravitated to New York and by 1920
was an established baseball beat writer.
In a fashion still common at that time, his
newspaper byline simply read: “Igoe”.

Infant Swatigy (The): One of numerous
nicknames given to Babe Ruth during the
period. Others include the Bazoo of Bang,
Baby Grand, Tarzan, the Colossus of
Clout, His Royal Nibs, and (by his
detractors) The Big Baboon.

Lardner: Ring Lardner, well-known sports
writer.

Levi: A fictional character

McGraw: John McGraw, long-time
manager of the New York Giants.

Old McGregor: A fictional character.

Nallin: Richard F. Nallin was an American
League umpire from 1915 to 1932.

Robinson: Arthur Robinson, sportswriter
for the New York American.

“ruth one”: One of a number of ways by
which a home run might be described.

Sarge: Commonly used name for star
Cleveland pitcher Jim Bagby.

Shano: John “Shano” Collins, right fielder
and first baseman of the Chicago White
Sox.

“Shipyard”, “Slacker.” In the years during
and immediately following World War I,
these were common terms of derision
aimed at players who did not serve in the
war. “Shipyard” denoted players (such as
Jackson) who avoided service by taking
what were deemed “essential” jobs at
area plants that allowed them to continue
to play baseball during the season.

Spoke: A commonly used reference to
Cleveland player-manager Tris Speaker.

Walsh: Christy Walsh, well-known ghost
writer of Babe Ruth’s syndicated column.

Wamby: Commonly used name for Bill
Wambsganss, Cleveland second
baseman.

Yannigans: The reserves.

A Short Course in Latin

Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et
semper: et in saecula saeculorum: As it
was in the beginning, is now, and ever
shall be, world without end.

Spera in Deo: Trust in God.

Sed Libera Nos a Malo: But deliver us
from evil

Dona Eis Requiem Sempaeternum: Grant
him eternal rest.

Part 3: Dona Nobis Requiem Sempaeternum
(Aug. 16-31)

7. His conscience is clear (New York)
Chapman is fatally injured in the fifth inning of the New York-
Cleveland game of Aug. 16. The Yankee beat reporters create a
“death watch” at the hospital, where Monitor is surprised to overhear
indistinguishable parts of an argument between Speaker and O’Neill
during the night. Chapman dies early the next morning. Ruth hits is
44th home run, and his first movie premiers. But Ruth himself is laid
up for several days by a hand injury initially attributed to a chigger
bite, ostensibly obtained while he was filming the movie near a New
Jersey swamp.

8. Under Shadow (Chicago)
The White Sox learn of the Chapman tragedy as they detrain in
Philadelphia for the start of a series with the Athletics. It provokes
fleeting moments of interaction, if not unity, among them, notably as
they pass a hat to take up a collection for flowers from the team. As he
assesses the positions of the other teams concerning Mays, it becomes
clear to him that if the Sox speak out League President Ban Johnson
would be forced to suspend the pitcher. But he is unsuccessful in his
effort to lobby the badly fractured Sox into any sort of action.

Part 4: Reports of Babe Ruth’s Death are
Greatly Exaggerated (Sept. 1-15)

10. A chigger in conspiracy with gamblers (New York)
In Cleveland, a rumor reaches Monitor that Babe Ruth had been
seriously injured or even killed in an automobile accident. He
recognizes that the rumor was manufactured in an effort to shift the
odds on selected New York games. In Detroit, Monitor talks to a local
gambler whose interests involve the status of Ping Bodie, New York’s
center fielder injured in an exhibition game in Pittsburgh a few days
earlier. They discuss the news that a Chicago grand jury is
investigating reported efforts out of Detroit to fix a game between the
Cubs and Phillies. To Monitor, all of this is more reminder of the
underside of the game that could yet be exposed, potentially
threatening even the revival Ruth has wrought.

11. What Team Does Hartley Replogle Play For? (Chicago)
The animosity among the Sox is in the open, with Schalk hurling
charges face-to-face and making thinly veiled insinuations in the
public media. Combined with a coincidental report of a fixed National
League game involving the Cubs, this regenerates enough interest in
the events of 1919 to prompt calls for a grand jury investigation into
the influence of professional gambling on baseball. Jurors begin
taking testimony in secret shortly after Labor Day, calling several
players, and word soon leaks that their attention has focused on the
White Sox.

12. An Afternoon Well-Spent Outside League Park
(Cleveland)
The first home game after the eastern swing features a memorial
ceremony for Chapman. The Turnstile Kid and his friends try to buy
tickets for one of the weekend games…but it is sold out, and the
Turnstile Kid is forced to take in the game from the fire escape ladder
of a school across the street from the right field wall. It is a vantage
point that affords him a view of only part of the field. He shares that
perch with a boy about his age named Levi, a Negro he knows only
indirectly from having seen him at a distance playing ball for the
neighborhood team.

Part 5. The Game Must Be Protected. (Sept.
16, Oct. 2)

13. For the Brothers of the Old School (New York)
Aboard the train bound for a critical late-season series between the
Yankees and White Sox, Monitor overhears plans of a joke two of the
Yankees’ minor players plan for some of their teammates. The joke
involves teaching a youth from the St. Marys Industrial School for
Boys band how to play poker well enough to be able to win some
hands from the unsuspecting players. The St. Marys band is along
for the train trip at the request of Brother Matthias, the man who
discovered Babe Ruth, and they are performing at various games as
a fund-raiser for the school.

14. A little ride downtown (Chicago)
Playing perhaps their best baseball of the season, the White Sox
sweep New York in their September three-game series before
capacity crowds. Downtown and in the Chicago papers, meanwhile,
attention swirls around the grand jury investigating the reported
fixing of the previous season’s World Series. On the morning of the
third game of the decisive final-week series in Cleveland, the names
of the suspected Chicago players become public. Their suspension
touches off a party among the “clean” faction of the Sox that begins
in Collins’ downtown apartment, lasts all night and then continues
outside the courthouse with Strunk and the clean Sox literally
celebrating the almost certain end of their own pennant chances.

15. A three-day moral crusade (Cleveland)
The Turnstile Kid prays to God that the cheaters from Chicago will
not prosper. In the bleachers for the second game of the series, he
gets caught up in a small-stakes bit of gambling himself that exposes
him to the ease with which temptation can overcome. For the series’
final game, the Turnstile Kid meets Levi atop the fire escape ladder,
where together they delight in booing the dirty Sox. The day after
the Indians clinch the pennant, their sandlot game takes place.
Afterward, O’Neill offers the kid two passes to the fifth game of the
World Series, telling him to bring his best friend.