Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 184, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 August 1918 — FRED MERKLE HAS SUCCEEDED IN LIVING DOWN FAMOUS BONER WHILE WITH GIANTS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

FRED MERKLE HAS SUCCEEDED IN LIVING DOWN FAMOUS BONER WHILE WITH GIANTS

The bonehead plays that players • make live after them, according to the baseball oracle. But though bonehead plays may live, the players who perpetrate them may live them down, and this is just what Fred Merkle is doing—Fred Merkle of the famous episode that cost the Gi» ants a pennant when he forgot to touch —second, . r As he became a veteran in the service of the Giants his playing over a stretch of six or seven years overshadowed the memory of that bonehead play and the novelty of kidding him about it wore off, though the scribes often referred to it. Then came the season of 1916, which saw Merkle on the decline —or at least John McGraw thought so, for Fred was traded to the Brooklyn Dodgers for Lew McCarty and that day, August 20, 1916, was one of the blackest days of his career. Last season Merkle bloomed out in

the uniform of the Chicago Cubs, having been sold to the Weeghman combine in January of last year for a sum said, to have been $3,500. “What did the Cubs want with Merkle?” asked the fans. Merkle was through or McGraw would never have parted with him, they figured. But Merkle wasn’t through. He had a fairly good season with the Cubs last year—just fairly good, mind you—yet he proved to Manager Mitchell that he was still a mighty valuable ball player to have hanging around. Today there is not a question as to Merkle’s value. He is the leading slugger of the Cub machine and his playing around the initial corner for Mitchell has been an inspiration to every member of the team. Should the Cubs come through to a pennant this year Merkle’s work will be pointed to as one of the reasons •why. Merkle has lived down his bonehead play. He has come back as.few players ever came back and he deserves no end of praise.

LEADING SLUGGER OF CUB MACHINE