1894 by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Page 54

In one of those ironies, it was Jack Sharrott’s fate to be replaced on the Phillies’ roster by the person he scouted, his old friend, Tuck Turner. Sharrott was cut from the team’s roster shortly before opening day of the 1894 season, ending his four year major league career.

Today’s observer might be shocked by the style of play in Tuck Turner’s era. Baseball analyst Bill James describes baseball of the 1890s as; “Dirty. Very, very dirty. The tactics of the eighties were aggressive; the tactics of the nineties were violent. The game of the eighties was crude; the game of the nineties was criminal. Players spiked each other. A first baseman would grab the belt of a base runner to hold him back a half second after the ball was hit. Occasionally, players tripped one another as they rounded the bases. Fights broke out from day to day. Players shoved umpires, spat on them, and abused them in every manner short of assault. Fans hurled insults and beer bottles at the players of opposing teams.”

Through 1920 or so, all of that was going on. Besides the players fighting with each other and the umpire, fans also go into the act, by coming onto the field or just yelling insults and throwing things. Some say that any woman in the stands was one of ill repute. Owners didn’t try to change his until they sought to increase their attendance through the popularity of

1894