European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 5, 1950, Darmstadt, Hesse                                F x w f or i v j 1 after 50 years piloting the athletics he Connie Mack bows out by Bob Considine the retirement of Cornelius my manager of the Phila Delphia athletics since prompted a unique it made baseball people feel even though it happened at a time when most baseball fans were up to their armpits in foot a sport which eradicates baseball from american sports pages at this time of those close enough to the real Story Felt a great forever to be known As Connie should have retired several years when he was a comparative youngster in his Early the grand old Man of baseball was wearing a Little thin toward the but the incredible wonder was that he wore at the season of the old sitting severely upright against the fresh Towel on the Back of his dugout sometimes would give a signal to his astute Al it would be a signal that was palpably even the Bat boy knew it was so Simmons would turn his Back on the old gentleman and give a sign calling for the right Type of it would sad Den All when the inning was Over and Simmons came Back to the he would make a great attempt to sit by himself As far away from Mack As or he would yell some derisive remark to the but he would fool especially Mack wouldst there in the oppressive silence made by the Young who knew what had after a time he would sniffle a made feel specially Tore would you Duld it exactly by goodness you did made everybody feel these were boys and men were proud to work for even though Hills wage scale want what they might have made somewhere but they sensed or knew that it was some thing special for a Man to work under Connie and it Hurt them to see him less than razor some of them have gone on to other teams and others who worked under the old Man last season Are headed somewhere but wherever they always Bear themselves with a certain for they played for even to cobra and Tris at the ends of their were proud to be Able to say Mack was something special in it is too trite to say that he was or to mention that he won nine pennants and five Sei what he did in was give to the once Rowdy tobacco spitting game a sense of dignity it bad never had be he made it a decent helped get its athletes into better by his own Sain like sold the game through generations of Young sports writers who accosted him in his endless travels and except that each passing decade gives him More and More the appearance of a stately and Well plucked Mackh Fis not changed much physically in the last half Century he was born in East either just before or just after the Midnight which separated from his brother who lived to be 90 by stick steadfastly to a daily Glass of whisky Mack up his own modest drink ing and when he was a lad of liked to cackle that who preferred the 23 was a pretty smart fellow but just didst know what Day he was born until Hin Mike held out for by Connie was the Catcher on East Brookfield Best semipro Ball two years he got an offer to Knock the Semi off the by catching for washing ton this was during one of Cleveland and he was being paid not Only a of the top salaries of the also was presented with a Silver Tea set which he still he jumped to the ill starred brother Hood in a league which the players hoped to operate As a cooperative in opposition to the entrenched it folded and with it went the nest egg with which he hoped to Start better things for his Young he hooked on with the Pittsburgh pirates in 1891 and by 1893 was recognized As the outstanding Catcher of the but he broke an ankle that and the wondering to do with made him manager Mack was 32 and considered he stayed around some years by the time he was he was even moire through in Pittsburgh had released him As fellow named ban Johnson saved him by taking him into the Western league As manager of in Johnson arbitrarily changed the leagues name to american and set out to gain equal status with the National he dispatched Mack to Philadelphia one cold Day in to raise Money for a Ball Park and to find a club which could compete at the Box office with the Well established Phil with borrowed from a naive Cleveland fan named Mack bought Nap Lajoie from the he talked another Lave into picked up a kid in Gettysburg College named Eddie the new club waddled along with a great Deal of uncertainty until Mack remembered an eccentric Southpaw named rub Waddell and persuaded him to pitch instead of becoming a then he began Roll he became the Miracle Man of to by one Means or came Eddie Stuffy Frank Home run Jack Barry and other but there were the Federal league was trying to do the same to the National and american leagues that Clark grif Charley ban Johnson and a few others had done to the by the offers of the feds had become so important connies had just lost four straight to the in be of the great world series upsets of All Connie broke up his sold everybody he his 1915 following a club that had won 99 and lost 53 while win Ning the won 43 and lost in the As won 36 and lost they finished eighth for seven straight in the mid he began to put to Gether another turned out even greater than he for he came up with lefty Grove for and such stars at Jimmy Foxx Mickey George Jimmy Dykes and others for almost the As jumped from fifth in 1924 to second in then unseated the Yankees and won the american league Pennant in 1930 and the last was his last by mainly because of the Depres his great club was in debt he sold his stars ruthlessly and his teams make the first division again until latter years have Happy was family first with his second to whom he is a devout and with his by the first s troubles amounted to the Wall for unique figure was just a matter of insiders knew but when the Guy finally Hung up what amounted to nil Glove the other there want a dry Eye in the because no sport Ever had a Man quite like Cornelius my and perhaps no sport will have one Xii the stars and stripes feature Section