From: The New York Times
August 21, 1949
In Honor of Cornelius McGillicuddy
by Arthur Daley
Not very long ago a stranger accosted Connie Mack in a hotel lobby.
The 86-year-old manager of the Philadelphia Athletics is such an
unmistakable figure that he’s often greeted by strangers no
matter where he is. But his watery blue eyes blinked at this particular
salute.
“I’ve always wanted to shake your hand,” said
the enthusiastic stranger, “because I’ve followed your
career in baseball for more than fifty years, Mr. Griffith.”
“Thank you, thank you,” chirped Baseball Oldest Inhabitant
in his gentle voice, smiling with that shy smile of his. “But
I’m not Clark Griffith. I’m Connie Mack.”
The interloper was not daunted. He didn’t even squirm in embarrassment.
There was only the slightest tinge of uncertainty in his voice when
he added, “But you look just like Clark Griffith.”
“You’re perfectly right,” agreed the lovable old
gentleman. “We look almost exactly alike except for the fact
that I’m 6-foot-2 and Griff is 5-foot-2. Furthermore, I’m
built like a rail and he’s –well, by golly, I guess
I’d have to say that he’s slightly better built. But
I can easily understand how we could be mistaken for each other
any place.”
The stranger beamed. Connie beamed. End of story.
Epitome of Kindness
Perhaps it isn’t much of a story at that. But it does serve
one purpose. It does illustrate with stunning clarity what an essentially
kind and gentle chap Connie Mack is. He started to play ball as
a 9-year-old some three-quarters of a century ago and today he will
be honored in the Yankee Stadium in special ceremonies that will
have the extra flourishes of exhibition appearance by some of his
greatest stars of yesteryear.
Eagerly everyone will pay him tribute because there isn’t
a more deeply beloved man in sports than the ramrod-backed octogenarian
who came into this world with the name of Cornelius McGillicuddy.
The space limitations of the first box score he ever rated trimmed
the McGillicuddy to Mack. And it will be as Connie Mack that he
will be venerated by the still unborn generations of baseball men.
Perhaps he isn’t quite as perfect as legend has pictured him
to be but he comes an awfully lot closer than most men.
A Caressing Touch
Time has touched him but lightly. It’s been more of a caress
than anything else. When Mister Mack – no one under 60 dares
call him “Connie” – was a player with Meriden
in 1884 he weighed 150 pounds. He still weighs 150 today. His sparse,
lean figure is as straight now as it was then . The constant city-to-city
train jumps that younger men find exhausting he takes zestfully
and without any sign of strain.
Not only is his body agile and alert but so is his mind. Just a
couple of years ago there was a very involved and unusual play at
third base. Umpire Joe Rue called it as he saw it and everyone accepted
the decision without a murmur. That is to say that everyone –
players and fans – accepted it. But not Connie.
He leaped to his feet in the dugout and cocked one bony finger in
the direction of Rue. And Rue came over to the Old Gentleman at
a gallop.
“I think you called that one wrong, Mister Grieve,”
said Connie to Rue in his mild fashion. Quickly he unraveled the
intricacies of the play in a crisp, accurate summation. Intently
the umpire listened, nodded in agreement, offered his thanks and
then reversed his original decision.
One Among Many
Thousands of persons had seen the play, but only one of them,
a man 80-odd years old, had seen it correctly. Connie got the name
of the umpire wrong, mistaking Joe Rue for Bill Grieve, but he got
the play right. Later on, though, he was discovered upbraiding himself
for helping out the arbiter.
“By golly,” he sadly admitted afterward. “I outsmarted
myself on that one. If I had guessed we were going to lose, I’d
have kept quiet. Then I could have filed a protest and the game
would have had to be replayed.” Obviously he was two steps
head of everyone else in the ball park.
Amazing? Sure it is. But this is a most amazing old guy.
Twice he broke up two of the greatest teams of all time, his Athletics
of 1910 through 1914 and his Athletics of 1929 through 1931. One
was the club with the famed $100,000 infield – a million by
current prices – and the other the swaggering crew of Dykes,
Cochrane, Grove, Earnshaw, Boley, Bishops et al. Philadelphia fans
became so used to their success that the box office suffered. As
a result of the box office anemia Connie no longer could pay them
what they were worth – or what each though he was worth.
So he broke up one team and finally reassembled the second –
and probably greater – unit long afterward. He would like
very much to have a third such crew of champions before he calls
it a day. He genuinely thought this spring that he might have another
pennant winner and was almost boyish in his enthusiasm. But he overestimated
the talents of his heroes and that dream hardly can be realized.
Looking Ahead
The old gentleman would be entitled to settle back among his rich
memories of the past, but even at his age it’s only the future
which interests him. Perhaps that’s what keeps him so young.
One day at West Palm Beach last March he was talking excitedly about
the wonders of that town as a training base.
“When our present contract expires in 1956,” he said
buoyantly, “I’m going to sign a new ten-year contract.”
He probably will be at hand to affix his signature to the contract,
too. By then he’ll only by a kid of 94.
From: The New York Times
August 22, 1948
A Day for Baseball’s Oldest Inhabitant
by Arthur Daley
NOSTALGIA hung heavily over the Yankee Stadium yesterday as a heart-warming
tribute was paid to that most remarkable of men, the 86-year-old
Connie Mack. It was the climax to a three-day week-end celebration
that was as unusual as it was richly deserved. Feted at City Hall
and given a ticker-tape welcome on Friday, the gentle octogenarian
was cheered to the echo by the huge Stadium crowd (64,323) while
the Athletics and Yankees of yesteryear gathered from distant corners
of the country to help pay him honor.
This was a most momentous occasion and the Old Gentleman took
it gracefully in stride, just as he takes everything. But he was
touched to the core by it all. Before the ceremonies he sat on the
bench, a trifle bewildered by the big fuss that was being made over
him. “They’ve been wonderful to me,” he kept repeating,
“by golly, they’ve been wonderful.”
He was delighted to see so many of his old stars, some of them
having been away from their beloved “Mister Mack” for
a decade or more. One of his dugout visitors was Danny Murphy, who
played for him in 1902. Another was Bert Cunningham, his pitcher
in 1890. Nostalgia? It was thick enough to be cut with a carving
knife. A younger man than Connie would have wilted under the strain
and the excitement. But the ageless Oldest Inhabitant never flinched
for an instant. He loved it.
Excerpt from the second issue of Sports Illustrated.
The scene was the dugout at Yankee Stadium, August 1954. The occasion
was an old-timers game.
Before the oldtimers’ game was over, Mack’s chauffeur
came for him. Al Simmons helped the old man to his feet and said
goodby. “It certainly was good to see you again, Mr. Mack.”
Mack nodded and said goodby. The chauffeur began to lead him along
the dugout floor toward the steps, but Mack paused to shake hands
with two or three players sitting on the bench. Joe DiMaggio saw
Mack approaching and sat up straight. He took off his cap before
he shook hands with the old man.
“Goodby, Mr. Mack,” he said.
He did not put his cap back on until the old man had gone.
Ty Cobb
Ty Cobb broke down, and cried when told of the death of Mack. The
former great major league outfielder, who played under Mack with
the Athletics in 1927 and 1928, said the 93-year-old baseball veteran's
death came as "a terrific shock.
"We sort of expected him to pass on," Cobb said. "but
it's still a shock when you hear it's happened."
Baseball Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx (Athletics 1925-35):
"Mr. Mack lived to a ripe old age, but you always hate to hear
about something like this. I believe it is one of the greatest losses
baseball has ever had . It's doubtful they'll ever come up with
another like him. I played for him for 11 years. He was great to
play for."
Baseball Hall of Famer Lefty Grove (Athletics 1925-34):
"Oh, gee, I'm sorry to hear that. He was one of the greatest
guys in the game. He'll sure be missed. "When they made him,
they threw the mold away."
Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick:
"This is a great loss to the game. Mr. Mack was practically
Mr. Baseball himself. He always will be remembered for the gentleness,
kindliness, leadership and continuity he gave to our national game.
This is a terrific shock to baseball and a great personal shock."
American League President Will Harridge:
"He was kindly, gracious, a truly fine man admired by fans
everywhere and I shall always be grateful for having known him as
a longtime friend and associate."
United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower:
"For decades Connie Mack has typified to the American people
sportsmanship of the highest order. He will long be remembered by
us for all the inspiration he gave American youth as a leader in
the most American of sports."
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