For the Good of the Game, 1923

Abstract

For the Good of the Game, 1923 Steve Steinberg (bio) Preface Baseball does not operate in a vacuum, and moral quandaries are not left at the entrance to the ballpark. In 1923, a ballplayer is under fire for questionable tactics, and his manager is under fire for a difficult decision. Lee Fohl faced a tough choice, especially because he was so close to the top of the mountain. Studying Lee Fohl, I was struck by the man's solid decency and his quiet, peaceful nature. In photos of Lee during the Great Depression, after his career in baseball, he appears "down and out," working as a gas station attendant and a security guard. Yet his face conveys a powerful sense of contentment and kindness. Lee Fohl managed in the majors for more than ten years, over 1,500 games. Few men are in that select club. Yet he has been virtually forgotten. In the creative work that follows, the baseball events and cited quotations are real. Dialogue has been created based on the author's knowledge of the personalities and events involved. A Choice Made "I know the character of Lee Fohl. He would give a friend the last dime he had in the world. If Lee wouldn't sign [the petition], there must be some black smoke in the air." Sid Keener, St. Louis Times, August 3, 1923 August 1, 1923 St. Louis Browns manager Lee Fohl sat alone in the clubhouse. The players and reporters had finally left, but controversy was still hanging in the air. Surely the sportswriters were preparing what would be the lead story in tomorrow's papers. [End Page 108] After the Browns had come so close to the pennant in 1922, 1923 was not supposed to be like this. Instead of fighting for first place, Lee was doing everything he could just to keep his team in the first division. And he was darned proud his Browns were hanging around third place. The season's challenges started with George Sisler's ailment. Near the end of the '22 season, Sis had a serious shoulder injury. During spring training this year, the press thought he was recovering from that injury. Every day down in Mobile, fans were asking, "Where's George?" and "When will Sisler arrive?" Sis didn't show up for spring training or for the regular season. It wasn't the shoulder; it was his eye. Somewhere, somehow, George had suffered eye damage. There was no external injury, but a sinus infection had affected his vision. The resultant double vision made it dangerous for George to play ball. He saw two balls, blurry ones, when he tried to hit. For fans and teammates, the loss of the Browns' superstar cast a pall over the entire city of St. Louis. Lee knew how frustrated and even frightened George was. The ballplayer did not know when or even if he would recover. The doctors ran tests and performed surgery, but they didn't know what the future held for the magnificent first baseman. The earliest George could return would be 1924, and even that was questionable. You simply can't replace one of the greatest players in the game. As manager, Lee knew his job was to do the best he could with the players he had. He had experienced the ups and downs of a manager's life in Cleveland, where he took a seventh-place club in 1915 and steadily moved it to second place by 1918, so close to beating out Boston for the pennant. The Indians were on the verge of greatness when Lee unceremoniously resigned in July 1919 and was replaced by star center fielder Tris Speaker, with whom Lee consulted regularly. Lee left after a pitching change backfired and his Indians lost a crucial game to the Yankees. Babe Ruth hit a grand slam off Lee's relief pitcher. The Babe seemed to be hitting a lot of home runs in 1919. Lee was not a flashy, charismatic figure like Tris. A short, chubby "cup-of-coffee" player, he had played in only a handful of major-league games as a catcher. Reserved and unobtrusive, Lee did a...