Baseball Fight

When Ben Chapman, the New York Yankees' leftfielder, slid into second base, he cut the foot of Charley Myer, the Washington Senators' second baseman, with his spikes. Myer fell, picked himself up and then before Chapman could get up, kicked his leg. This was the incident which last week started the liveliest baseball fight in years. Players from both teams rushed out on the field. Manager Joe Cronin of Washington caught Chapman after he had taken a few punches at Myer. Umpires George Moriarty and Harry Geisel managed to restrain other players before the fight became general. They ordered Myer and Chapman off the field.

The only way to reach the locker rooms from the field at Washington is through a passageway which starts just beside the Washington players' bench. When Chapman reached the passageway on his way off the field. Earl Whitehill, Washington pitcher, called him a bad name. This was more than Fielder Chapman, already humiliated, could bear. He rushed at Whitehill, hit him. Umpire Moriarty tried to pull the fighters apart but failed. This time, all the players on both teams rushed at each other not to stop the fight but to enlarge it. Private detectives, uniformed policemen and about 300 spectators rushed down on the field. The spectators, armed with bats they had picked up, tried to bash the players. The players bashed each other and the spectators. After 20 minutes, police managed to restore enough order for the ball game to proceed. After five more innings, the Yankees won 16 to 0.

Baseball fights used to be common in the days when most ball players were uneducated yokels. Nowadays they are rare. Last really celebrated baseball fighter was famed Ty Cobb, who taught Pitcher Whitehill the technique when Whitehill joined Detroit in 1923. Although crowds enjoy imbroglios like last week's and though at- tendance is usually increased by such incidents, club-owners feel that in the long run they harm the game. Feuds between clubs are likely to last a long time. Last week's fight was really an aftermath of a squabble last summer when Carl Reynolds of the Senators crashed into Yankee Catcher Bill Dickey, got his jaw broken in the fisticuffs that followed. American League rule for "unprovoked assault" is 30 days suspension, $1,000 fine. Last week President William Harridge sus- pended Whitehill, Myer and Chapman for five days each, fined each $100, warned all players in his league that "further disturbances will be punished far more drastically."

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