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Sunday, August 24, 1969 Mansfield, O., News Journal PAGE SEVEN—C
By SHIRLEY POVICH The Washington Post
We didn't know who he was, but we liked him already. He turned out to be Eugene Meyer, financier and adviser to Presidents, with a new fondness for public service through the printed word. He was no sports fan, but he liked the sight of the fans outside his building in a pennant year, watching our electromagnetic scoreboard.
My suspicion. that Mr. Meyer figured the Post helped produce the '33 pennant was underlined in '34- The Senators didn't repeat that year. Mr. Meyer asked me what the difference was ai told him they weren't getting the good pitching they had in '33. So he offered to put up $50.000 to buy a pitcher. Ile figured it was that simple.
As the 30s stretched out, I found myself in daily association with one of the pioneers of baseball, Clark Calvin Griffith, who in fact was one of the pioners of America itself. This was a man of profound imprint on baseball inventor of the screwball and the squeeze play, co-founder of the American League, manager of its first pennant winner and producer of three more winners in Washington.
Griffith told me how he invented one of baseball's most exciting offensive strategies, the squeeze play. He was managing the New York Highlanders, now the Yankees, in 1904 when his ace pitcher, Jack Chesboro, led off the eleventh inning with a triple. Manager Griffith was coaching at third base, and Chesboro. who had been on third with none out earlier in the game only to linger there, was fuming at the possibility it would happen again.
Griffith whispered something to Chesboro at third, then called time and talked to the hatter, Kid Elberfeld. He ordered Chesboro to take a long lead and start for home on the second hall pitched to Elberfeld. He ordered Elberfeld to bunt that second pitch. That's what they did.
For the first time in baseball history a runner on third base dashed home with the pitch, risking all on his blind faith in the hatter's ability to bunt the ball. The winning run was home.
[Part of a much longer article.]
