May 9, 1919 Daily Arkansas Gazette Little Rock, Arkansas - Elberfeld Protest Letter
May 9, 1919 Daily Arkansas Gazette Little Rock, Arkansas - Elberfeld Protest Letter
Mr. Martin Demands $20 as Price of Reinstatement
Elberfeld Explains Why He Refuses to Return to the Field—The Kid Wants to Know Why He Was Chased, but Can Get No Information, He Says.
Norman A. Elberfeld isn't the happiest man in the Southern League right now, although Norman's ball club is a game and a half in front ot of the bunch and running like a scared rabbit. The fact is that Norman A. is mad. He expresses it just that way in a letter the sporting editor of the Gazette received from him last night.
"I am mad," writes the Kid as the closing thought of a letter which is not couched In anything like diplomatic terms, but which certainly is expressive of the Kid's disapproval over the treatment be is receiving from the president of the league. This letter was written before yesterday's affair at Nashville, when Umpire Bill Brennan horned into the case by ordering Elberfeld out of the box he was occupying in the Nashville grand stand and from which he was directing the play of his team. If the Kid was mad before he musts be furious by this time.
Martin Wants the Money First
Elberfeld's letter reveals the terms of President Martin's offer to reinstate him, which is the principal reason for Elberfeld's refusal to be reinstated. Mr. Martian advised Elberfeld by telegraph to Nashville Tuesday that if he would pay to Umpire Brennan the amount of the two fines assessed against him the suspension would be lifted. That's what made the Kid sore, He writes that be never will pay that $20 unless President Martin explains to him why he was fined. The Kid says that Mr. Martin not shown him the courtesy of replying to a letter written by the Kid to the league president.
The Kid writes the following:
"I am still wondering what I did to be run off the ball field in Memphis and Little Bock. The fines I absolutely refuse to pay unless the fans or Mr. Allen pay them for me, or I receive a statement from Mr. Martin explaining why I should be fined. Then I'll pay them myself.
Has No Love for Johnson
"This man Johnson had a chip on his shoulder when he introduced himself to me the opening day saying he had heard all about me. I didn't know him from Adam's. off ox. Why did he remit Dee Walsh'e fine when that was what caused all of the trouble, The answer is that he knew he was wrong. Dee was mad became he had struck out on a bad ball in a pinch. Any Irishman that has fight in him will get mad at himself.
"My suspension didn't upset my team. I directed it from the grand stand and the boys fought and hustled much more than if I had been out on the field. My reinstatement doesn't amount to much if they intend to run me off the field before I have a chance to even express. an objection to a decision. It seems best for me to remain in the grand stand, save all that fine money and watch the Class D umpires perform as I have been doing. I know Martin only heard one side of the story. He is going on past reputation and he is wrong. Martin never notified me why I was put off the field and he never acknowledged receipt of my letter. I don't think that is being fair.
"I'll put a team In the field that can go out by itself and win, and I'll take a vacation, traveling around the circuit.
"I am mad.
"Kid Elberfeld." .
Are Winning for the Kid
The Travelers have demonstrated that they can win for Elberfeld even when he is not with them. They have lost only one game since he has been under suspension. They went 13 innings to beat the Volunteers yesterday, and the Kid wasn't even allowed to talk to them from his place In the grand stand. In fact Information from Nashville is that Bill Brennan went as far as to chase him from the stand. The Travelers are for the Kid to a man and Prexy Martin is hatching up a lot of trouble trouble for the other clubs in the league by getting the Traveler players sore. Elberfeld may be absent, but his fighting spirit is with the Travelers and it is carrying them from one victory to another.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/146097647/
Mr. Martin Demands $20 as Price of Reinstatement
Elberfeld Explains Why He Refuses to Return to the Field—The Kid Wants to Know Why He Was Chased, but Can Get No Information, He Says.
Norman A. Elberfeld isn't the happiest man in the Southern League right now, although Norman's ball club is a game and a half in front ot of the bunch and running like a scared rabbit. The fact is that Norman A. is mad. He expresses it just that way in a letter the sporting editor of the Gazette received from him last night.
"I am mad," writes the Kid as the closing thought of a letter which is not couched In anything like diplomatic terms, but which certainly is expressive of the Kid's disapproval over the treatment be is receiving from the president of the league. This letter was written before yesterday's affair at Nashville, when Umpire Bill Brennan horned into the case by ordering Elberfeld out of the box he was occupying in the Nashville grand stand and from which he was directing the play of his team. If the Kid was mad before he musts be furious by this time.
Martin Wants the Money First
Elberfeld's letter reveals the terms of President Martin's offer to reinstate him, which is the principal reason for Elberfeld's refusal to be reinstated. Mr. Martian advised Elberfeld by telegraph to Nashville Tuesday that if he would pay to Umpire Brennan the amount of the two fines assessed against him the suspension would be lifted. That's what made the Kid sore, He writes that be never will pay that $20 unless President Martin explains to him why he was fined. The Kid says that Mr. Martin not shown him the courtesy of replying to a letter written by the Kid to the league president.
The Kid writes the following:
"I am still wondering what I did to be run off the ball field in Memphis and Little Bock. The fines I absolutely refuse to pay unless the fans or Mr. Allen pay them for me, or I receive a statement from Mr. Martin explaining why I should be fined. Then I'll pay them myself.
Has No Love for Johnson
"This man Johnson had a chip on his shoulder when he introduced himself to me the opening day saying he had heard all about me. I didn't know him from Adam's. off ox. Why did he remit Dee Walsh'e fine when that was what caused all of the trouble, The answer is that he knew he was wrong. Dee was mad became he had struck out on a bad ball in a pinch. Any Irishman that has fight in him will get mad at himself.
"My suspension didn't upset my team. I directed it from the grand stand and the boys fought and hustled much more than if I had been out on the field. My reinstatement doesn't amount to much if they intend to run me off the field before I have a chance to even express. an objection to a decision. It seems best for me to remain in the grand stand, save all that fine money and watch the Class D umpires perform as I have been doing. I know Martin only heard one side of the story. He is going on past reputation and he is wrong. Martin never notified me why I was put off the field and he never acknowledged receipt of my letter. I don't think that is being fair.
"I'll put a team In the field that can go out by itself and win, and I'll take a vacation, traveling around the circuit.
"I am mad.
"Kid Elberfeld." .
Are Winning for the Kid
The Travelers have demonstrated that they can win for Elberfeld even when he is not with them. They have lost only one game since he has been under suspension. They went 13 innings to beat the Volunteers yesterday, and the Kid wasn't even allowed to talk to them from his place In the grand stand. In fact Information from Nashville is that Bill Brennan went as far as to chase him from the stand. The Travelers are for the Kid to a man and Prexy Martin is hatching up a lot of trouble trouble for the other clubs in the league by getting the Traveler players sore. Elberfeld may be absent, but his fighting spirit is with the Travelers and it is carrying them from one victory to another.
https://www.newspapers.com/image/146097647/
NOTE: The phrase don’t know someone from Adam’s off ox means the speaker is not acquainted with the person, that the person is a stranger to him. The idea incorporates the imagery of Adam, the first created human according to the Old Testament of the Bible, and an off ox. An off ox is the draft animal in a team that is situated on the right, the farthest away from the driver.
