Pirates Slump, 1921
The first place Pittsburgh Pirates were preparing for a doubleheader with the New York Giants on August 24, 1921, when the team took time out to pose for a photo. The Pittsburgh Leader said:
“Someone happened to mention, as the photographer moved away, that for a whole team to watch the little birdie at once was a jinx.”
The team promptly went out and dropped the doubleheader, then lost three more to the Giants. The paper said of the five straight losses:
“It doesn’t prove the jinx exists. But it does prove that to imbue a man or a team of men, with the idea that they can’t win a ballgame generally means that they won’t win. For their pep and enthusiasm has been stolen.”
The Pirates finished second, four games behind the Giants.
Anson’s All-Time Team, 1918
While visiting St. Paul, Minnesota in the summer of 1918, Cap Anson was asked by a reporter for The Associated Press to name his all-time all-star team. The reporter said the team was most “notable for including in its makeup not one” current player:
“Cap” Anson
“According to Captain Anson, at least four outfielders of old times are better than (Ty) Cobb or (Tris) Speaker and (John) Clarkson, (Amos) Rusie, and (Jim) McCormick, he thinks were better pitchers than (Grover Cleveland) Alexander or (Walter) Johnson. His line-up would be:
Catchers—William “Buck” Ewing and Mike “King” Kelly
Pitchers—Amos Rusie, John Clarkson, and Jim McCormick
First Base—Captain Anson, himself
Second Base—Fred Pfeffer
Third Base—Ned Williamson
Shortstop—Ross Barnes
Outfielders—Bill Lange, George Gore, Jimmy Ryan and Hugh Duffy
Cy Young’s Five Rules, 1907
Forty-year-old Cy Young won 21 games for the Boston Americans in 1907 and his longevity became a popular topic of newspaper copy until he pitched his final major league game four years later.
Cy Young
During that 1907 season he gave a reporter for The Boston Post his advice for young players:
“(T)o the young player who seeks his advice about getting in condition and being able to stay in the game as long as the veteran himself, Cy lays down a few simple rules, which are as follows:
- Live a temperate life
- Don’t abuse yourself if you want to attain success
- Don’t try to bait the umpires; abusing the arbitrators does a player no good and harms him in the eyes of the umpires, players and public in general
- Play the game for all you are worth at all times
- Render faithful service to your employers
Regarding his “rule” about umpires, Young said:
“What’s the use in kicking? The umpire won’t change his decision, and kicking will give him another chance to get back at you for your silly abuse.”
Baseball History Daily 
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