Ty Cobb Rates American League Fans
In 1907, The Washington Evening Star asked Ty Cobb was asked how he was treated by fans in all of the American League cities:
“All ballplayers coming in sometimes for a little guying, but that is what makes the game. If the fans did not do this it would show they had lost interest and baseball would soon die. The fact that I am a Southern man has never made any difference in the way I have been treated by the public in the North. The fans all over the American League have always been kind to me.”
Cobb
However, Cobb said, fans in some cities were tougher on visiting players:
“Take Philadelphia, for instance, old Philly is sometimes rough with the visiting clubs, and we have been treated to a little warm reception once or twice.
“Chicago is not as kind to visiting players as some of the other cities. They are so loyal to their city and their clubs that sometimes a go too far with the guying.
“In New York the people are fair and clever, and so is Cleveland, Pittsburgh, and Boston. St. Louis is somewhat like Chicago.
“I am sure that the fact that I am from the South has never influenced the fans in the slightest. If it has, it has been in my favor.”
The not as Smart Coveleski
Billy Murray managed Harry Coveleski during the pitcher’s three years with the Philadelphia Phillies from 1907-1909. Years later, he told Bozeman Bulger of The New York World, that Harry was not as bright as his brother, Hall of Famer Stan Coveleski, who was “Smart as a whip” according to Bulger.
Harry Coveleski
“Coveleski got out of a tight predicament mostly by luck and came back to the bench to face an enrages Murray.
“’What do you mean by taking that wind up with men on bases, especially on first and second?’
“’I didn’t know there were any men on the bases. Nobody told me,’ Coveleski replied
“’Now listen men,’ Murray turned to the players on the bench, don’t let this happen again. When there are runners on the bases you go out and tell ‘Covvie’—you hear me? We’ll have no more secrets on this club.’
“’That’s right, Billy,’ agreed the unperturbed Coveleski, oblivious to Murray’s biting sarcasm. ‘Keeping secrets always hurts a ballclub.’”
An Umpire’s dilemma
The Associated Press reported in 1912 about an umpire’s dilemma during a game played in an unincorporated town near Boulder, Colorado called Canfield:
“Albert Billings kicked his cork leg across the home plate yesterday afternoon in the ninth inning, the score a 5 to 5 tie, the umpire called the runner safe. Then the last baseball game of the season broke up in a row. However, umpire Jerry Carter consulted the rule book, declared that there was no precedent, and held to his decision.
“Billings had knocked a beautiful two-bagger. He stole third and started home when the batter tapped one to the infield. The ball was thrown to the catcher in time to get Billings out by at least ten feet. Billings cork leg flew off, however, and hit the plate. The catcher tagged Billings as he lay on the ground ten feet from the plate. The umpire ruled that the foot at the end of the cork leg touched the home base first. Billings was therefore called safe with the winning run.”
Baseball History Daily 
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