Edd Roush interview
Date1981 August 24-25
DescriptionThree audio cassettes featuring an interview with Edd Roush conducted by Rod Roberts on behalf of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum on August 24, 1981 in Oakland City, Indiana.
Object numberHF-1994-0001-012
Interviewer
Roberts, Rod
Interviewee
Roush, Edd, 1893-1988
Subject
Roush, Edd, 1893-1988
Classificationsaudio/visual materials
Collection NumberBA RMA 001 Rod Roberts oral history collection
Library Call NumberCTA 795
Library Call NumberCTA 793
Library Call NumberCTA 794
Dimensions3 audio cassettes
TrannscriptionCassette 1 Side One -- Track 1 - Born in Oakland City, IN in 1893; had one twin brother, lives about five blocks from him; he worked the coal mine there; strip mining started around 1920; his father came from Virginia, and his mother was from Indiana; parents were German and Irish; went through Oakland City schools until eighth grade; then went to the local college/high school for two years, but quit because he didn't need to know a lot of that stuff, ancient history; his father had an 87-acre dairy farm; used to milk cows at 4 a.m. and 4 p.m.; the reason he had to use a heavy bat, because he had strong arms from milking cows; using a light bat, he would swing before the ball got there (00:00:00 to 00:04:11) Track 2 - Started playing baseball in school, had a couple of clubs in the area, he started on the second club, then made the first club, in 1909, a fellow didn't show so they gave him a uniform and put him in right field; played a club in Evansville, he got two hits out of four times at bat and they thought he was pretty good, he learned to throw right-handed even though he was born left-handed because he didn't have a left-handed glove, finally bought one for $1.50 (00:04:11 to 00:06:36) Track 3 - Brother was a Minor League ballplayer, wanted to be an outfielder, but he was a better catcher, he could hit, but wasn't that fast, not as fast as Edd (00:06:36 to 00:07:23) Track 4 - Went to Princeton to play in 1910, they were getting $5 a game and he wasn't getting anything, so he quit and played for Princeton on Sundays, sometimes Saturdays too; took a horse and buggy to get there; his dad bought a Buick in 1910, they'd run it on Sunday and have to take it apart on Monday; still hard feelings between Princeton and Oakland City, because Oakland City got all of the credit for Edd; all local boys playing there; he was the youngest at 17-18 (00:07:23 to 00:10:27) Track 5 - He played for Evansville in 1912, he went to Henderson, KY for 10 days in 1911, that was his first professional ball, but he didn't sign up after 10 days, so he went home; everybody wanted him to play with him; in 1913, Evansville went into the Central League in 1913, hitting .556 the first month, so the scouts came to see him; each Major League team had one scout; changes in the strike zone, a lot of people today can't hit, but everybody's got money these days, out of TV and radio, he had a three-year contract for $70,000; nobody was getting more than $8-9,000; he was out there hustling all the time and so they paid him; on Stan Coveleski starting a bit before he did; everyone was afraid to ask the club owners for money; he wasn't afraid, if they didn't pay him, he stayed home; stayed home one full year, had to have his return OK'ed by (Kenesaw) Landis, he came into baseball in 1920-21, after the 1919 World Series scandal but Roush never paid him any attention (00:10:27 to 00:15:51) Track 6 - On 1919 World Series, a painful thing; he knew some people threw games, they had one or two of them, Hal Chase and another fellow; they sent Chase to NY and he got in trouble for betting on games; he was a great ballplayer but had no sense of right and wrong; when Roush went to Cincinnati from the Federal League in 1916, Chase was there and he led the league in hitting that year; next year, he apparently started throwing games and Roush refused to have anything to do with him; his wife wanted to stay friends with Chase's wife; Chase was a loner, the older fellows didn't have anything to do with him (interviewer talks about Coveleski being a loner) Roush liked to get out and go somewhere after the games, go down to the brewery and have a beer (00:15:51 to 00:19:45) Track 7 - On White Sox pitcher Eddie Cicotte, Roush played with them in the early days when he joined the White Sox, they all used to stay together (00:19:45 to 00:21:01) Track 8 - He got married April 27, 1914 when he was playing for Indianapolis in the Federal League; his wife stayed in whatever city he was playing for, but when they went on the road, they were gone for 3-4 weeks, so his wife went home to Indiana (00:21:01 to 00:22:06) Track 9 - More on 1919 World Series, a lot of rumors going around that there was something wrong, he was standing outside the hotel in the evening and someone came up to him and said the White Sox were going to throw the Series; he went back inside; later on the same man came up to him and said there were players on Cincinnati also taking money for throwing games, and that made him mad; next day in Chicago, Pat Moran called a meeting, and Roush brought up the rumor about players throwing the game; they went in the shower with Jake Daubert, and discussed some funny pitching in the previous games; Hod Eller was pitching that day and they asked if anyone asked him to throw the game, they offered him $5000 to throw the game, and Eller said he'd punch him in the nose if he ever saw him again; they won 10-5, scored 5 runs in the first inning, Roush got two hits right over first base; he never thought anything else about it until the scandal came out the next fall; Cicotte was one of the best pitchers in the American League, they had several good pitchers, (Lefty?) Williams, Dickie Kerr; Cincinnati had six-eight good pitchers (00:22:06 to 00:28:18) Track 10 - On Joe Jackson being involved in the scandal, he was a good ballplayer, hit .380 in the Series, doesn't seem like he was throwing a game hitting like that (00:28:18 to 00:29:13) Track 11 - On the Federal League, not as good after the players jumped to the other Leagues in 1915, complains about his stroke messing him up with names and dates (interviewer talks about someone with a brain tumor) (00:29:13 to 00:30:58) Track 12 - On Benny Kauff from the Federal League, he was a good hitter; they played together for Indianapolis in 1914, Kauff left in '15 for another club; he never did as well in the National League; Kauff went to Cincinnati in '16 paid $35,000 for him; only paid $7500 for Roush; that was a lot of money then, they didn't have a lot to spend, not like today when they have radio and TV rights (interviewer talks about Connie Mack spending $60,000 for Benny McCoy) Roush got a three-year contract in '27-'28-'29 for $70,000 to go to New York; Babe Ruth was probably the highest paid player because he was a drawing card, he was one of the best left-handed pitchers in the American League; Ruth was running after women all the time; stay out all night; in 1920 when the Yankees got him, and they played in Florida, (Georgie) Mogridge was rooming with Ruth and they asked him where he was, and he said he had no idea, because he hadn't been to bed yet; Ruth was the reason they put a livelier ball in the game in 1920, he had to run after the balls so he had to move back 20 steps or more; affected hitting as well, he led the National League in hitting with .321 in 1919; he hit .330/.340 the next few years, then hit .352, .352, .351, .338; he wasn't a home run hitter, he could hit to any field, if he wanted to pull the ball, he stood at the back of the plate, if he wanted to hit to left field, he stood at the front of the plate; one time, playing St. Louis, with two men on, he faked a bunt and hit a hard drive over the third baseman's head; the same third baseman went to the brewery for a beer with him, and told him he was going to kill somebody someday; from then on, they stayed back from him (00:30:58 to 00:39:20) Track 13 - On not caring how fast someone pitched to him; they played against Washington and he got a hit against Walter Johnson every time he pitched; he threw the fastest ball Roush ever saw, but he could hit him; they played exhibition games every two years between Washington and Cincinnati; he never threw Roush any curveballs; he didn't need one as fast as he was, and he never threw it at anybody because he might have killed someone; he had good control; played against him in a League game when he was on the White Sox and they played Washington, and he got a base hit off of Johnson (00:39:20 to 00:42:33) Track 14 - On pitchers being all bad, he didn't care who pitched to him; (Grover Cleveland) Alexander had a sinker ball, threw sidearm; Alexander used to drink a lot, he would fall down and shake because he had epilepsy, which may have been why he started to drink, then his wife left him; but he was a heck of a pitcher (00:42:33 to 00:44:24) Track 15 - On Heinie Groh, they played together in Cincinnati, he was a star when Roush got there; they got along fine, even though they were rivals (tape runs out) (00:44:24 to 00:45:27) Side Two -- Track 1 - On Heinie Groh using a different bat, he wasn't a good hitter so he asked them to make him a bat with a larger hitting surface; he used to stand facing the pitcher and then turn once the pitcher started the pitch (00:00:0 to 00:01:06) Track 2 - (Contains profanity) When he first started, didn't have his own bat, had to use whatever bats were there; when he went to New York in 1916, there was a fellow whose father had made him a bat, but it was too heavy, so he offered it to Roush, and it was just right from him; (John) McGraw sent him up to hit with the tying run on third and one out; he said hit the first good one, he swung and the ball went straight up and the catcher caught it; he was really mad, sat next to (Hans) Lobert, who told him not to say anything to McGraw, McGraw came over, checked the bat and told him it was too damn heavy and he wasn't supposed to use it; Roush said he'd use whatever bat he wanted to, then was traded to Cincinnati; a lot of people didn't like McGraw, but some players did like him, he knew baseball; he went back in 1927, they traded George Kelly and a bunch of money for Roush, he had a three-year-contract with Cincinnati for $19,000 a year, he threw the New York contract in the trash; they sent him another contract for $20,000, then $21,000 and he threw them all in the trash; he went to Chattanooga to meet with McGraw, got to the hotel and the bellhop came over and said McGraw wanted to see him in a room; Roush didn't go up, the ball club came in about 9:30, and took a walk with a few of them and they urged him to sign up, but he didn't want to play for McGraw; he sent the coaches down to talk to Roush, he said he'd see him when he was damn good and ready; finally went up to see McGraw, who was in his pajamas and asked him why he didn't want to play for him, and Roush said he didn't want to be cursed at; McGraw said he was going to play for him or he wouldn't play at all; McGraw said he wouldn't say a word to him, wanted him back since he traded him; he asked for $25,000 and walked towards the door, McGraw offered him a three-year contract for $70,000 and he agreed to it; McGraw said he could play his own game and never said a word to Roush in the three years, even though he had to sit right next to him; one day in the sixth inning, he was the second hitter, and he told McGraw if the first hitter got on, he was going to hit and run; he got a home run, they won 2-0 (00:01:06 to 00:12:16) Track 3 - On Greasy Neale, having trouble with him in Cincinnati; Neale wanted to play center field, but they put Roush in center; he hollered "I got it" three times when a ball came to center; Neale never said a word, but kept trying to run over him; one day they sat down on the bench and Neale said Roush was the better ballplayer; Greasy and his brother had nicknames from childhood (00:12:16 to 00:14:40) Track 4 - On Christy Mathewson taking (Buck) Herzog's place as manager in Cincinnati, all came from New York, along with Bill McKechnie, all glad to get away from McGraw and glad to be traded; Mathewson said the New York club was home to him for 16 years; he was thankful to McGraw for getting him the manager job; said McGraw told him to put Roush in center field; Roush never saw Mathewson pitch in his prime, the "dead" balls made a difference in his pitching (00:14:40 to 00:17:27) Track 5 - On playing with Germany Schaefer in the Federal League; Schaefer told McGraw to hire Roush; he had wanted Benny Kauff and got him; Schaefer was a clown, not a great ballplayer; one time they sent Schaefer up to pinch hit and he turned around, told the fans that he was going to hit the ball into left field, and turned around and did it; that was in the papers for years; he stole second base, but stole first base instead; he was just a clown on the field, along with a pitcher, one time in an exhibition game against Washington, it had rained and the coaching box was full of water, they sat down in the box and started rowing, the fans loved it (00:17:27 to 00:21:03) Track 6 - (Contains profanity) On older players not really giving him a hard time; sometimes they would play pranks on younger players, but they stayed away from him; thought he might do something back; one time in New York, Jeff Pfeffer sat down next to him, another player sat down on the other side, both chewing tobacco, and Roush was trying to watch the ballgame, and they spit chewing tobacco on his shoes, he told them if they spit in his shoes again, and he said he'd hit them right in the goddamn face, Pfeffer spit in his shoes and Roush spit in Pfeffer's face and it went right in his mouth; Roush chewed tobacco for 4-5 years, he started when he was duck hunting one day and he flushed a drake, and he grabbed the gun with a cigar in his mouth, and he burnt his mouth, so he switched to chewing tobacco; McKechnie asked Roush for chewing tobacco, said it must have had something to do with putting on the uniform; Stan Coveleski still chews; Roush saw him in Cooperstown, but he hasn't been able to get there for a few years, too hard to get there from Indiana (00:21:03 to 00:26:30) Track 7 - On playing with Jim Thorpe in 1918; Roush and the right fielder got hurt, and they didn't have any extra outfielders, they got Thorpe from New York and he stayed the rest of the season; Thorpe wasn't a bad ballplayer, but couldn't hit right-handed pitching, he hit left-handed pitching OK; Roush had some trouble with left-handers himself, but he changed his stance to hit the left-handed pitchers; Thorpe could run, he was a good fielder; they were running a race one time around the ballpark, Roush was running as hard as he could, and Thorpe was just trotting along, taking two strides to Roush's three; Thorpe said that in the Olympics, he never saw anybody he couldn't look back at, nobody could stay close to him; Roush was pretty fast, a lot of times he got to the spot before the ball got there, a couple of times he caught the ball bare-handed; he practiced to get to where the ball would be; on Thorpe drinking beer, but never really having a drinking problem when they played together; Roush used to have 2-3 beers after a game (00:26:30 to 00:33:11) Track 8 - On the road you had a lot of time on your hands, even at home you had a lot of time; McGraw had a rule that you had to be at the ballpark by 9 a.m. and just sit around and play cards or talk until the afternoon game; it wore you out; in Cincinnati, he didn't have to go there in the morning, he'd usually leave home about 11:30 to go to the ballpark; games would start at 2-2:30 and lasted for an hour and a half; now they stand around out there forever; Roush didn't like to play cards, he shot craps one year, in 1917, he led the National League in hitting, and his baby was born, and Manny (Manuel Cueto?) started a craps game and would shoot all night; Roush wound up even, lost $200 one night and he was even (00:33:11 to 00:36:52) Track 9 - On playing with Carl Mays in '25 and '26 in Cincinnati; in '26 he had something wrong and didn't pitch much; won one or two games for them; if he would have been able to pitch they might have won the pennant, also needed a decent shortstop; Mays was alright, came out of the Yankee ballclub, and those fellows never went around together; in Cincinnati they would go down to the brewery after the game; every trip home they'd buy a keg of beer and go out to someone's house and drink beer, and eat; Mays wasn't used to that, didn't understand how they could all get along like that; they all felt that when the ballgame is over, they forget about it, people make mistakes, but no one held it against them; no one on the team ever game Mays a hard time about Ray Chapman being killed; didn't look like Chapman was paying attention, he didn't even move when the ball came towards his head; Roush said it happened to him a couple of times, he lost concentration and wasn't looking at the ball, that's what happened to Chapman (00:36:52 to 00:41:58) Track 10 - (Contains profanity) Never paid any attention to insults from the bench, to hell with them, if they were worth a damn, they wouldn't be coaching, never paid any attention; nobody in the National League ever said anything to Chapman (interviewer talks about Stan Coveleski telling him they drove his brother, Harry, out of baseball by mocking him) Roush says damn reporters are always looking for something to write about, he got to the point where he wouldn't even talk to them; they'd travel by train overnight into New York and Boston, and he hated the trip (00:41:58 to 00:44:38) Track 11 - On Baker Bowl in Philadelphia, they pitched out of the bleachers, part of the time couldn't hardly see the ball; right field was little (tape runs out) (00:44:8 to 00:45:24) Cassette 2 Side One -- Track 1 - Always returned to Oakland City, didn't like big cities, had to spend his summers in Cincinnati and New York, and different cities during the season; he likes to hunt and fish, where he wanted to be; used to go down to Florida in the wintertime, from December to April; used to hunt quail, rabbit, he shot a 410 double barrel; he went squirrel hunting and used to give it to other people to eat, he stopped hunting squirrel when there was no on who wanted to eat it; he ate quail; there weren't any deer around when he was younger, he used to go to Pennsylvania deer-hunting; he shot a few does when Indiana stocked deer in the area, but stopped hunting after a few years; they went to Pennsylvania one year, and the only one who shot a doe was Ivey Wingo; (Rube?) Bressler invited him to go hunt deer near Lockhaven, where he was from, Roush hunted every year until he had a stroke (00:00:00 to 00:07:18) Track 2 - On Ivey Wingo, a good ballplayer, good catcher, could run along with it, but there were other catchers who were just a little bit better, he played for St. Louis, then Cincinnati for 12-14 years; he must have been in the National League for 18 years (00:07:18 to 00:08:26) Track 3 - On Mel Ott, they put him in right field in '27, he was picked up when he was about 16 years old, and he sat on the bench for a long time, he started playing regular in '27; he was always a pretty good hitter, wasn't too fast a runner, but there was a fence behind right fielder, not like center field, where you had to be fast to get to the ball (00:08:26 to 00:10:30) Track 4 - On Fred Lindstrom, playing with him ‘27-'29; girls like Lindstrom, he often had something wrong and couldn't play, his wife just died, they lived in Florida; he was a good ballplayer, but if he didn't feel just right, he wouldn't play; Roush played whether he felt like it or not, even with a Charley horse he had to play (00:10:30 to 00:12:46) Track 5 - One time he had a sore place in his arm and every time he threw it hurt, they sent him to a bonesetter out of New York, and he had him put his arm into something for a half hour, then he's work on the arm for a while to try and get the muscles back where they belonged, didn't do any good, so he played with it no better than before, he was in center field during a game, one man out, tying run on third, 7th or 8th inning, someone hit a fly ball to him in short center; he caught the ball, and threw to home and his muscles snapped back into place; they got out of place from sliding into base; never had any trouble except Charley horses; he wasn't like other outfielders, he was backing up the other fielders, in case they didn't catch the ball, he might get it; best outfielder was (?) also played football (00:12:46 to 00:16:42) Track 6 - He played shorter than most center fielders, similar to Tris Speaker; shifting on hitters and playing short; the American League had better publicity than the National League, paying writers to write (interview talks about Maddox playing short) Roush doesn't watch baseball because the games take too long and they change pitchers too often (interviewer talks about Stan Coveleski not wasting pitches) Roush says pitchers had to perform or they'd be taken out; changes in the strike zone because players can't hit, if they hit .280 and they think they're good, that was an ordinary player back in his day (00:16:42 to 00:20:17) Track 7 - (Contains profanity) On using the heaviest bat anyone had ever used, a 48-ounce bat, he had it made shorter and heavier; Ruth had a 51- or 52-ounce bat made, but he only used it to warm up, never hit with it; Cooperstown said Ruth had the heaviest bat, and Roush said somebody doesn't know what the hell they're talking about; Ruth's regular hitting bat weighed about 40 ounces; Roush on not using a lighter bat, he wasn't a home run hitter, always tried to hit a ball down the line, didn't change when they put the livelier ball, people going for home runs strike out more; changes in the strike zone, in helmets (00:20:17 to 00:23:22) Track 8 - (Contains profanity) On pitchers throwing at hitters, all the time; Roush started aiming at the infielders, so the pitchers stopped throwing at him; one time (Rogers) Hornsby stood way far back and then stepped towards the plate to spring, Roush said if a pitcher threw at him, it might kill him, and (Dolf) Luque was pitching and hit Hornsby right in the neck; Hornsby was a tough fellow to get along with, kept to himself, if a manager said anything to him, he'd raise hell with him; Roush played with him one year in NY and Hornsby and John McGraw didn't get along at all, so they traded him the next year; Hornsby was hard to get along with as a manager, also; he would tell pitchers how to pitch to different hitters; Roush told him he didn't know how to pitch, and he said he was doing the same as McGraw; Hack Wilson sat in the box and they said pitch high to him, and that was right up his alley; Roush said pitch low to Wilson, and they didn't have any more trouble (interviewer talks about Wilson) Roush said Wilson was hitting .400-something, getting two or three hits every game, they said he could hit anything; he got three base hits off of Luque, all three were dusters; Roush told him to pitch low to him and other ball clubs started doing the same, and he went right out of the League, went to the Chicago Cubs (00:23:22 to 00:31:27) Track 9 - Luque was a good pitcher, a tough-luck pitcher, would come into a game 1-0 or 2-1 and pitch; they had one other Cuban player, (? Cueto?) and he couldn't speak English, they sent him down to the Minor Leagues, and when he came back in the fall, he said he had nothing to eat except ham and eggs (00:31:27 to 00:32:37) Track 10 - One year Roush, (Hod) Eller and (Heinie) Groh played against the Negro League's Indianapolis club and lost 2-1, Roush had two or three hits in the game, didn't matter to him; the other players were Minor Leaguers (interviewer talks about Coveleski pitching to the Cuban Giants and giving up 7 home runs) When Roush was an amateur, he played against black teams in nearby towns and Oakland City had them beat 4-1 in the 9th inning and the umpire started calling balls; so they quit playing; Roush hit one over the fence (00:32:37 to 00:35:58) Track 11 - Playing amateur ball, there were always problems with umpires, and the teams would wind up in fights; they had a catcher that would always get into fights, and a few other players; one time they came into Washington by train and had to stay there all night, a bunch of toughs followed them around until they beat them up and then they didn't fool with them any longer; Roush was a fairly good fighter, he and his twin brother had boxing gloves and their father taught them to fight (00:35:58 to 00:37:58) Track 12 - His father played amateur baseball before he was married; when someone from Evansville called and asked him to sign up, his father told him to go for it, said he'd never know if he was any good until he tried; there was a lot of money in it even back then, nobody had any money or any cash; he'd go to town with a nickel apiece on Saturdays, and they'd get a whole sack of candy (00:37:58 to 00:39:57) Track 13 - He returned to Oakland City after he quit baseball, never worked except on the farm; he never wanted to be a manager, when he quit baseball, he quit; he spent eight years on the school board, only three members on the board and the other two didn't know anything about business; he told the superintendent that he was accountable for hiring and firing the teachers, and didn't want him to show favoritism to family or friends; even worse today, money getting tighter, most people don't save anything, so they're broke; they throw too much stuff away (00:39:57 to 00:44:06) Track 14 - On finding decent places to eat on the road, they used to get $3.50 a day for food and you could eat where you wanted; he only ate two meals a day, always ate breakfast, eggs, ham; then he'd eat at night, sometimes a good steak but not too often; today's steaks are tougher than leather and cooked too long; rather have a hamburger than a steak; you could eat wherever you wanted, at home you were responsible for your own expenses (tape runs out) (00:44:06 to 00:46:29) Side Two -- Track 1 - On coaching one year for Cincinnati, in 1938, with Bill McKechnie as manager and (Hank) Gowdy as coach; they had finished last the year before, and Roush was helping out at a school, and they called to ask for his help in coaching; they didn't have any money so they only gave Roush $4000 for the season, it cost him $5-6,000 to be there, he had to go out for beers and go out to the movies with the players to get them to trust him; told McKechnie they needed a third baseman; the next year they got (Billy) Werber and won two pennants; (Ernie) Lombardi was a good catcher but couldn't run, he only stole a base once; not sure who the owners were at that time; when he played, the owner was also president of the National League (? August Herrmann? John Heydler? Not sure who he is talking about) (00:00:00 to 00:05:28) Track 2 - On Leo Durocher, got him from New York in '31, the last year Roush played; a good shortstop but couldn't hit because he didn't swing; Roush told him to go for the pitches; Durocher owed everyone money, always in debt; they had to loan him money to pay off his debts in New York or they wouldn't let him play; he could talk but didn't fight real well (00:05:28 to 00:08:09) Track 3 - Never really knew who was a good fighter; he never got into fights when he played, people might run at him, but they stopped when they saw him (interviewer talks about Ferris Fain punching a pitcher) Roush used to tell people what he thought, but never swung at anyone, didn't want to risk being out of baseball for a month; Ty Cobb would fight with people outside of the ballpark; no one wanted to room with Cobb because he was hard to get along with; Roush never had any problems with him, got along fine with him; on playing in spring training (00:08:09 to 00:13:03) Track 4 - On Honus Wagner, his last year 1916, didn't play the whole season; he saw him play and talked to him a lot, because he was a young fellow and Wagner was one of the best hitters in any League; he never made any money and never asked for anything, took what they gave him; Wagner got as a job with Pittsburgh as a coach, (Barney) Dreyfuss told him he had a job whenever he needed one; Cobb made a lot of money in Coca-Cola stock, had a lot of money when he died; Roush got along fine with Cobb, both playing center field, they used to talk all the time; Cobb never went for a beer after a game; even during Prohibition, went to the brewery (00:13:03 to 00:18:10) Track 5 - On the Oakland City Walkovers; name came from a shoe company (tape glitches) on having a midget as a mascot, he was from Oakland City; Roush played basketball with his two brothers; the Yankees had a mascot who had something wrong with him, but it wasn't common; used to pick up kids as mascots (00:18:10 to 00:21:20) Track 6 - On superstitions among ballplayers; safety pins meant a base hit; Greasy Neale wouldn't wash his undershirt when he was on a hitting streak, it was so dirty it could sit up by itself; some players go around the catcher, or in front of the catcher, because they thought it meant a base hit; Roush never paid any attention to superstitions (00:21:20 to 00:25:02) Track 7 - On pitcher Freddie Fitzsimmons, a spitball pitcher with the Giants (00:25:02 to 00:26:33) Track 8 - On Carl Hubbell pitching for the Giants, (John) McGraw wouldn't let him pitch the way he wanted to, so he didn't win too many games; did better after McGraw was gone from the club; in '31 he only played 31 games, didn't play regular because he wasn't in shape, had rubber around his legs to avoid charley horses; the White Sox was fighting for the pennant and they beat them five straight games; the pitcher started throwing at him, knocked him down twice, but couldn't hit him in the head with a handful of shot (00:26:33 to 00:30:08) Track 9 - Baseball was a business with him, he played to win and that's why he got the money; when the game started, all friendships ceased; was never trying to make records but was playing to win, he led the League in hitting in '17 and '19; he would have led in '18, but his father got killed two weeks before the season ended and (Zack) Wheat beat him by two points; his father had started a telephone company, and he fell off a telephone pole, his harness was loose and he was working by himself; he died at 50; Wheat was a nice fellow, they used to get together at Cooperstown, Wheat didn't talk much; they used to come home from Cooperstown on the same plane, Wheat and his daughter with Roush and his wife; one time they were in Utica and they got on a plane with problems, and they had to sit there, so Roush asked for some beers; they had to switch planes and sat and drank beer until the other plane came; on difficulties getting to and from Cooperstown; too hard to travel after having a stroke, went to Florida, not remembering people's names; fans coming from all over the country to see him, goes downtown every day in the afternoons to drink beer, and people come to see him then (00:30:08 to 00:40:59) Track 10 - On Oakland City staying about the same, about 3,500 people, a lot of college students; people living in trailers instead of living in houses; wouldn't want to live in one year-round; on businesses closing downtown; people going to Evansville or Princeton for shopping; they have three grocery stores in town, but not too many other shops; a big difference from when he was a boy, everyone came to town on Saturday night and on Sundays; today, when there is a fire, they never rebuilt the stores (00:40:59 to 00:45:01) Track 11 - On wearing bow ties, easy to put on, and easy to wear, doesn't like having a tie in a way; ball clubs wanted everyone to wear a tie, had to have a coat and tie to get into the hotel, now they go into the hotel with nearly nothing on (tape runs out) (00:45:01 to 00:46:23) Cassette 3Side One -- Track 1 - On staying in best hotels when they traveled (00:00:00 to 00:00:39) Track 2 - On only being in the Minor Leagues for Evansville 1912 and 1913, then went to the White Sox in the later part of '13 for a month, they sent him to Lincoln, Nebraska for the last two weeks; then he went to the Federal League in '14 in Annapolis, and to Newark in '15, then in 16 he went to the NY Giants, and then on to Cincinnati, played with them until '27; went back to the NY Giants for '27, '28 and '29; '30 he stayed out all year, then returned to Cincinnati for '31, and coached one year, '38 in Cincinnati (00:00:39 to 00:01:43) Track 3 - On the Federal League, a good league with a lot of older players, he was one of the youngest players, they won the pennant in '14, they next year they were out in front until third baseman Bill McKechnie got hurt; they put in Germany Schaefer, but he was pretty much through, so they got beat (00:01:43 to 00:02:44) Track 4 - On players staying together in houses when he played in Evansville, different from the Major Leagues, they would give them money and they would go anywhere; in Evansville, had to eat with the team; in 1913, they were playing in Dayton, OH, and he went in to get something to eat around noon, he ordered a big meal and the manager came in and said he couldn't eat that much and go out and play, and Roush said "you'd be surprised," he was hitting around .400; the manager called him over after he finished eating, and said he was liable to get sick; so he ate ham and eggs for breakfast, stopped eating at noon (00:02:44 to 00:06:25) Track 5 - On playing amateur baseball around town, getting used to playing; when he went to professional ball, they played every day, as compared to one or two games a week; they had good pitching in amateur baseball, some of them could have played in a D league but didn't want to leave home, back then, couldn't make hardly any money playing baseball; today they get $30-$40 a day for food, and that was more money than many of the town teams made; the pitchers had to get the ball over the plate, he shifted his stance based on the pitches; he was different than anyone else, he moved around and hit, had a .325 batting average, lost two points from the Hall of Fame, they sent in his paperwork wrong, .323 is on the plaque, but it was wrong (00:06:25 to 00:10:39) Track 6 - On following the ball, knowing what the pitch was as soon as he hit, knowing a spitball, a curveball, he knew when he hit a curveball or not; hit differently with left-handed and right-handed pitchers, moved around the batter's box; a lot of differences today, including the strike zone; back in his day, every town had a ball club, today they come out of college and they don't know anything about baseball in college; kids don't have the right kind of coaching, they don't know how to teach the kids baseball (00:10:39 to 00:14:51) Track 7 - On pitchers having poor control; they get to the Major Leagues and they have to be taught control, in the Minor Leagues, they didn't learn enough, the coaches didn't know enough to get out of the rain; should have the coaches in the Minor Leagues, don't need coaches in the Major Leagues; he sees hitters today looking too much, can't stand to watch them; he always played his old game, the manager never told him what to do, hit-and-run or bunt, the managers would tell him to suit himself (00:14:51 to 00:18:22) Track 8 - On Cuckoo Christensen, he was an outfielder in Cincinnati in '26, a left-handed hitter and put him against right-handed pitchers; he was a nut, they put him in center field after Roush left and he only lasted a week or 10 days, and that was the last of him, he hit .330-something; Roush didn't like the nuts, people didn't need to hoot and holler; when he played, his mind was on the game (00:18:22 to 00:20:52) Track 9 - On Bill Terry, a good hitter, hit the ball a long ways, they put him in as a regular first baseman in 1927 in NY, the year Roush went there; Roush tried to help him by telling him he was hitting everything to right field, and suggesting that he move around in the batter's box, to hit to left field, get in front of the batter's box, take the bat and aim at the shortstop; Terry got so he could hit to any field and became a great hitter (00:20:52 to 00:23:42) Track 10 - On trying a lot of different things to improve hitting, if he saw someone hitting well, he would try it for himself, for example, Heinie Groh facing the pitcher to hit, so he tried it, but didn't like it, on not getting into any long slumps; if he didn't get a hit for a couple days, he'd get a pitcher to throw to him in center field, 8-10 pitches, and he'd practice his swing, and he'd go right back to hitting; he knew he had his swing right when the ball went down the line; most practice hitting is a waste of time, using batting cages with machines is a terrible way to learn to hit; need to be able to see the pitcher winding up and throwing the ball; hitting practice is a lot of baloney (interviewer talks about Rose swinging 400 times a day) strike zone is a lot different, a different game today, ball is livelier since 1920 because of Babe Ruth (coughing) (00:23:42 to 00:30:46) Track 11 - Ruth couldn't have been a better hitter, he could hit the ball hard because he swung at it hard; he was a freak because nobody could hit a ball as hard as he did; drinking and staying out all night didn't hurt his swing; drinking didn't really hurt most of them, (Grover Cleveland) Alexander was a good pitcher because after the game, he'd get drunk; in the '26 World Series he beat the Yankees in the 6th ballgame, he went out and got drunk that night, they put him to bed and he was out there the next day for game 7, probably still half drunk, and they put him in to pitch, he struck out Tony Lazzeri out with the bases full and they won the game; the only way to hit off Alexander was stand in the front of the plate, he threw a sidearm sinker; (Dolf) Luque was a fast pitcher too, didn't waste a lot of time, ballgames didn't last more than an hour and a half (00:30:46 to 00:34:42) Track 12 - On not playing against Chuck Klein, Roush quit in '31; on Wally Pipp being on the bench, because Lou Gehrig played all the time, never missed a game; in '26 Cincinnati got Pipp, hit .280, they should have won the pennant if their shortstop hadn't gotten hurt (00:34:42 to 00:36:59) Track 13 - On Chuck Dressen, came to Cincinnati in '25, just a ballplayer, not a star, good but nothing special; many players like that turned out to be good managers; sometimes you had to ride the guys to keep them hustling out there to keep the ball club going; Roush had to help McKechnie keep the guys hustling, Cincinnati finished last for three years, until Roush came in '38 to get them moving; he told McKechnie they needed to have a meeting; and Roush told them why they were losing, because they weren't hitting properly, they weren't swinging at the ball, they weren't swinging at the first pitch, the players started swinging and they started hitting (00:36:59 to 00:41:13) Track 14 - On different cities, one the same as the next; St. Louis and Cincinnati were both hot in the summertime, usually cooler in the East, Boston, Brooklyn, they didn't do well on the hot days in Cincinnati, they would nearly burn up, the pitchers would only last about three innings before they'd give out; St. Louis was very hot, there was no air conditioning, they would sit up until 1 or 2 in the morning because it was so hot; he would just take his clothes off and lay there with nothing on (00:41:13 to 00:43:48) Track 15 - On Wilbert Robinson, manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers, he was done as a player by the time Roush started, he was a catcher; Roush used to talk to him during hitting practice, never played for him but used to talk to him, they had some good players in Brooklyn, some good hitters, but they weren't good base runners; Babe Herman at third base (tape runs out) (00:43:48 to 00:46:27) Side Two -- Track 1 - On Eppa Rixey, one of the great pitchers of the time, big guy, 6'5" had good control, didn't walk a lot of people, could keep the ball just inside, or just outside, could throw strikes when he wanted (00:00:00 to 00:01:01) Track 2 - On World War I, closed down baseball on Labor Day; many of the players went into the Army, others quit baseball to work in factories in 1917, 1918; Christy Mathewson was running their ball club and they asked if they were going to drill in the field, and he said no, the Army will teach you to drill if you need to drill, we're out there to play baseball; Mathewson left the ball club 10 days before the end of the season and went to France for the War; they couldn't find him, and they got Pat Moran as manager in 1919, and they won the pennant; Mathewson went back to New York and that's where he wanted to be; he was a good manager, very few pitchers were worth a dime as a manager; Mathewson used to ask Roush about various players, and that was what made him different; Moran had been a catcher, and he was a good manager, never yelled at anyone for a bad play; Roush had to walk by his locker so Moran would tell Roush to get on someone who made a bad play, or a bad throw (00:01:01 to 00:06:42) Track 3 - On Connie Mack not yelling at people; Roush would talk to him and they got along well; they would sit and talk after games; Roush never played for him; managers get mad and disgusted with bad plays; McKechnie wouldn't yell, would talk to people in the clubhouse if they made a bad play; (John) McGraw would call you everything in the world if you made a bad play; the reason McGraw could never develop young ballplayers, the only one he ever did well with was (Frankie) Frisch, got him out of college; Roush knew if he was playing and made a bad play, McGraw would jump all over him in the dugout; being a youngster and talking to the old people in town to learn from them, talk about quail hunting (00:06:42 to 12:21) Track 4 - On enjoying quail hunting, being a good shot and not wasting shells; he'd get two shots and kill two quail (00:12:21 to 00:14:26) Public Access NotePlease note that not all works are on view at all times - their availability is subject to change per the discretion of the Museum staff. 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