Jack Keefe Stories

she says the business will be even better in the fall and winter time on acct. of more people going to partys and theaters then. How is that for the kind of a wife to have Al and the best part of it is that she is stuck on the work and a whole lot happier then when she wasn’t doing nothing. They got 2 girls working besides themself and they are talking about moveing into a bigger store somewheres and she says we will have to find a bigger flat so as we can have a nurse and a hired girl instead of just the one.

Tell Bertha about it Al and tell her that when she comes up to Chi she can get all prettied up and I will see they don’t charge her nothing for it.

The clubs over in Detroit but it was only a 5 day trip so Rowland left me home to rest up my arm for the eastren clubs and Phila. is due here the day after tomorrow and all as I ask is a chance at them. My arm don’t feel just exactly right but I could roll the ball up to the plate and beat that club.

Its a cinch now that the Giants is comeing through in the other league and if we can keep going it will be some worlds serious between the 2 biggest towns in the country and the club that wins ought to grab off about $4,500.00 a peace per man. Is that worth going after Al? I’ll say so.

Your old pal,
Jack.

Chicago, July 20.

Friend Al: Well Al I don’t suppose you remember my draft number and I don’t remember if I told it to you or not. It was 3,403 Al. And it was the 5th number drawed at Washington.

Well old pal they can wipe the town of Washington off of the map and you won’t hear no holler from me. The day before yesterday Rowland sends me in against the Washington club and of course it had to be Johnson for them. And I get beat 3 and 2 and I guess its the only time this season that Washington scored 3 runs in 1 day. And the next thing they announce the way the draft come out and I’m No. 5 and its a misery to me why my number wasn’t the 1st they drawed out instead of the 5th.

Well Al of course it don’t mean I got to go if I don’t want to. I can get out of it easy enough by telling them about Florrie and little Al and besides Gleason says they have promised Ban Johnson that they won’t take no baseball stars till the seasons over and maybe not then and besides theys probably some White Sox fans that will go to the front for me and get me off on acct. of the club being in the fight for the pennant and they can’t nobody say I’m trying to get excused because I said all season that I would go in a minute if it wasn’t for my family and the club being in the race and I give $50.00 last week for a liberty bond that will only bring me in $1.75 per annum which is nothing you might say. You couldn’t sport a flee on $1.75 per annum.

Florrie wanted I should go right down to the City Hall or where ever it is you go and get myself excused but Gleason says the only thing to do is just wait till they call me and then claim exemptions. I read somewheres a while ago that President Wilson wanted baseball kept up because the people would need amusement and I asked Gleason if he had read about that and he says “Yes but that won’t get you nothing because the rest of the soldiers will need amusement even more then the people.”

Well Al I don’t know what your number was or how you come out but I hope you had better luck but if you did get drawed you will probably have a hard time getting out of it because you don’t make no big salary and you got no children and Bertha could live with your mother and pick up a few dollars sowing. Enough to pay for her board and clothes. Of course they might excuse you for flat feet which they say you can’t get in if you have them. But if I was you Al I would be tickled to death to get in because it would give you a chance to see something outside of Bedford and if your feet gets by you ought to be OK

I guess they won’t find fault with my feet or anything about me as far as physical goes. Hey Al?

I will write as soon as I learn anything.

Your pal,
Jack.

Chicago, Aug. 6.

Friend Al: Well Al I got notice last Friday that I was to show up right away over to Wendell Phillips high school where No. 5 board of exemptions was setting but when I got over there it was jamed so I went back there today and I have just come home from there now.

The 1st man I seen was the doctor and he took my name and number and then he asked me if my health was OK and I told him it was only I don’t feel good after meals. Then he asked me if I was all sound and well right now so I told him my pitching arm was awful lame and that was the reason I hadn’t went east with the club. Then he says “Do you understand that if a man don’t tell the truth about themself here they are libel to prison?” So I said he didn’t have to worry about that.

So then he made me strip bear and I wish you had seen his eyes pop