this game because I don’t know when I will be called and theys lots of things I got to fix up.” So I stopped and Rowland asked me what I wanted and I said “Let me pitch this game and I will give them the beating of their life.”
So him and Gleason looked at each other and then Rowland says “You know we can’t afford to loose no ball games now. But if you think you can beat them I will start you.”
So then he blowed and I and Gleason was alone.
“Well kid” he says “you make the rest of us look like a monkey. This game ain’t nothing compared to what you are going to do. And when you come back they won’t be nothing to good for you and your kid will be proud of you because you went while a whole lot of other kids dads stayed home.”
So he patted me on the back and I kind of choked up and then the trainer come in and I had him do a little work on my arm.
Well Al you will see in the paper what I done to them. Before the game the boss had told Griffith about me and called the deal off. So while I was warming up Griffith come over and shook hands. He says “I would of like to had you but I am a good looser.” So I says “You ought to be.” So he couldn’t help from laughing but he says “When you come back I will go after you again.” I said “Well if you don’t get somebody on the club between now and then that can hit something besides fouls I won’t come back.” So he kind of laughed again and walked away and then it was time for the game.
Well Al the official scorer give them 3 hits but he must be McMullins brother in law or something because McMullin ought to of throwed Milan out from here to Berlin on that bunt. But any way 3 hits and no runs is pretty good for a finish and between you and I Al I feel like I got the last laugh on Washington and Rowland to.
Friend Al: Just time for a few lines while Florrie finishs packing up my stuff. I leave with the bunch tomorrow a.m. for Camp Grant at Rockford. I don’t know how long we will stay there but I suppose long enough to learn to talk German and shoot and etc.
We just put little Al to bed and tonight was the first time we told him I was going to war. He says “Can I go to daddy?” Hows that for a 3 year old Al?
Well he will be proud of me when I come back and he will be proud of me if I don’t come back and when he gets older he can go up to the kids that belong to some of these left handers and say “Where and the hell was your father when the war come off?”
Good by Al and say good by to Bertha for me.
Jack the Kaiser Killer
Friend Al: Well Al I am writeing this in the recreation room at our barracks and they’s about 20 other of the boys writeing letters and I will bet some of the letters is rich because half of the boys can’t talk english to say nothing about writeing letters and etc. We got a fine bunch in my Co. Al and its a cinch I won’t never die in the trenchs because I will be murdered in my bed before we ever get out of here only they don’t call it bed in the army.
They call it bunk and no wonder.
Well Al I have been here since Wed. night and now it is Sunday and this is the first time I have not felt sick since we got here and even at that my left arm is so sore it is pretty near killing me where I got vacinated. Its a good thing I am not a left hander Al or I couldn’t get a ball up to the plate but of course I don’t have to think of that now because I am out of baseball now and in the big game but at that I guess a left hander could get along just as good with a sore arm because I never seen one of them yet that could break a pain of glass with their fast ball and if they didn’t have all the luck in the world they would be rideing around the country in a side door Pullman with all their baggage on.
Speaking about baseball Al I suppose you seen where the White Sox have cinched the penant and they will be splitting the world serious money while I am drawing $30.00 per mo. from the Govmt. but 50 yrs. from now the kids will all stop me on the st. and make me tell them what hotel we stayed at in Berlin and when Cicotte and Faber and Russell begins to talk about what they done to the Giants everybody will have themself paged and walk out.
Well Al a lot of things come off since the last time I wrote to you. We left Chi Wed. noon and you ought to seen the crowd down to the Union station to bid us good by. Everybodys wifes and sisters and mothers was there and they was all crying in 40 different languages and the women wasn’t allowed through the gates so farewell kisses was swapped between the iron spokes in the gates and some of the boys was still
