Читать книгу No Money, No Beer, No Pennants. The Cleveland Indians and Baseball in the Great Depression онлайн

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They had reached a familiar juncture for Major League teams. The owner had circled the wagons, reluctant to put any additional money into the team. Without funds to spend, Barnard had nowhere to go to bring the Indians back into contention. Another issue arose when the possibility of Ban Johnson’s retirement began to gather steam. Johnson had been president of the American League since its inception in 1901. His combative personality had worn on the owners for a number of years. The smart money was on none other than Ernest Barnard to become his successor. If this was the case, Barnard would be obligated to sever his ties with the Cleveland organization. That scenario would leave Mrs. Dunn completely on her own to run the ball club. Barnard, being an honest and loyal executive, would not let that happen. Barring a miracle comeback, it became more apparent that the sale of the team was imminent.

As if ordained by the heavens, the dream nearly occurred. The 1926 edition of the Indians fought tooth and nail for the pennant. The Yankees, with Ruth, Gehrig, Tony Lazzeri, and the rest of the wrecking crew figured to run away with the pennant. Still, the Indians caught fire in midseason and made it interesting until the very end of September. In May they fell off the map, losing seventeen of twenty-nine games. Heading into June it looked like the season was over. Yet, the Indians were far from done. For the remainder of the year, they reeled off sixty-six wins against forty-four losses.