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

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Evans became a trusted arbiter, rarely blowing his top. He withstood the heated tirades of American League managers, often using diplomacy to get his points across, but every once in a while there were exceptions to the rule. In September 1921, Evans challenged Ty Cobb to a fight after the conclusion of a ball game. Reports were varied, but Evans seemed to have gotten the worst of it, wearing bandages on his face for the next several days. There was nothing to be ashamed of. More than a few ballplayers had come up short in their efforts to teach the widely disliked Cobb a lesson.

Evans traded on his popularity as an umpire to write syndicated baseball columns throughout his career. The articles covered a wide variety of topics related to the baseball world. One of his readers was quite likely Alva Bradley, who apparently saw Evans as much more than an umpire and writer. Another factor in Bradley’s decision was that Evans had made Cleveland his home for the past twenty years. All the Indians stockholders were from Cleveland and Bradley wanted no outsiders associated with his club. That was the clinching argument as Billy Evans accepted the general manager position.