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

81 страница из 104

A few years later, the owner of the local pool hall determined that the town should have a baseball club. Averill got a chance to play and immediately earned a reputation as a tremendous hitter and outfielder. The Snohomish Bearcats did not pay their players, but the pool hall owner passed the hat after games. He kept most of the money for himself, but Earl usually pocketed a small share when the hat was full. There is a story that one day Averill belted an important game-winning home run. Before he left the field the excited spectators presented him with a total of fifty dollars in coin. No doubt, the men in the stands had a few bets out on the winning team.

In the early days of the twentieth century, few baseball scouts found their way to Snohomish. The scouting business was fairly unorganized and likely to be hit-and-miss. If you played baseball in places like Bellingham, Everett, and the surrounding area, chances were you were likely to stay there. Team officials and managers relied on tips from fans, former players, and sportswriters to augment any scouts they may have had on the payroll. The likelihood of a team in Chicago, Boston, or New York discovering a prospect hundreds or thousands of miles away was slim.