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

82 страница из 104

Earl Averill found himself in a difficult situation. No matter how well he played for the Snohomish Bearcats, he had little chance of being noticed. The local folks realized Earl had a rare talent that might just enable him to earn a living playing professional baseball. In the early 1920s they took up a collection and gave Earl enough traveling money to get him on a train to Seattle. Once there, he would report to the ball club for a tryout. The Snohomish fans believed it would be just a matter of time for Earl to be in Major Leagues.

To everyone’s shock and anger, the Seattle manager deemed that the new kid was another small-town boy and sent him packing. Averill was just about average height and weighed somewhere between 150 and 160 pounds. The Seattle boss took a quick glance and believed Earl did not have the look of a ballplayer. Several years later he would kick himself for the hasty decision. Averill hopped on a train back to Snohomish, wondering if he would ever get his chance.