BIG TROUBLE IN THE RIVER CITY

May 11, 1924

We got to Redland Field early because it was Mother's Day and we didn't know how many of those mothers would show up in Cincinnati. There actually seemed to be a pretty good amount, and we had to change seats twice because of their big hats in our face.

We ended up way down in the right field stands about a spit away from the bleacher section. Whitey Glazner was pitching, who's just been plain lousy for us so far, and he didn't change our minds right away by giving up singles to Critz and the Boob and then a loud triple to Rube Bressler for a 2-0 Reds lead. When Roush hit a high fly to score the third run, two whole rows of the bleachers bounced around like a see-saw bench. A gang of young guys all wearing dark shirts and suspenders were making a big ruckus, and Benny went to a seat usher to ask who they were.

The Over-the Rhine Boys were from a tough German neighborhood that went by the same name, and I suddenly recognized them as the guys who followed us out yesterday with their dirty looks. It was 4-0 Cincy behind Carl Mays before long, but when we scored two runs in the 3rd thanks to a big error from Cliff Lee out in right, Benny hooted and waved his cap and made sure the Over-the-Rhine Boys were watching. I told him to keep it down because we weren't back at home but it's hard to calm Benny down when he gets fevered up.

Now Mays is the pitcher who threw the ball that killed Cleveland shortstop Chapman a few years back, and fans of every team except for his usually give it to him good, but today he didn't have to throw at anyone's head because the Phils couldn't have hit him with cave man clubs. And I forget whether I've mentioned it lately, but Cy Williams has been stinking real bad. Today he grounded out twice in the first three innings with people on second base, and with the lineup we got, Cy has to hit for us to have any chance at all.

Anyway, after we lost Benny was moping and cursing Carl Mays and sure enough those German roughnecks followed us out the exit again. We tried to squeeze through the big crowd but they had more friends waiting for us at the edge of the parking places and when one of them mouthed off to Benny in a creepy German accent, he reared back and punched him and then everything went blue. Normally I would have let Benny get himself in hot water but being far from home I just couldn't, and besides I haven't been thrilled with Germans since one of them killed Papa during the Great War so I jumped in and kicked a lot and got thrown to the ground. By the time I stood back up they'd dragged Benny up the street. I couldn't find a cop anywhere so I headed in the direction they took him and found myself in Over-the Rhine.

This part of the city had German restaurants and German hotels and German signs and even sold German newspapers, and I felt kind of sick just looking at them all and smelling the air. After wandering around for a good hour I finally found Benny sitting in an alley with a bloody nose and black eye. He ended up telling the gang his name was Hans Muellerschmidt even though it wasn't, just so they'd let him go, and he was lucky it worked. I helped him up and we found a German laundry where we could both wash up in a sink.

Now that Benny had turned German, he really felt he deserved a good dinner here, so we walked into a fancy restaurant called Mecklenburg Gardens to settle ourselves down, and believe it or not the place had a secret door to an illegal beer garden in the back. We wouldn't have even known it if Benny hadn't put a ten dollar bill in the waiter's pocket.

It was smoky and packed in there and I had to stay calm with all the well-dressed Huns around us, but the big kegs on the wall sure helped that problem. It was the first mug of real beer I'd ever had, all foamy and heavy, and after my second one it didn't take me long to feel poorly. Benny pulled me onto a floor to dance to some oom-pah song with two girls, which only made me run off to a toilet to upvomit.

Bad enough I have to worry about Benny's crazy driving, now I just hope I'm not spoiling his fun. Good night if I can fall sleep, reader-people!
—Vinny

PHL 002 000 000 - 2 6 0
CIN 310 010 00x - 5 9 3

Other National League games today:

at CUBS 6-10-0, ROBINS 1-7-1
Barney Friberg is my new hero! His 3-run homer in the 2nd off Dutch Ruether puts Chicago up 4-0 on the first place Robins as Vic Aldridge pitches like a champ and nobody in the league loses any ground.

at CARDS 8-16-0, GIANTS 7-10-0 (10 innings)
Even with a 7-3 lead in the 4th behind undefeated Mule Watson, even with Jonnard, one of the best relief men around, pitching the last four innings, the Cards still fight back and take the game in extra innings on three singles and a Specs Toporcer sacrifice fly. Right now, the Giants are an awful, awful team, and if they lose again tomorrow St. Louis will jump in front of them. Hornsby gets four hits with a homer in five tries, and is now up to .432.

NATIONAL LEAGUE through Sunday, May 11
Brooklyn Robins	16	8	.667	—
Pittsburgh Pirates	15	9	.625	1
Cincinnati Reds	15	11	.560	2
New York Giants	13	12	.520	3.5
St. Louis Cardinals	13	13	.500	4
Chicago Cubs	10	16	.360	7
Boston Braves	9	15	.375	7
Philadelphia Phillies	9	16	.360	7.5