HOW WE MADE IT TO BOSTON

May 27, 1924

Benny's Chrysler was leaking black goo on the road the second we got into New York State. And Benny was still passed out next to me from drinking a bottle of something worse than goo which he got from a speakeasy in Erie, Pennsylvania yesterday. He was still a mess because he got beat up by that Pittsburgh detective creep and needed to kill the pain somehow but all that did was put me in charge of the trip at the craziest possible time.

I had two days to drive us all the way to Boston for the 3 o'clock game with the Phillies at Braves Field, and I knew it would be a tough haul but Mama always said the bravest bug gets the tastiest meal so that got me determined enough to try. I was actually in Pennsylvania, not Ohio when I wrote her that letter but we'd been driving for so long that day I had no idea where I really was, only that I was moving away from the sunset as fast as I could.

The road we took back from the west first went under Lake Erie and then Lake Ontario and it was nice to look out at the steamer ships and fishing boats when it was clear enough to see them. Then this car thing happened and I had to stop at a repair shop and have these two guys look at the engine but they knew less about cars than I did and ended up patching what was a bad oil leak with a pound of their chewing gum. It was late morning by the time I got to Albany and I was lucky to not be arrested for speeding so much. We stopped at a diner in a nice little town called Springfield, Mass and I brought food out for Benny to eat in the car, which only made him queasy all over again due to the bouncy road.

It was 3:30 by the time we got to Braves Field and stupidly cold out, and I helped walk Benny into the right field bleacher section they call the Jury Box because it's about the size of one. The guy beside us said all we missed was three horrible errors by the Braves and a run in each of the first two innings for the Phils. Johnny Couch was getting his second start, and he was fabulous again, only giving Boston five hits, and the win was so easy we didn't even notice we were freezing. We thought the Braves would be happy and relaxed to get home but it was the opposite, because they couldn't field a ball if it was delivered to them by Western Union. They made four errors on the day and the Braves were even booing the peanut throwers, which is what happens I guess when your record is 10-29.

Anyway, we got back out to the street where I left the Chrysler and guess what? It had been taken away for being in a police horse-parking zone! A cop sitting on a mare was real nasty and I could tell he didn't like Italians but finally told us where we could get the car back the next morning. We ended up sleeping in a flophouse in a part of Boston called Allston, which was probably the closest spot near the ball park we could walk to without passing out.

All I know is that we deserve to sweep the crummy Braves three straight, just for the trouble of us getting here. Hopefully Benny will be better enough to walk around some tomorrow night, because I hear they have great culture and fish in this place. Good night, reader-people!

PHL110 002 010 - 5 9 0
BOS 000 000 001 - 1 5 4

Other National League games today:

at GIANTS 3-4-1, ROBINS 2-6-0
Back at the Polo Grounds, the Giants win their fifth in a row in a very strange way. Bill Doak faces only 27 men but George Kelly whacks two homers off him for the only New York runs of the game. Fournier goes 0-for-4 and has really slumped down, along with his team.

PIRATES 7-9-0, at CUBS 4-8-5
Doesn't matter where they play, the Bucs win with ease, and now it's eleven in a row! Big hits from Moore and Smith and the first of five Cub errors give them three runs for Meadows in the 1st, and Chicago plays catch-up and fall-down from there. Hack Miller hits a 2-run belt in the 8th but it's too little and too late in the game.

at CARDINALS 2-9-3, REDS 1-7-2 (11 innings)
A big error from each team makes the 1-1 score as Rixey and Sherdel have a great duel. Myers singles to start the Cards 11th, gets sent to second on a passed ball and Sherdel wins it for himself with a double.

NATIONAL LEAGUE through Tuesday, May 27
Pittsburgh Pirates	27	10	.730	—
Cincinnati Reds	24	18	.571	5.5
New York Giants	22	17	.564	6
Brooklyn Robins	20	18	.526	7.5
St. Louis Cardinals	21	21	.500	8.5
Chicago Cubs	18	23	.439	11
Philadelphia Phillies	17	23	.425	11.5
Boston Braves	10	29	.256	18