Headaches

Last year on the September day when the Boston Braves clinched the National League pennant, Billy Southworth was quiet and thoughtful. The Boston press and the Braves management were calling him the smartest manager in baseball; he had done wonders with a team of youngsters and temperamental castoffs from other clubs. But Southworth was worried about the World Series (which the Braves lost in six games to the Cleveland Indians). Also, he wondered whether his Cinderella outfit would hold up this year.

It didn't. Injuries and ailments have harassed the Braves all season; Johnny Sain, who won more games (24) than any other pitcher in either league last year, has been off form; the club's hitting has ranged from spotty to feeble. Last year's cheers had turned to jeers. There were persistent reports of feuds on the club, and tempers were frayed. One story was that Center Fielder Jim Russell and First Baseman Earl Torgeson had socked a couple of critics in a hotel-room brawl; in any case, Russell turned up on the bench with a pair of shiners and Torgeson with an injured thumb.

The Braves have been dragging along ten or more games behind the pace-setting St. Louis Cardinals and Brooklyn Dodgers, and like all good managers, Southworth hates to lose. A high-strung man who gave up drinking 14 years ago when he realized that alcohol had him down, he has been afflicted this summer with headaches and insomnia. "I never used to know what other fellows meant when they talked about headaches," said Billy. "I do now."

Last week, at the suggestion of Braves President Lou Perini, 56-year-old Billy Southworth, who still has three years to go on a five-year contract (at $50,000 a season), took a leave of absence for the rest of the season. Said the owners: they wanted "a healthy Bill Southworth managing the Braves in the spring." Coach Johnny Cooney took over the club for the rest of 1949. Billy Southworth flew home to Sunbury, Ohio for a long rest.

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