Chet Hoff
Hal Chase |
Following is an excerpt from an interview with former
major league pitcher Chet Hoff, who played with Hal Chase for parts of
the 1911-1913 seasons. This interview
took place on November 18, 1995. Q: Do you think Chase was a good manager? A:
Hal Chase wasn't the greatest manager, but Hal Chase was a popular baseball
manager. All the ballplayers loved him. I loved him. He gave me the job,
he gave me the start in baseball. Q: In 1913 Frank Chance was your manager. What
do you remember about Chance ? A: He was no good. He was no good
to me and he was no good to the players. The players didn't like him.
None of the ballplayers got along with Chance. They did everything to
discourage him. In practice, if they did get on base, they'd never get
further than second base. They'd start to steal second and would overrun
second, slide over. I didn't think he would last a year. Q: So Chase and Chance didn't like each other very
much ? A: They didn't get along. No. Q: Do you remember spring training in Bermuda that
year ? A: I went to Bermuda. Oh, that was a wonderful trip. What
a beautiful trip. Everything was perfect. We were there thirty days, and
we didn't see a drop of rain. Anyway, first thing Chase kidded
him (Chance). Chase made a bluff that he hurt himself out at practice.
He had to get a bicycle. He couldn't practice. He said he had to have
that bicycle to ride around and get in shape. He did that to get Chance
mad, to get his goat. So thats the way it went on. Q: Do you believe any of the stories about Chase
gambling or throwing games on the team ? |