Ring Lardner Tonight: "You Know Me Al" II, Part 6 -- "Boston is some town, Al"

SCHEDULING NOTE

I'll explain in a post at 9pm PT why tonight's scheduling has been reversed. -- Ken

Before Boston, the White Sox played a series in Cleveland.

"I got a letter from Hazel in Cleveland and she is comeing to Chi in October for the city serious. She asked me to send her a hundred dollars for her fare and to buy some cloths with. I sent her thirty dollars for the fare and told her she could wait till she got to Chi to buy her cloths."

-- from Jack's letter of September 12 from Boston

by Ken

I've already raised the question whether Jack's invariable first impulse to physical mayhem is real or just something in his mind. What's interesting about the stunt he pulls pitching in relief in Cleveland, not only disobeying an instruction from the manager but in the process almost giving the game away, is that even by the time he writes his account to his friend Al he still has no idea what he did wrong, and he still reports that his first response was . . . well, let him tell it --

Anyway the game was over and I felt pretty good. But Callahan don't appresiate good work Al. He give me a call in the clubhouse and said if I ever disobeyed his orders again he would suspend me without no pay and lick me too. Honest Al it was all I could do to keep from wrapping his jaw but Gleason winks at me not to do nothing.

The stop after Cleveland is Boston, and Jack's first visit turns into a big deal for him, with highlights like going down to the wharf to see them unload the fish. ("They must of been a million of them but I didn't have time to count them.")


FOR THE EXCITEMENT OF JACK'S
FIRST VISIT TO BOSTON, CLICK HERE

YOU KNOW ME AL: Our story to date

John Lardner's Introduction (1958): Part 1 and Part 2
Chapter I: A Busher's Letters Home --
Part 1, Preface and Jack's letters of Sept. 6 and Dec. 14 and 16
Part 2, The busher reaches the bigs -- March 2, 7, 9, and 16
Part 3: Countdown to Opening Day -- March 26 and April 1, 4, 7, and 10
Part 4: The busher makes his big-league debut -- April 11 and 15
Part 5: A major development for Jack -- April 19, 25, and 29
Chapter II: The Busher Comes Back
Part 1, The busher comes back -- May 13 and 20
Part 2, Big news for Al -- July 20
Part 3, A surprise for Jack -- August 16 (plus "The real Charles Comiskey")
Part 4, Back in the bigs -- August 27
Part 5, Big doings in Detroit -- September 6

THURBER TONIGHT (including BENCHLEY, BOB AND RAY, WILL CUPPY, WOLCOTT GIBBS, RING LARDNER, PERELMAN, JEAN SHEPHERD, and E. B. WHITE TONIGHT): Check out the series to date

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