[Big Six]

12 Lowell Road
Wellesley Hills, Massachusetts

Mr. Charles Prentice
442 Park Street
Stockbridge, Massachusetts

October 21, 1934

Dear Charlie,

Thank you for your letter of the 8th, and I am sorry I'm taking so long to answer you. It brightened up what was otherwise a rather dreary day in the O'Farrell household. We had just returned home from South Bend, where Mike played his first varsity football game for Notre Dame. Their opponent was the University of Texas, and the Irish lost a nail-biter, 7-6. Mike didn't play badly; he substituted for Wally Fromhart at quarterback in the third quarter, made two nice runs from scrimmage, and had a good clean tackle on defense.

Mike's normal disappointment at losing the game was worsened by the fact that he really likes the team's new coach, Elmer Layden. Mike hopes the more rabid boosters that flock around the Irish will be patient while Coach Layden rights the ship. The fact that Layden was, of course, one of the fabled Four Horsemen will doubtless make things easier for him, and so will the two wins the team has managed since then.

Thank you for your kind words regarding the end of the season, too. Honestly, I believe the pundits picked us to win the pennant over the Tigers only because we won the World Series in '32 and '33. The Tigers are every bit as talented a team as we are, and they are a bit younger. Players like Greenberg and Rowe are only going to get better, while men like Bell and Gehringer are still able to play at a very high level.

I'm a bit surprised by the way the Pirates thrashed them in the Series, though. I knew Pittsburgh was talented, but I was not expecting them to beat the Tigers four straight times! Lefty Grove and Red Lucas pitched as well as they ever have, and the Waners, Arky Vaughan, Gus Suhr, and Joe Cronin all chose exactly the right week for their bats to get hot.

Now that the season is over, I find myself on the receving end of quite a bit of criticism about my decision not to make a trade before the deadline in July. I honestly believed we could win the pennant with the team we had in place, and the record shows we were only one game away from doing just that very thing! I talked with several teams about the possibility of a trade, but in each case they wanted more than I was willing to give for what they were willing to part with. I have never believed in making a trade simply to "shake up" a team; those are often the trades that come back to haunt you most horridly.

Besides, by promoting Moose Solters from Providence and giving him an everyday job in left field, we achieved the same purpose as a trade, without sacrificing any of our own talent in return. Solters hit the ball well, and he will be the man to beat in left field come spring.

Sarah, the kids, and I will be making at least two or three trips back to Stockbridge before Christmas, and of course we'll be spending the holidays there as usual. I will give you a call as soon as our plans are firmed up, so we can arrange for a good, long visit.

Give our best to your family, old pal!

Your buddy,
Pat