[DamnYankees]

A Joke on Bob Rooney

One pleasant day last winter, Bob Rooney was escorting three of his friends, namely Grey Oliver, sporting editor of the Los Angeles Times, Harry Williams, of the Tribune, and C. T. Rankin, of Baseball Magazine, in his new “Benz” car, into Los Angeles. As they came in front of the Alexander Hotel something went wrong with the machine and Rooney jumped out to fix it. After he had puttered around for about 15 minutes and was ready to start, Oliver leaned out of the car and handed the Cub leader 15 cents, the contribution of a nickel from each of the three passengers. Rooney’s face flushed, and a large crowd that had gathered on the curb, expressed considerable astonishment at the incident. Some of the throng even chanced the opinion that the three were nickel sports or graduates from a pawn shop. Rooney stood fondling the three nickels and when everything was quiet, remarked “Even at that, I believe I cleaned them.” The crowd broke into a big laugh and—well—the Alexander has a magnificent bar.