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Holyoke Transcript
August 2, 1930
Men who have passed their fortieth birthday can still play baseball, and if they want to, they should. Nothing says a fellow should put his glove in the attic if he doesn't want to.
There are plenty of ways a grey-haired gent can enjoy the game. He can toss the ball around with his children. He can play in a Bachelors vs. Married Men game at a church social on a bright, sunny Sunday afternoon.
He should not try to join a club in a league as fast as the Yankee League has turned out to be.
Pat O'Farrell, are you listening?
There is no doubt you were among the biggest stars the National Game has ever known. Your accomplishments with the Red Sox have made you a hero to many fans throughout New England and the nation.
It's been reported that you're thinking seriously about turning your new coaching job with the Pittsfield Mohawks into something more. You shouldn't.
One of two things will happen. You will either discover many of your formidable skills are intact, or you will discover they have disappeared.
If your skills are intact, you will make the proud men who never had the opportunity to play in the American League look less than heroic. You'll steal the attention that should rightfully be theirs, and turn the circuit into the Patrick O'Farrell League. That is neither gentlemanly nor fair.
If your talents have faded, you will look pathetic, as you wave at pitches you once hit to the far reaches of the yard and stumble after balls in the field you once handled with grace. You will spoil the memories we all have of your prime years in Boston red.
Incidentally, you are much more likely to experience the second fate than the first. The quality of play in the Yankee League isn't American League standard, but it's turned out to be quite good. You are likely to hurt your pride--or something more painful--if you try to keep up.
There is nothing at all to be gained by a return to the field.
Don't do it, Pat.
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