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SPORTING TIMES — April 28th, 1914
By Charles H. Wentworth
Senators Claim Road Victory, but Moeller Lost to Grave Injury
The Washington Senators, last season’s pennant winners, continued their uneven opening to the new campaign today with a 4–2 victory over the Philadelphia Athletics on the road. While the win nudged Washington to a 7–6 record, the triumph was darkened by a serious injury to right fielder Danny Moeller, whose season has been brought to a sudden halt.
The mishap occurred with Moeller attempting to stretch a hit off the bat of Buck Herzog into a stolen base. As he charged hard for second, the Athletics’ keystone man and the ball arrived at precisely the same moment. What followed was a tangled heap of bodies, limbs, bag, and ball, from which the umpire emerged to signal Moeller out. The out call, however, was of little consequence, for Moeller remained prone on the ground.
Concern spread quickly across the diamond as Moeller failed to rise. Trainers hurried to his side, and after a brief but anxious examination, he was carried from the field, the gravity of the injury immediately apparent.
Moeller had been one of Washington’s brighter bats on the day, finishing 2-for-5, and lifting his early-season average to .214.
The grim confirmation came after the game, when it was announced that Moeller had fractured his kneecap. The injury will require eight to nine months of recovery, ending his season before it had truly begun.
“I was running as hard as I could and then everything just stopped,” Moeller said afterward. “It’s a bitter way for it to end.”
Senators manager Chase Stone spoke with visible disappointment. “Danny’s loss is a heavy one for us,” Stone remarked. “He plays the game the right way, and it pains us all to see him go down like that.”
Thus, a valuable road win for Washington is overshadowed by the sobering loss of a key outfielder, leaving the Senators to press on without him as the long season continues.
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