Joe Tinker and Johnny Evers were enemies

[Chuck9788]

Hall of fame teammates Tinker and Evers had a strained relationship. The feud eventually hit its boiling point on September 14, 1905 when the two engaged in a fistfight on the field because, as the story goes, “Evers had taken a cab to the stadium and left his teammates behind in the hotel lobby.”After the fight they refused to speak to one another. Strangely, they played alongside each other for seven more years, turned numerous double plays, and won two World Series—all without a single word. In fact they didn't even speak to each other for 33 years!

Thankfully, the two ended their feud in 1937 at an Old-Timers game played at Wrigley Field (photo below). On that day, they dedicated a plaque to the memory of their deceased manager, Frank Chance, who had died in 1924.

A heart-warming caption was found with the photo:

“When Joe Tinker and Johnny Evers were reunited in Chicago in 1937, the two hadn’t seen each other in 14 years. Their bitter feud had mellowed and when they met in a Chicago hotel, and after a moment’s hesitation, they threw their arms around each other and cried.”

[NYYFan63]

Good story - thanks for sharing.


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[whitehse]

I think the story of these two being enemies for years is a common story that I had heard many times. But like you said, these two finally realized that their feud was pointless and they finally reconciled after all those years.

The interesting thing is I remember seeing that memorial to Chance in Wrigley Field before it had all of the remodeling done in the early '80's. The Cubs had this little alcove behind home plate where they had the Cubs hall of fame and this memorial was in there as well. I think it is so cool to see this picture and know that 50 years later I was able to see and touch it just as these two baseball legends are doing.

I wish I knew what happened to that memorial as after the reconstruction started I never saw that memorial again and I worked with the team for 8 years after that. I am sure it is stored away somewhere with all of the other treasures that were hidden away in the old ball park.

Thanks for posting this.

[PolarBear]

Common knowledge among early Cubs fans but great write up and pic. Thanks for sharing.

[defender100]

Nice story. Older and wiser men able to recognize petty differences form their youth were nothing compared to what they shared.