A Woman Official Scorer

Official scoring of major league games has been a controversial business over the years. The decision for or against the hometown player is open to criticism. The scoring of one-hit and/or no-hit games has been a touchy issue. In recent years some newspapers have been reluctant to have their writers serve as official scorers.

The controversy over the 8 hits awarded to Nap Lajoie in the season-ending twinbill with the Browns in 19 10 had a number of ramifications. The official scoring was one of the factors in the close batting race between Lajoie and Ty Cobb. In the February 1911 American League meeting, President Ban Johnson recommended that the identity of official scorers be kept secret so that they are not subject to the pressures, the conflicting interests and influences which are unavoidable if they are known publicly.

The Chicago Tribune reported that the plan of withdrawing the official scoring from those influences was not a new one. It was tried successfully by the Chicago National League club when A. G. Spalding was its president. From 1882 to 1891 the official scorer for the home games of the Chicagos was known to the officials of the league only as “E. G. Green.” That the scoring was done by Mrs. Elisa Green Williams, mother of C. G. Williams, later treasurer of the Cubs, was known only to herself and President Spalding until years afterward. Speaking of the incident, Treasurer Williams said:

“Manager Anson never knew who was official scorer for the club, nor did any of the players, newspapers or the public. My mother usually sat between Mrs. Anson and Mrs. Dalrymple at the games and they did not know she was official scorer. I used to mail the scores to league headquarters for her and I did not know it. In signing the scores she used her maiden name, and even Nick Young, who received them, did not know who E. G. Green was.”