Ex-Big Leaguer Werber Has Many Stories to Choose From

B) The time he decided to sign (or rather, enter into a handshake agreement with) the Yankees in 1927, while still at Duke, because their scout, Paul Kirchell, impressed him more than the others -- particularly the Cleveland Indians scout who showed up one time with a grease stain on his white tie?

C) The time his marriage to Tat nearly got him kicked off Duke's basketball team, because of a school rule about married students?

Or, D) The time Ruth hung Yankees teammate Jimmie Reese, a scrappy second baseman, by his shirt from the hook in his locker and wouldn't let him down until the game started?

The winner: C). It's very sweet.

"We were married on September 16, 1929, and it was my senior year. Now, Duke had a rule [that] if you were married and lived in the environs of Durham, you couldn't participate in any sport. So a week before Christmas, when basketball was starting, I sent [Kathryn] home. And I was living at the Sigma Chi fraternity, and I was depressed. So I went to the athletic director and said: 'I'm not going to be any use to you in basketball. I'm going to fail my studies and leave the university.' And he said, 'There's the telephone -- call her up and get her back down here.' And I did. They changed the rules for me.

"But then the papers got hold of my marriage, and pretty soon the dean, Dr. William Hane Wannamaker, came looking for me. But when he found me, I said to him, 'Dr. Wannamaker, just wait until you see the girl.' "

Story No. 4: The choices -- A) The time Werber spent several weeks with the 1927 Yankees (the legendary "Murderer's Row" team) during his summer vacation from Duke -- essentially serving an unpaid apprenticeship -- and hated it so much, he left?

B) The time (or actually, many times) Derringer, the Cincinnati pitcher, would get drunk after a game, but would show up early at the stadium the next day to punish himself by running it off?

C) The time in 1939 when Werber was released by Connie Mack, the legendary manager/owner of the Philadelphia Athletics, over a contract dispute?

Or, D) The time he offered to give back $1,500 in salary to Reds President Warren Giles because Giles had been kind enough to give Werber a raise in that amount the previous season -- and because he didn't think Giles would accept it?

The winner: C).

"Mr. Mack would wait until the last second to send out contracts with letters. When I received my contract, the letter said: 'We had a bad year [in 1938]. We had a high payroll. And we anticipate a bad year coming up.' When I got the letter, I wrote back to him. I said: 'I know we had a bad year. I know the payroll was high. I know we're going to have another bad year.' But I said, 'In substance, Mr. Mack, what I would advise you to do is sell your ballclub and get into a more profitable business.'