Chiseled Louis Sockalexis, heroic Penobscot brave
climaxed games with timely hit, throw, steal or defensive save.
Fans without number pealed his name - A triumphal vocal bell;
one college coach, as Burt L. Standish, called him Frank Merriwell.
Nothing he couldn't do to snatch victory from defeat's paw;
here was perfection in the flesh - A player without a flaw.
Until Sockalexis gripped bottle - then drunken stupor came;
he drank himself out of Holy Cross, likewise with Notre Dame.
Signed by Spiders in '97, he surpassed craftsmanship;
.400 at 21 when booze kissed him full on each lip.
Finished .338 in 66 games, then .224 in 21:
.273 in 7 contests - the Show days set their sun.
His once bright comet plummeted from highest minor league ball
through Class D dreams to semi-pro teams, then D T's took it all.
In '13 Louis died of TB on a reservation;
frayed clippings beneath old shirt praised greatest in the nation.
But lest you think untimely drink writes finis to this story
his name attends many a game, plus symbol of his glory.
For after Nap Lajoie left, they memorialized this man.
Haven't you wondered why Cleveland's mascot is an Indian?
Daniel G. Taylor
