The Sunday Funnies

Jim O'Rourke, a Hall of Fame outfielder (among other positions) from the 19th century, was so given to florid outbursts of rhetoric that he was dubbed "Orator." One famous example, after one of his teammates asked the player-manager for a $10 advance on his salary:

“The exigencies of the occasion and the condition of our exchequer will not permit anything of that sort at this period of our existence. Subsequent developments in the field of finance may remove the present gloom and we may emerge into a condition where we may see our way clear to reply in the affirmative to your exceedingly modest request.”

Imagine hanging around a guy who talked like that all season.