# Jack Keefe Stories — Character guide

> Key figures in Jack Keefe Stories by Ring Lardner.

- [Jack Keefe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/jack_keefe.md): Jack arrives in the big leagues convinced of his arm, his judgment, and his way with people, and writes it all down to his pal Al in prose that keeps tripping over its own vanity. His appetites—salary, respect, the last 
- [Al Blanchard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/al_blanchard.md): Al never speaks for himself; he exists as the recipient of Jack's confidences, the friend who knew him before the big leagues and will know him after. He is a ballplayer too, later a soldier, and Jack's need to impress h
- [Kid Gleason](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/kid_gleason.md): Gleason handles pitchers the way he handles babies—with a mix of patience and blunt truth—and Jack can't decide whether to trust him or resent him. He jollies the left-handers Jack despises, refuses to flatter Jack's arm
- [Dutch Schaefer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/dutch_schaefer.md): Dutch moves through the clubhouse and later the trenches as a hustler and a joker, always working an angle on someone greener than himself. Jack watches him fleece a fellow soldier and files it away as evidence of how th
- [Steve Evans](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/steve_evans.md): Evans is part of Jack's circle of teammates and correspondents, someone Jack writes about with the casual familiarity of a man who assumes everyone shares his view of things. He drifts through the baseball chapters and i
- [Manager Callahan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/manager_callahan.md): Callahan belongs to the tier of men who decide whether Jack pitches, stays, or ships out, and Jack treats him with the same mixture of deference and private contempt he reserves for all bosses. He is mentioned more than 
- [Charles Comiskey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/charles_comiskey.md): The White Sox owner whose wire bought Jack Keefe out of Terre Haute, Comiskey looms as the distant boss every busher's letter home is secretly addressed to.
- [Johnny Alcock](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/johnny_alcock.md): A fellow soldier in Jack's outfit, Alcock blows cigarette smoke into a bottle and sells it to Simple Simon as German tear gas for eight franks.
- [Alex McGraw](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/alex_mcgraw.md): The smart Alex McGraw runs the New York Giants and stands as the rival manager Jack measures himself against whenever the White Sox head east.
- [Shorty Lahey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/shorty_lahey.md): A baseball player and acquaintance of Jack's.
- [Violet](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/violet.md): Violet is the woman Jack's letters keep circling back to, tangled up in the domestic comedy of Florrie, little Al, and Jack's wandering eye.
- [Simple Simon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/simple_simon.md): A naive or simple-minded character Jack encounters.
- [Bertha](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/bertha.md): A woman Jack knows, possibly a landlady or acquaintance.
- [Marie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/marie.md): A woman Jack is interested in, possibly a love interest.
- [Hughey Jennings](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/hughey_jennings.md): A baseball manager and player, known for his fiery personality.
- [Miss Krug](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/miss_krug.md): A woman Jack corresponds with or knows.
- [Tom Dorgan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/tom_dorgan.md): A friend or acquaintance of Jack's, possibly a fellow soldier.
- [Miss Mulvihill](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/miss_mulvihill.md): Miss Mulvihill rides home on Jack's lap after a chicken dinner, calls him John the first time she meets him, and leaves Florrie giving Jack the silent treatment.
- [Hazel Carney](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/hazel_carney.md): A woman Jack knows, possibly a love interest.
- [Capt. Seeley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/capt_seeley.md): A military officer Jack encounters during his service.
- [Eddie Cicotte](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/eddie_cicotte.md): A pitcher for the White Sox, a teammate of Jack's.
- [Walter Johnson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/walter_johnson.md): A legendary pitcher, mentioned as a rival.
- [Rowland](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/rowland.md): A baseball manager, possibly for the White Sox.
- [Joe Hill](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/joe_hill.md): A man involved with Violet, causing conflict with Jack.
- [Capt. Nash](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/capt_nash.md): A military officer Jack serves under.
- [Jim Scott](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/jim_scott.md): A pitcher for the White Sox, a teammate.
- [Red Sampson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/red_sampson.md): A baseball player or acquaintance.
- [Corporal Daly](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/corporal_daly.md): A fellow soldier and friend of Jack's in the army.
- [Mrs. Keefe](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/mrs_keefe.md): Jack's mother, mentioned in letters.
- [Freddie Smith](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters/freddie_smith.md): A friend or acquaintance of Jack's.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/jack_keefe_stories_se/characters