# Short Fiction — Character guide

> Key figures in Short Fiction by Ring Lardner.

- [Kate Hayes](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/kate_hayes.md): Irish maid whose quick tongue and warmer heart make her the woman the narrator keeps circling back to, whether he deserves her or not.
- [Tom Richards](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/tom_richards.md): Easygoing ballplayer and clubhouse companion whose deadpan needling exposes everyone else's pretensions before they know they have any.
- [Alibi Ike](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/alibi_ike.md): Star pitcher who can't let a single mistake stand unexplained, turning every bad hop and bad inning into an elaborate, self-defeating excuse.
- [Hurry Kane](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/hurry_kane.md): A blur of a ballplayer whose speed on the bases is matched only by the chaos he leaves behind him in the clubhouse and the box score.
- [Bull Harper](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/bull_harper.md): Square-jawed umpire with a fighter's reputation and a temper that has cost him more than one job he was good at.
- [John Knowles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/john_knowles.md): Young man on the make, forever measuring himself against the people he wants to impress and coming up a little short in his own eyes.
- [Carey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/carey.md): Carey is the clubhouse wit whose running commentary on teammates and opponents gives the baseball stories their comic texture. He's genuinely shrewd about pitching — he spots Skull's potential before anyone else and lobb
- [Bill Hagedorn](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/bill_hagedorn.md): Bill Hagedorn is the catcher or veteran hand whose judgment carries weight with the manager and whose calm steadiness contrasts with the younger players' nerves. He's the one who works with Skull behind the plate, coaxin
- [Bob Masons](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/bob_masons.md): Bob Masons is the voice of blunt arithmetic in the Maysville stories, the friend who tallies up what a dollar a line could mean and can't understand why Stephen won't just hire someone to write when inspiration flags. He
- [Mr. Elliott](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/mr_elliott.md): Mr. Elliott is the practical man in the room when Hazlett pitches his Irish melodrama — the one who'd rather hear the main idea than sit through three acts because a car is being held for him until half-past three. He's 
- [Ella](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/ella.md): Ella is the talkative, self-assured traveler who dominates the conversation with Chapman, name-dropping resorts and opinions while Mildred dozes unnoticed. Her chatter is both a social performance and a kind of armor — s
- [Bert](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/bert.md): Bert is the reluctant participant in the women's plan to get introduced to Ralston, the comedian they've decided is worth knowing. He grouses about the dressing up, the taxi, the eleven-dollar hotel dinner, and the whole
- [Smitty](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/smitty.md): Smitty belongs to the loose brotherhood of the diamond, one of the teammates who fill the hotel lobbies and dugouts with banter. His laid-back manner is both armor and instrument: he watches the louder men chase the same
- [Skull Scoville](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/skull_scoville.md): Skull Scoville is the kind of player every roster keeps around: not the star, but the memory, the man who has seen a hundred hot prospects cool off. He has outlasted his speed and probably his patience, and he carries th
- [Hank](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/hank.md): Hank turns up in different guises, but the type is consistent: a decent sort, half in love with a girl he can't quite bring himself to properly court, and half in love with the sound of his own complaints. He is the frie
- [Connie Mack](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/connie_mack.md): Famous baseball manager, appears as a historical figure in stories.
- [Billy Bowen](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/billy_bowen.md): Billy Bowen moves through the rooms where plays get pitched and bargains get struck, the kind of acquaintance who is always available and never quite the principal. He is the second voice in the room, the one who echoes 
- [Midge Kelly](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/midge_kelly.md): Midge Kelly is the fighter at the center of 'Champion,' a young man with a hard head, a harder punch, and almost no capacity for loyalty. His managers, Nate and Jack Grace, treat him as a machine to be motivated, and the
- [Jake](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/jake.md): Jake is the kind of figure who fills out a Lardner scene: a fellow at the edge of the action, a friend of the man in the middle, someone whose ordinary talk makes the extraordinary behavior around him look stranger. He i
- [Speed Parker](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/speed_parker.md): Speed Parker is the toast of the New York team, celebrated in newspaper columns for nerve and brilliance during a seven-game World's Series, while Grimes, the Athletics' substitute outfielder, seethes over a lucky catch 
- [Art Graham](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/art_graham.md): Stephen, called Art Graham in this circle, is a Maysville gas-company clerk who writes poems on the side and suddenly finds one published in George Balch's New York column, captioned as a birthday gift to his wife Stella
- [Lefty Crosby](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/lefty_crosby.md): Crosby is the ball club's best pitcher and its strangest man — he bolts through the hotel lobby to avoid Mary Lloyd, the pretty telegraph operator every other player flirts with, and the veterans warn her to keep her smi
- [Jimmy Ralston](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/jimmy_ralston.md): Jimmy Ralston is a rising comic — just started with the Follies after making his name at the Winter Garden — who checks into the Graham Hotel and instantly becomes the object of Kate's fixation. He's not handsome but str
- [Hawley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/hawley.md): Politician, appears in stories as a figure of authority.
- [Jimmy Boyle](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/jimmy_boyle.md): Boyle is the put-upon husband and brother-in-law whose dry narration carries the story — he'd rather play rummy than dress for the theater, but he goes along with Kate's and Ella's schemes because arguing is futile. His 
- [Mother Stewart](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/mother_stewart.md): Mother Stewart is the elder woman of the family, still holding most of what her late husband left her, and the trip's unspoken accountant — she's glad they went, glad they broke even on the ponies, and gladder still to h
- [Mr. Daley](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/mr_daley.md): Daley moves through the margins of these stories as an employer or manager whose presence shapes the room without ever quite occupying it. He is the figure whose approval or neglect sets the terms of other people's days,
- [Mr. Conklin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/mr_conklin.md): Character in stories, often a figure of authority.
- [Jim Kendall](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/jim_kendall.md): Jim Kendall is a star comedian whose salary and spending are the stuff of gossip, a man who keeps his race winnings and his marriages equally casual. On his wedding day he poses for photographers, dismisses the cost of a
- [Arnold](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/arnold.md): Character in stories, often a manager or authority figure.
- [Jack Grace](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/jack_grace.md): Jack Grace is the strategist in the corner, the man who sees a fighter's heart as just another opening to exploit. When his boxer Burke refuses to fight because of a woman, Jack proposes a daily stream of fake love lette
- [Jake Martin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/jake_martin.md): Jake Martin is the correspondent whose letters carry the tone of a man who has already decided how the story ends. He writes with the familiarity of a brother and the authority of someone who believes he knows better, an
- [Larry Moon](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/larry_moon.md): Character in stories, often a friend or acquaintance.
- [Mr. Bartlett](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/mr_bartlett.md): Character in stories, often a manager or employer.
- [Ben Drake](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/ben_drake.md): Character in stories, often a friend or acquaintance.
- [Ben Lacey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/ben_lacey.md): Character in stories, often a friend or acquaintance.
- [Davis](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/davis.md): Character in stories, often a military or authority figure.
- [Joe Draper](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/joe_draper.md): Character in stories, often a young man.
- [Bill Abbott](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/bill_abbott.md): Character in stories, often a friend or acquaintance.
- [Tony](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/tony.md): Character in stories, often a servant or worker.
- [Harry Childs](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/harry_childs.md): Character in stories, often a young man.
- [Billy Carmody](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/billy_carmody.md): Character in stories, often a friend or acquaintance.
- [Red Fulton](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/red_fulton.md): Character in stories, often a friend or acquaintance.
- [Mr. Coles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/mr_coles.md): Character in stories, often a manager or employer.
- [Young Burke](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/young_burke.md): Character in stories, often a young man.
- [John McGraw](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/john_mcgraw.md): Famous baseball manager, appears as a historical figure.
- [Cap Shaw](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/cap_shaw.md): Baseball player, often a captain or older figure.
- [Walter Donaldson](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/walter_donaldson.md): Character in stories, often a friend or acquaintance.
- [John Collins](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/john_collins.md): Character in stories, often a young man.
- [Mr. Grant](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/mr_grant.md): Character in stories, often an older man.
- [Celia Sayles](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/celia_sayles.md): Woman in stories, often a love interest.
- [Johnny Abbott](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/johnny_abbott.md): Character in stories, often a young man.
- [Evelyn Corey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/evelyn_corey.md): Woman in stories, often a love interest.
- [Harry Cross](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/harry_cross.md): Character in stories, often a young man.
- [Mr. Green](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/mr_green.md): Character in stories, often a manager or employer.
- [Miss Florence Frisbie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/miss_florence_frisbie.md): Woman in stories, often a love interest.
- [Allie French](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/allie_french.md): Woman in stories, often a love interest.
- [Eddie Brock](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/eddie_brock.md): Character in stories, often a friend or acquaintance.
- [Red Smith](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/red_smith.md): Coach or player in sports stories.
- [Mrs. Green](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/mrs_green.md): Woman in stories, often a wife or mother.
- [Joe Martin](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/joe_martin.md): Character in stories, often a friend or acquaintance.
- [Mr. Lester](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/mr_lester.md): Character in stories, often an older man.
- [Hilda Harper](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/hilda_harper.md): Woman in stories, often a love interest.
- [Ted Pierce](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/ted_pierce.md): Character in stories, often a friend or acquaintance.
- [Jim Dugan](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/jim_dugan.md): Character in stories, often a friend or acquaintance.
- [Mrs. Henry Spalding](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/mrs_henry_spalding.md): Woman in stories, often a wife.
- [Mrs. Thayer](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/mrs_thayer.md): Woman in stories, often a wife or mother.
- [Mr. Booth](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/mr_booth.md): Character in stories, often a manager or employer.
- [Mr. Robert Frisbie](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/mr_robert_frisbie.md): Character in stories, often a young man.
- [Carlotta](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/carlotta.md): Woman in stories, often a love interest.
- [Burkey](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/burkey.md): Character in stories, often a friend or acquaintance.
- [Doc Stair](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/doc_stair.md): Doctor character in stories.
- [Kid Howard](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/kid_howard.md): Character in stories, often a young man.
- [Fitz](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/fitz.md): Character in stories, often a friend or acquaintance.
- [Mr. Edwards](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters/mr_edwards.md): Character in stories, often an older man.

HTML index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/short_fiction_62_se/characters