His mother was grieved and almost shocked by this decision of his. She had longed to see her boy in the pulpit, and she had the mistaken feeling, shared by many good women, that there was something that was almost disreputable in being a professional ball player. But Joe was so earnest in his conviction that it was better to be a good ball player than a poor professional man, whether doctor, lawyer or minister, that his mother was reluctantly won over to his view.