Pittsburg Phil is called "a little n!gger" at the start - and at the end it is stated that only J. P. Morgan is his equal in shrewdness... that based solely off of nothing else but his own betting success.
Imagine such a comparison about a horse bettor with no formal education in the NY Times today.
Mike Dwyer and Plunger Walton were like Randy Moss and T.O. to Pittsburg Phil's Jerry Rice.