The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, December 27, 1921, Page 6

PAGE Six | | SPEED FAILED HE DISHES oP A NEW BALL BY BILLY EVANS: Brain is as great if not greater than| brawn when it comes to pitching. For a proof of thattheory the career| of Pitcher Joe Bush of the Boston Red Sox is submitted for your considera tion. Bush was the sensational comeback of the 1921 season in the American{ League, after a lot of experts said he was through. Joe Bush fooled the experts hecause he called on his brain power, after his physical resources began to fail him, x Because of his terrific speed, Bush early in his career was called “Bullet Joe.” No nick-name could have pos- sibly been more appropriate. Bush almost from his debut was a success. His fast hall was his main asset. Instead of conserving his atrength, Joe always went at top speed regardless of the score. Almost out of a clear sky Joe dis- covered that the old fast. ball was los- ing some of its “zip.” Batters who ofce were easy for him began to take liberties with his stuff. ti That caused Bush to decide that a pitcher needed more than speed if he was to continue for any great length of ‘time'as a big leaguer. At ‘just about: the time Joe reached such a de- cision he: began to have trouble with his am. Had a Very Bad Arm. The season of 19:) found Barh al- most useless, He’ was pnable to threw without suffering great palo. ‘The oid Speed was no longer there. We con: sulted any numberof specialists, but received little or no benefit. Com plete rest was usually prescribed es a possible cure, During the season of 1919 Bush‘ worked only nine innings, scattered through three games, However, he was in uniform most every day, keep- ne himself as physically fit as pos- sible. Plenty of time to think and reflect caused Bush to do some experiment- ing. Since he: suffered great pain, every time hie tried to throw a fast ball, Bush practiced Coroaatrent the year throwing a slow ball with a fast ball motion. It was possible tor him to. so. throw without ‘uny inconven- jence. ‘ Developed New Delivery. Bush carried the experiment even further, he developed what he calls a “fork ball.” He has ao named {t:be- cause of the peculiar way he holds the ball between his fingers before deliv- ering jt to the batter, The season of rest seemed to re- store strength to Bush’s arm. He worked more than'30 games in 1920, but was unable to get better than an even break, winning and losing 15. Bush -couldn’t get the old stuff on the fast one. Because of the difficulty in controlling the fork ball, Bush didn’t’use it during .1920, but co stantly worked with it to develop con- trol. i After working for: nearly. three years mastering the new delivery, Buzh started to use it in the ear summer of 1921, Batters soon object- [ ed, saying Push was using a spitball, which he had go right to do, The um- pites. however, knew such was not the case. The “fork ball” breaks very much like a spithall. Had Big Season in 1921. The season of 1921 was a big year for Bush, after a lot of péople thought he was done as a big leaguer. His success was centered around the “fork ball.” This ball, coupled with his curve and fast one, with a change of pace thrown in, made Bush over into @ new style pitcher. Instead of depending on’ terrific |’ sneed. Bush stood the batters on their heads by mixing them up. Bush is again a great pitcher because he refused to give'up when gloom was thickest. When nature weakened on him, he called on his brain for assistance. The “fork ball,” a most deceptive delivery, has given Bush a threat, which ‘he constantly holds over) the batter. The “fork ball” was he re- sulf of three years of effort. It was worth while, 4 ty — & During the progress of the recent major league meetings in New York the front page and the snort page of the newspaners: were filled with the testimony in the trial involving the racehorse Playfellow. ° Playfellow is 2 full brother of the famous Man o’-War. That. of course, was a big boost for Playfellow. Fig- 4 1” Billy Evans Says || te FORK BALL KEEPS BUSH OUT OF BUSH LEAGUES fom [0 THROW VT expect Playfellow to be considerable of a racing horse. : sree a Harry. Sinclair, the quillionaire oil Maghate who dabbles in the racing; game merely for the pleasure he gets out of it, took) a liking to Playfellow. Being related to Man o’ War, Sinclair naturally thought he was oO. K. However, to be on the safe side, he had his trainer look the horse over. Plalfellow is good to look at. It is alleged that his owner pronounced the horse physically AY * Sinclair. paid $100,000 for Playfel- low. Shortly after he bought the ‘horse he'digcovered Playfellow was \far from being fit. He proved to be a fwindsucker and_a cribber. * e e A windsucker is a horse afflicted with breathing faults. Instead of breathing naturally,.a windsucker when running keeps the mouth open and sucks in wind, which affects his ‘stamina’ and speed. A cribber is a horse that keeps nibbiing at the side of the stall. While such a habit sel- dom injures the horse to any extent, it doesn’t improve him. oe e Instead of getting a great horse in Playfellow, Sinclair felt he had been goldbricked, and took the case to the courts for a settlement. ee Evidently what happened to Sin- clair threw a scare into the maggates. All of them must have read the facts as brought out in the Playfellow suit. oe 8 \ thing was wrong, with that particular player. oe 8 : It seemed that no one wanted to have a windsucker or a ertbber slip- on him, mth»a number of the deals the meeting were put over. reer Ii i of being regarded as a “fall ywed up the action at the * SPORT ANGLE | ci ad of 1921-22 looms up as. a for the ‘baseball mag- \ York club, and 'y other club in the League, ; uld make “Babe's” pad sqn,$85,000, a nasty figure and ia Pataw down for six work, Close behind Ruth comes Rogers Hornsby of St. Louis with the an- nouncement that he wants $75,000 and a three-year contract. Not so many years, ago the yearly payroll of a major league ball club didwt amount to much more than Ruth and Hornsby demand. Both are big stars, they deserve all they can get. If they are able to jar the magnates loose for such amounts, they must be given a lot of credit. , Next in line: is Eddie Rousch, the star outfielder of the Cincinnat! club. Rousch’s ideas are not. as extrava- gant as Ruth or Hornsby. The Cincinnat! star agks for $465,- 000a year, with a three-year con- tract. The demands of ‘Ruth; Horss- by and: Rousch. are the resplt of the wide publicity ‘that has been given the alleged ‘profits.in baseball. : Garry Herrmann, the president of the Cincinnati club, is the first:.one to come to bat on the subject. While! hardly the magnates. -were,. convening in New York, ‘Herrmann told the world what he thought suput Rouscus. de- mani. “Rousch wil neither be sold vor traded,” says Garry,|“‘no matter how many clubs are anxious ‘to. get him. His demands: are out of’ proportion with the earnings of the club. We intend placing Rousch on our. volun- tarily retired list. He will stay on his farm, if.he expects us to pay such a galary. That is why we secured George Burns, knowing we would have trouble with Rousch.” So saya Garry Herrmann, and he usually means what he says. All of whith brings us ‘back to the fact Most of the magnates at the meet-|that the wisdom of Ban Johnson is ing talked in whispers, and moved about the hotel lobby in a mysterious way. It seemed that each one was afraid the other was trying to gold- brick him. The moment a player was offered in trade or sale, the other again being felt. » ° Three or four years ago Mr. John- son said disgruntled players should be forced to play with their clubs, or stay at home. ‘However, Mr.. John- son’s advice was disregarded, much Magnates began to wonder if some- to the detriment of the game.—B. E. CENTER’S CRACK TEAM HAS THREE GREAT STARS BY BILLY EVANS The three dominating factors in the 1921 season were “Bo” McMillin, Cap- jtain Armstrong and “Red” Roberts. MeMILLIN: (LEFT), ARMSTRONG (TOP) AND ROBERTS | aes (He is probably the best defens- live quarterback in the game. On the; jsuccens of Center College during the | offense he also ranks well up among the leaders. \ i If there were any quarterbacks who “Bo” McMillin stands out as one of | had anything on him offensively, they.) are eat uring the dope, ore would faturally! the greatest ‘qollege players of all] were Devine of fowa and ‘Rilinger “of lovey. of-reqort:: -- ' { That, perhaps, explains ‘ so) ie | We'll. reverse that axiom, Peon State. Devine ‘was the senaa- tion of the west, Killinger. greatest {running -back jn the east. i 1. In the Harvard: game, Center ras ‘victorious largely through the. efforts {of'MoMillin, ably assisted by Roberts. | )McMillin's, daah of twenty-two yards {off tackle, and then through a broken ifleld, was one of the greatest plays of pe Feat, Sespite the shortdces of Real scored the touchdown that | beat ‘Harvard, | Players of the year. He is a wonder | at throwing‘ the forward pass, can! cleverly skirt the cads or slide off tackle, and is a~good punter. When he-drops. back to handle the ball, the. opposition ia always. up in the air, { In the Harvard game, McMillin demonstrated his worth as a field gen- eral. In’1920 Center had shown Har- \vard a forward passing game that for two periods made all kinds of troubfo. : The line, however, was not up ‘to! the Harvard standard. ‘When the line! collapsed, the Harvard forwards ‘were | able to sift through and break up the j passing game. | This year Harvard expected the same style of play. Center had usea jous to the Harvard contest.. “Cuach bran, realizing his weakness of the tyear pervious, had paid ‘special at- tention to his line. Harvard found it a stono wall. Instead of using the forward pass constantly, McMillin dropped. back as if to hurl the ball, and then either skirted the end or went off ‘tackle. i “Red” Roberts has. been equally valuable to,Center, His end play has beeri almost perfection. He has all ‘kinds of endurance, and seems Buell ' In the Harvard game, of was underserved . criticism. Roberts | figured in so many plays, not so much | because tof the direction of the attack, ! but due to ‘Robert's’ ability to. sense the play and cover so much ground. | brand of football and proved a most} capable: leader. . |. College Chatter | o at Yale will play, 10 football games next year. All of them will be staged | at the Yale bowl, with the exception of the Princeton game. This will he the firat season in years that Yale has played more than pine games. It will bea family affair when Iowa meets Yale at New Haven on the 14th of. next .October.:: Howard and Tad are ‘expected to continue: coaching at the:two institutions, _Not'a sipgle football team of any Prominence went’ through the season of 1021 witHiout: being scored on. In ‘before the forward pass, | the old: days ‘bof it -was not at all uncommon: for ‘sev- eral of the/crack'ttams (6 'go through the season ‘without’ being scored on, So strong a team’ hs Penn State was scored on in eix ofits teh games. The lowa élevert of ‘ext year will ardly. be of tis best shapes uelding ister players, ng, Maller of’ California is unquestion- ably’ a. great ent However, it is hard to figure how he ‘can’ receive ‘much consideration jas an‘All-American ‘pos- afhility. He was hurt’ in ‘the’game of | Oct. 'l with: thé “Untversity of Novada, and hes done little’ playing since. . ° ( Sport:ala Carte | (By, Roy. Grove) We'd hate to travel with the Giants, We would, without a doubt; They have H. Jennings and J. Mc- | .Graw. i And Evers to baw! ‘on out! 8 Killifer sald ‘he was going to quit [peel for good. We.wondered what, for. - wea A ares ea J ‘Tis often true that golfers ;. Don’t practice quite enough; If they do more practicing, They'd stay out of the rough, . ° Jimmy Murphy lietves an auto at 118 miles an hour.) If he was in such | /a hurry why- didn't he get a taxi? ear wale wee y Breathes there .a man with soul so ‘dead, who never {o his friend hath (said,.“‘Howja make it?” i Br . * * i a ‘Let hearts rejoics)and sing, | iA‘ fight out in the bushes i “Is ‘worth two in the ring.” | | : nates | Jim, Rice, veteratjcrew coach, says, | {“Athletes ‘can’t seejas well as they’ | could.in the olden! days.” Can't buy | the old-time eye-openers. te} ‘ * Oey hag has. cut; her basketball | 8 five players i {Cornell squad down to-30. And them that say, —We're Jeary of them guys! Now there's @ coach at Princeton, Whom ‘we believed until | He: said; “Our track team is the! ! bunk!” McMillin is one of the best “threat” : such a system in-all the games previ-, to} finigh as strong 2s he started. i Princeton was criticized for directing | so many plays, against Roberts. It; (While Captain Armstrong has not} ‘ , {been as sansational as either McMil- ail he wants i8/lin’ or Roberts, he has. played a fine; bound to be. differen fortiiiiablé!as the 1921| BATTERS, TAKE A T ° BY BILLY ‘EVANS They say if you are Star, you are If you are not. tem ental, @ great many stars are,-then Vou must have a style that differs from the or- dinary “critter.” ‘Heine Groh hag; every right to be classed as a star on that basis. How- ever, Groh has great natural ability, Plus a quick thinking brain, which really entitles him to such ranking. No great, or even good hitter in the history of thé game, takes a position in the batter's box that in any way shapes up with that of Groh, i ‘When a batter steps into. the box, it is: often said that he faces the pitcher. That goes literally for Groh, He ‘stands directly, facing the pitcher, with, bat on the shoulder’ or waving in front of him. He ‘whirls ‘suddenly when the pitcher) delivers, the ; ball, and steps into it, much the same as the ordinary. batter. ae Groh’s,. stance. ts moat. peculiar. However, it is very effective, as Grob Compiled by Irwin M. Howe, Chicago Pitching honors for the season went to Urben.C. Faber, the White. Sox veteran, who allowed by 2.48 runs for each nine innings.’ Faber worked 831 innings before he. was. laid out with an injury and fewer runs were acored by opponents against Chicago<when he pitched than were earned off the second best regular, George -Mogridge, ‘of Washington,who had a sparkling season, The Chicago star was credit- ed with twenty-five victories and charged with -fifteen defeats, a win- ning average of 625 though his team finished in seventh place. ' é Car] Mays and Waite Hoyt, co-stars of the champion Yankees, were third and fourth, respectively, among the regulars with averages of 3.08 and 3.10. Mays led in percentage of games won with an average of .750, his rec- ord reading, 27—9. of St. Louis also won 27 games but tost 12 for @ record of 692, Mayavalso ‘led in actual work, huyiing 337 in- inings, six more,than Faber. Urban Shocker, great spit-ball hurl- er of the St. Louis Browns, jwon nine straight games in August and finished {the season with a record cf 27—12 for an average of .691. Davis of the same team pitched and won a nipeteen inning contest from Washington in which only one mani reached first base in the last nine rounds. Sam Jones and Joe Bush of Boston, Edwin Rom- mel, Philadelphia and S.’ Coveleskie of Cleveland all were effective despite the lively ball while two young south- paws, Cole of Detroit and Bayne’ of St. Louis were almost unbeatable dur- ing the final month of the nm. Most of the pitchers found it very difficult to cope with the great slug: gers of the league and the hurling, as any previous’ year. RIKER MARVEL “That's a hard-to-ewallow pill! 1 ° e e We READ where Brown university | is going to play Green. > eee "The colleke with the best football ! team has the longest Faliroaa ticket. | . 9 _ | 4A rolling rassler gathers no moss. eo e A wicked left and(then a right, He raged and keked with all his might, a His eyes lit up like stars at night, He couldn't ge! a.34-inch tire on a H {86-inch rin. eye ° + Jordan, the - Yale captain-elect, is emart in his books, ,which puts the odds on Harvare. ee 8 Jake Schaefer knew ‘what he was doing when he picked Conti. } Itallan merchants at Bruges, in 1446, 1d to. have .conducted="tha: ‘fra: i { ' i {3 trace at Madison Square Garden. tiie: partner, Maurice Broce six-day cvent. < HEINIE = HS BAT AND How’ hE } FACES THE TCHETe Bi CH Urban Shocker{ a whole, was far less effective than in| As a _Yesult shut; \ \ always bats. around .300. He claims his style prevents weakness on curve balls, as it gives the bastman no chance to pull away from the plate’ Rather it forces him to step directly into the ball. Groh is far from being a youngster. He is’34 years of. age. It hardly seems possible that he has jver five years 27, 72 TUESDAY, DECEMBER ‘York lineup,’ is most important to the euccéss of the clab, His real value to the Yankees was made apparent in the recent world series. Without Ruth the Yankees lack the tremendous punch that he supplies. His absence likewise removes the big threat. With him out,'opposing pitch- ers have nothing to worry about, It-is very conservative to say that Ruth's absence .from the game will coat the Yankees $100,000 in ‘real money. The other seven clubs will lose between them an equal emount. ‘Boston, Philadelphia and ‘Washington, will be the heaviest sufferers. These teams play against the (New York team dur ing the first month of play. is ‘going to suffer heavily. Ruth is the big card. Without him the Yankees are going to lose a lot of color. There is always much interest in his spring showing, as compared to his efforts of the previous year. It the Yankees get away to a bad start in the spring, due to the absence of uth; the effect is going to be felt throughout the year. It .will mean that the New York club will suffer to a much greater ex- tent than’ $100,000. That amount was merely figured on the spring games which would be played without him in, the lineup. It his absence is the cause of the Yanke2s losing the pennant, and thereby the right to play in the series, thd damage becomes all the greater. Ruth will be missed in more ways jthan one, on the field; at the gate, in ort sheets. the spy | Six Suggestions To - Improve Basketball | ot — BY BILLY EVANS Basketball has plenty of action, just so long ‘as the referee keeps the whis- t.e dit of his mouth. It seems agreed that the foul rule ig one feature of the gathe that can stand some wise legislation. Ward Brennan, one of the leading baskethall officials, comes to the bat with some interesting suggestions. Brennan has been connected with ‘paskethall for 18 years as a player, Vcoach ‘and. official. Aside from his ‘duties - as referee ‘in the Eastern League, the big league of basketball, he is coaching Pratt Institute as a side {ssue. “Tso much foul throwing by an ex- pert in that one particular play kills off more of service in him. That makes the price paid al} the more astound- Dg. Groh is small in statue, being about five feet seven. jiuches tall and weighing about 160 pounds. He is regarded ay oné of the best place hitters in baseball, -This makes him. invaluable inthe: hit and run play, a style used so much by Mc- In, Frankie Frigch and Heine Groh, McGraw now has the two star third sackors in ‘the National League, Some say be will ehift Frisch to second. . It ig just.as. probable Groh’ will : play. that base, “""° | _ OFFICIAL AMERICAN LEAG PITCHING RECORDS SEASON 1921 the action.” Brennan {is very definite on that point. He has a very unique idea to minimize fouling. His suggestion is that when a play- er commits a foul that player shall make a try for a basket from the foul ine. If he makes it, his team shall be eliminated from’-any ‘penalty. If he migaes, his. opponent ‘shall be credited with two: points if the foul is, personal and one point jf technical, Six Vabuable Suggestions Hore are six suggestions from Bren- nan worthy of consideration. That the center circle radius. be ‘made’ 3° feet, instead of the present one which is 2 feet. , Time.Outs: Each team shall be al- lowed: four time-outs of one minute durations. ‘Thalt.: Free Throw: When a foul is called out victories and. games of: few hits|the referee shall immediately secure were conspicuous by their. rarity and strike out records of former years were not approached by the most suc- cessful of. the twirlers. [SPorT ANGLE | the ball, and instruct the player who made the foul to throw fop goal from , ‘the foul line. If goal is made, the penalty is eliminated, if- missed, the opponent ‘shall be given 3 points it the foul committed was personal, and one ‘point if -technical. Field Goals: A goal from the field —?} shalt count 3 points, It is impossible to estimate what the loss of Ruth means to the New York Yankees. and the American League. The inability of Ruth to play until Time out: Time to be taken out when a foul is called, and play to be- gin again when bell leaves player’s bands while on the foul line. Center Ball: On the toss-up at cen- May 29, may prevent the New York|ter, the men jumping should not be club from repeating as the American League pennant winner. The presence of Ruth in the New allowed to play the ball until it is jagain played by another player, or has hit the floor. - » NEW SERIES Great E conomy of Operation & Upkeep Light weight and Triplex Springs keep down the cost of running this. Overland Four-Door Sedan. ‘ 25 miles to the common among gallon of gas is owners. Oil and tire expense is kept low in ‘It is a dependable car—built to give years of comfortable, eco- motoring. Alfted Goullot, hero of the six-day. He won 13 of the last 18 sprints and with 0,, won-the | - nomical es . THE SEDAN fob. Tolede SALES COMPANY *Phone 490. Twé: times out in each | {With Ruth out of the lineup the gate ..