Evening Star Newspaper, March 29, 1925, Page 69

Part 4—4 Pages WASHINGTON, D. 0, SUNDAY MORNING, MARCH 29, 1925. Nationals Vanquished by Giants, 5 to JOHNSON AND COVELESKIE SOLVED BY GOTHAM GANG Walter Yields Three Runs at Outset and Stan Is Mulcted for a Pair in Final Round—Gregg Allows But Two Bingles in Three Frames. BY JOHN B. KELLER. AMPA, T classic to one for March 28.—Get-away day' at the Nationals' training base was no howling success for them. % in a 5-to-3 engagement and now the set of Spring games between the 1924 world series rivals stands three They bowed to the Giants ctories for the losers in that the world champions, with nine games to play. Today the Giants repeated the stunt the Nationals staged at Sarasota Jast Saturda Wi in grabbing the contest out of the fire in the ninth inning. h the score all even, the New Yorkers in their final turn at bat pro- ceeded to sock Stanley Coveleskie for three hits'and a brace of runs. Two of the blows were fluky, but one was a good, solid smack by Hack Wilson that netted three bases and shoved across what proved to be the decisive marker. Travis Jackson began the round with a grounder to the left of Roger Peckinpaugh. The ball did not take the hop expected by Peck, going past him for a single instead. George Kelly then filed to Sam Rice, but the ball was caught so far back in the field that Jackson had plenty of time to takg second after the out. Travis may as well have remained at first, for he could easily have tallied on Wilson's wallop. A bit longer and Hack's slam to right would have been good for a homer instead of only three bases. o Then Moon S$nyder made a hit that was'almost a duplicate of Jackson's that started the frame and the Glants were two runs to the goog. It mat- *tered not that Virgil Barnes fanned | and Heinie Groh flied to Earl Me- Neely, for it was three up and three down for the Nationals in their last batting tarn. ‘Walter Weak at Outset. Walter Johnson and Vean Gregg made their first starts in competition this season, and it was the former who gave the Giants a fine sendoff. The man who led the not himself at the outset today. Of the first five Glants to face him, twof walked and three singled.. That netted the opposition three runs. Walter then settled, fapned the last two men to oppose him in the first frame and breezed through the next two innings, allowing but one slam, | & scratch single. Gregg appeared in fine fettle. He ylelded but two singles In his three frames of work and pitched to only nine batters, a double play and the erasure of & would-be pilferer help- ing to check the Giants during his time on the hill. Coveleskie gave up a single In the seventh and another in the eighth, then had fate turn against him in the ninth. The Glants used only two pitchers, Art Nehf, southpaw, toiling in the first five innings, while Virgil Barnes finished the route. In addition .to granting five safeties and a pair of runs, Nehf was unsteady and yielded three passes. Barnes was found for four bingles, but the three in the « elghth when the Nationals tied up the game were decidedly scratchy. Giants Obtain Early Lead. The tiants did not hesitate about starting the run-makin Groh, first to face Johnson, drew a pa So did Southworth, the next batter. ¥risch singled past Judge, but the hit was so short that it did nothing more than crowd the sacks. Young's wallop to center did more. It tallfed Groh and Southworth and put Frisch at third base. Jackson's single scored Frisch, but Young could not pass the middle station. Terry fanned and Young, trying'a dual theft with =Jackson, was caugh@ for a double play. Wilson ended the hectic round with a strikeout, One of thfs trio of Giant markers was offset by the Nationals in the second session after two batters had been retired, doubles by Peck and Ruel doing thé work. Another Na tional score was hung up in the fourth frame. Goslin singled and fudge did the same, sepding the Goose to third. Bluege's walk filled the bases,'and while Groh was tossing out Peck, Goslin counted. Ruel strolled, again jamming the stations, but Gregg whiffed and McNeely lifted fo Wilson in short left. Griffs Tie It Up in the Eighth. In the eighth inning the Nationals knotted the count. With Rice out of the way, a ball topped by Goslin rolled along the first base line, and may have traveled far enough 1o be- come foul had not Barnes been o im- patfent. But Virgil picked up the sphere with no chance of retiring Goose, and the blow became a single, Judge sent a bounder over Lin- strom’'s head to get himself a bingle and move Goslin to third. Bluege just American | + League hurlers last year plainly was | NOT SO GOOD GIANTS. Groh, N TRy § NATIONALS, - MoNeely, cf. Harris, ... ul obosnosncoct ol socmooncamonni ol cooceecccce!’ ol cecsscscccssal? © 2| ornusunsuscl £l nwsanmsoxonwl ° ° o0 ol coorm-wworol 2l oruoonmruocesll - el ononsrersonol &l neosccabuscont I .30 0101 Two-base hits—Peck, Ruel. Wilson, ¥ 29 4| eaecmumunnnd Xl cousl ke E Off Johnson, 2; off” Nehf, Hits—Off Johnson, 4 in 3 innings; in 5 inn off Gregy. 8 in 3 Barnes, 4 in 3 :off Coveleskie, ;nli;’n Itvuc'k :l,to—wl,.y Johnson, | % Gregs, 2; irnes, 1: | 1. “Umpires—Messrs, Rowland game—1 hour and 50 minutes, | | managed to meet the ball, and it rolled toward third base. Barnes again failed to get to it in time for a play anywhere, so Goslin scored, while Judge was safe at second and Ossie at first. Peck, however, ended the rally by rapping into a double play. The Giants put on their game- winning act in the ninth. By ¢ N Assoclated Press. EW YORK, March 28— sta Armory. FRISCH INJURES ANKLE; ' MAY BE OUT FOR WEEKS TAMPA, Fla, Mareh ‘28— Frankie Frisch, aterling. second ancker of the Giantx, may be lont to them until after the eham, ship season gets w a result of an injury sustained while siidin te second base In the sixth i g of today's game with the National at- tempting to reach the sack ahead of Bluege's toss to: Peckinpaugh' of Younz's bunt, hookee hix in the ground nnd wremeked his right ankle. He hod to be car ried from ,the fleld. Fred Lihdsirem, who performed 50 sensatiomally at third base for the Glants in the last world se- ries, was nent {0 second when the Giants took the fleld n the Iatter part of the sixth. He probably will take o1 unefl Frisck play, e L EN At Sanford, Fla.— Milwaukee (A. A.). Cincinnatl (N), 18 17 2 Batteried—Schneider, Bryant and McMene- R. H. B, 9 13 6 my: Rixey, Sheehan and Wingo, Griffs Are at St.'A ugustine Today for Tilt With Toledo [ Augu will follow five games in six days. Jacksonvi y nesday will be traveling day. AMPA, Fla,, March 28—The world champion Nationals make their first stop of their northward exhibition tour tomorrow at St. ine, where they will tackle the Toledo Mudhens. Then The Giants will be encountered -at le on Monday and at Fort Benning, Ga. on Tuesday. Wed- while on Phursday and Friday the Pelicans will be met at New Orleans and on Saturday the Gulls will be opponents of the Harrismen at Mobile. All of the present members of the Nationals, excepting Joe Martina and Bill Hargrave, were with the party that left the Tampa training base tonight. Hargrave yesterday started for his home at Fort Wayne, Ind, where his mother is dving. Martina, a native of New Orleans, it to that city for brief holiday. He will g0 north with the Nationals from the Louisiana city. Fampa turned ont crowd today that ever ball game In Florida. the largest saw a base More than and thronged along the side lines to see the world champions and their last October foes in action. Senor Don Juan Riano, Spain’s Ambassador to the United States, and Senora Riano, at present guests of the City of Tampa, were among the many oc- cupying boxes in the grandstand. Snappy two-ply killing was done by the Nationals in the opening in- ning. Young at second and Jackson at first essayed a double steal as Terry fanned, but Bluege took Ruel's heave with one hand and snared Young coming into the third base. I Pep Young executed a circus catch at Goose Goslin's cxpense in the opening rofind. With Rice at first, the Goose sent a liner to right, but Young ‘made a dive for the ball and, the second inning, Southworth in cen- ter was standing directly fn the mid- dle of hhi field. Jennings, on bench, waved Southworth toward left field and Ruel's hit landed on justiabout the spot the Glant gardener had va- cated. The blow became a double, mainly because Southworfh made a poor return to the infleld. ‘Wind and wun worried the fielders considerably in the early part of the game. 1In ‘the second inning, Frisch narrowly escaped missing a catch of 5.000 fans jammea Plant Field stands | BIU€ge's pop. Bluege was utterly un- able to locate Southworth's foul near third base in the third round and & little later in the same inning Goslin ran in too far after Jackson's lift and had to make a startling ope-hand grab for the out. : Giant strike out was the beginning of the second double play credited to the Nationals. With Wilson on first base {n 'the fourth frame,. Sn: fanned and Ruel whipped the bail Judge before Hack could return to the cushion. Young easily pilfered second base in the sixth inning, but when he at- tempted a delayed steal of third a minute later, was snared without trouble by Gregg's heave to Bluege, Frixch and Wilson were the big hit- though he fell and turned on his ear, the Glant outfielder came up smiling wids the sphere. { WVhea Ruel stepped to the platy In ters of the game, each being eredited with three blows. Goslin, Judge and Peck zot twe wallops edeh fof A G T ; TRIO OF VETERANS EXPECTED Jgo Frigerio of Milan, Ttal Olympie walking champion, shattered four indaor world walking records, established five others and bettered the world outdoor mark ior'lhc distance tonight when he defeated Willie Plant, America’s most out- rding heel-and-toe artist, in 4 special 10,000-meter race® The event was part of the Morningside Athletic Club Games in the 22nd. Regiment JOHNSON FRIGERIO SETS 9 MARKS AT WALKING; PLANT QUITS European ‘and The little Italian won, virtually without opposition, Plant quitting 11 laps from the finish, when it was ap- parent he could not make up the half. lap by which he was trailing Frig- erlo, Frigerio at the finish was "lifted high on the shoulders of a cheering crowd of 500 of his fellow countr$umen and paraded around the huge armory. hall for 15 minutes after the comple- tion of ‘the race. Hundreds of his shouting admirers crowded’ to the track as he swung into the final lap and \ran at his heels, cheering and encouraging him. Frigerio was timed for the 10,000 meters. in . 44:38, clipping 1 minute 12 4-5 seconds from his own record for the distance made February 17 last. This time i5:48°2-5 seconds bet- ster than the world outdoor -record made by G. Rasmussen in Denmark, August 18, 1918.. Frigerio, however, will not be credited with the outdoor record as his race was purely an in- door event. On the way .to.the 10,000 mark, Jrigerio shattered existing marks at 4,000 meters, 5 miles and 6 miles and established records at 4% miles, }.oao meters, 5% miles and 9,000 metefs. Track officials in charge of the meet said it was one of the most outstanding. athletio achieve. ments in the history of ndoor com- petition, comparable only to. the phenomenal running of Paavo Nurmi. Plant sald after the race that his muscles -were all tied up from the strenuous training he had engaged in to prepare himself for this race and When he saw. he could not make up .the lost distance he quit. Frigerio took the lead at the start of the third.lap and gradually drew away from Plant until the 38th lap, when he was more than half a lap ahead. At this point Plant tossed up the competition and left Frigerio the victor. Frigerio - said -his _victory would likely change his plans for returming to Europe immediately. He intimated that he would remain in" America for the Summer séason to éngage in va- rious outdoor meets. s Frigerio chalked upithe following: marks during his record-breaking’ performances: 5 7:38 P , 18:20 2.5). {8 G, g 4% miles, 33.11 45 (eatablishes record)., 8,000 moters, 85:85 3.5 (establishes, record). § milen, 85:48 23 (formet rec.. 37104 4-8). 39: {establishés record). S ilcn, 48700 415 (ormer oo 19, 10,000 metérs, $4:88 (for's rec.. 45:50 4.5) ILLINOIS IS LEADER IN RELAY CARNIVAL 7,000 meters, March *28,—Butler University ~of Indlanapolis and . the University of -Illinols fought it out in the Rice Imstitute relay carnival here today for.first place in the uni versity section, and at the end Tllinois’ had a single point the better of it.- Each-won & relay, both tied for first {n_ahother, and .in_the . third event Iliinols was third while Butler failed to place. - . i More than 400 athletes 62 uni~ versities, colleges and ools” from t States:: competed for cups, g watches valued at ap- 7 Johnson's showing in his first time out | yesterday indlcated he needs more work. Gregg gave a fine exhibition in his | debut, and Leibold - is physically fit to jump into the line- up should any- of the regular out- fielders falter. 3, on Lve of Pioos’ By’ CARL'T THONER. COMMERCIALISTIC TREND . IN FOOT BALL DEPLORED GO, March 28—Commercialistic tendencies in collegiate foot Il and the lack of equal opportunity for Western Conference teams were deplored in a statement of recommendation of the alumni committee of Chicago on Big Ten schedules made public today. The committee explained -that it did not criticize any conference member. and that its recommendations did not bind any institution. The committee represents only various a Too much importance was paid to the gate receipts, the report sald, and schedullng has not been sufficiently or- ganized. Universities favorably situated to attract large crowds have been able to dictate who thelr opporents should be: ¥ithout regard to- rights of other conference members, it was added. “Intersectiongl games meet with the general approval of alumnf, pro- viding- they -do not interfere with college. work or with the conference oot ball- schedule, -and when they do not cause humiliation to mem- bers by denying them games accord- ed to non-conference; teams,” the_re- port continued. ‘“We feel that there is a viclous tendehcy in foot ball. We refer to the importance given to ‘the amount of the ‘gate’ There is no denying that this is to some éxtent responsi- ble for existing foot ball schedules, and the fact that foot ball supports other sports is no justification for it. To speak plainly, the athletic de- partments must be Tun on an amateur pasis or it will be futile to maintain that the boys who play the games must not play for profit.” e PITTSBURGH, Pa., March 28.—Jim- | W my Wilcox, 23, well known base ball |player and second baseman on the Omiaha, Nébr, Western League team, died today in Mercy Hospital of pneumonia.’ ' He had been {1l two months, s B e R AT At Ban Jose, Catif.— nd (G lumni organizations here. At Winter Haven, Fla.— R H E Phfladelphia (A.). Columbus (A. A.J ‘Batteries— Harrls, Pott, Palermo, Urban At Jacksonville, Fl ‘Batteries—Fergusor Tenney, Broussard and At Wikstonglom, Y. Batteries—Sattereld, Judd, Manfon; B. Johnson, 8. Johnsou and Stanage. At Bt. Petersburg, Fia.— Batteries—Kamp, ' Van Brunt, Cooney and Gibson: Thie, Edwards, Buckeyé and L. Sew- ell, Myatt. At Bradenton, JH. 4T 8 B, i 5 2 Hinkie and " HUL it 3 Avors VO Real, Dirleh Ring and Hen! ~_At Bhres (A, { |SPORT - Barnstorm ing Trip _North STRENUOUS JAUNT AHEAD TO TEST TEAM'S FITNESS World Champions, With But Few Exceptions, Ap- pear Well Conditioned for Start of Champion- ship Campaign Two Weeks Hence. BY JOHN B. KELLER. I during the next 15 days. Dur to be in much better condition scheduled to enter 14 games—9 of now than at AMPA, Fla, March 28—Just what benefit the Nationals have de rived from their sojourn in Florida ought to be revealed clearly ing that time the club that appears this time last year is them against practically the same Giant outfit it encountered and vanquished in the world seriep last October. 1f there is no let-down in spe pitchers progress as rapidly as the ed afield and on the bases, if the major of them have in the past two weeks, if the batting improves as may be expected of a lot of me who were by no means weak with have a team quite ready to defend it season starts on April 14, the flail last year, Washington will s laurels when the American League Generally, the training of the world champions this year has been satisfactory to those most concerned now, the owners and ment. e northward barnstorming tour and w bition contests ought to increase their The Natfonals quit their training base tonight well prepared for the arduous days ahead. The infield com bination that worked so brilliantly the greater part of last season un- doubtedly is physically stronger than it was then and thesoutfield has been going about its task In smoother style. There is every reason to b lieve the pitching staff is consider- ably better, while the catching de- partment is as well manned as in 1924, Barring untoward clrcumstances such as illness or Injuries, the Na- tionals will begin their quest of an- other Ameriean League pennant thor- oughly equipped for such an enter- prise. Its infield machine will be tuned for smooth action, there being no ex- perimental part as was the case at third: base- last Spring. Nor does it seem likely that Manager Stanley Harrls will have to worry about the | matter of a centerfielder as he did| through most of the terrific grind in 1924, Oswald Bluege demonstrated ably last year that he was entitled to high ranking among the big league third sackers, once afforded the opportunity to do so. Ossie is likely to be much better fn the 1925 campaign. He ap- pears to have more stamine and strength, and, above all, 2 more intelli- gent appreciation of the duties of a guardian of the hot corner. Peck and Judge Are Fit. Roger Peckinpaugh and Joe Judge, who heretofore have experienced & deal of trouble with their underpin- ning, seem to be better propped than RACE TO CAMBRIDGE CREW AS OXFORD BOAT SWAMPS P UTNEY, England, March 28—Cambridge won’ the annual university boat race this afternoon without a struggle and with no opponents in sight, the Oxford shell haying been swamped under the wind- whipped waters of the Thames after having completed only half of the course. The Cambridge oarsmen, although robbed of the glory of a real triumph, deserved much credit for having kept their boat above water. Few races ever were rowed in rougher water than that which a cold, blustering northeast wind chopped and churned intp whitecaps on the Thames today. Cambridge ~ probably would have won in any event, for the Light Blue crew manifestly was the better eight. Still, what happened to- their oppo- nents might have happened to them but for the luck of the toss. This gave Cambridge the sheltered side of the river, where on the first bend into the wind they could escape the worst of the tossing surface water. Oxford, pushed- out toward mid- stream, began shipping water soon after completing the first mile and the Dark Blue rowing gradually. be- camb slower and more labored as the boat fille¢ and began to sink at the bow. In Distress Early. Oxford was'in obvious distréss as their boat, already at least a dozen lengths behind the Cambridge eight, passed under the Hammersmith Bridge: A few secondslater as the dark blue-tipped oars labored past the 2-mile mark, it was obvious that they were doomed to a disas- trous drenching. The coaches began calling to the orew to quit, a thing no crew ever has done fn this race until its boat has sunk or crossed the finish line. So, nmaturally, ‘or perhaps because they did not hear the megaphoned voice of their master, the Oxonlans kept pulling away Iaboriously for a quarter. of a mile more before they gave up and pulled in towdrd the bank. \ Cambridge by then was a quarter of a mile or.so {n {ront and, slacken- ing their pace, they paddled on easlly to the finish and found fairly smooth water for almost the whola of the latter half of the race. Their time was, of course, moderate, 21 minutes 50 seconds. Not having had to struggle much against water condi- tions,” the Cambridge oarsmen were all fresh at the finish. The Light' Blues rowed beautifully and smoothly, = throughout, putting more strength and pulling power into their stroke than the Oxford: oars- men. Oxford seemed to lack punch in finishing off each stroke and. so, al- though they led for a few yards from the start, Cambridge took the lead’ whan only a quarter of a mile was covered. The Cambridge cox gulded his eight over to within a few yards of the stone embankment of the north- side. of_tho river and stayed close to it around the first bend. Always in Trouble. Oxford had to ' accept mot only rougher -water . and stronger, un- Dbroken: wind, but also hid to take the Cambridge wash. Soon after Cambridge drew away they took a lead of ‘three Jenxths at the ‘end of the first mile, thne four lengths, and then in Mo ‘time five, six and seven lemefha € e LiRHb BRIl rnved th strength, e the Oxenians, oot of hot seltered trom: mAu: enza and. colds during recent wpeks, rowed smoothly but weakly as'scon their shell began to ship water and their end becamé inevitable. The race was-a washout not only for Oxford, but for the’ several hun- dred thousand spectators, fully halt of whom never even saw the Oxford boat because of the bend'in'the river where Oxford gaye up the struggle. Wh Cambridge passed along to: ;::d ‘the fnishing_point and there ~no ‘Oxford shell in sight, the sent Gp the yell, “Where's Ox- “Sunk,” came /the reply, shouted from those aboard the launches trail- ing the Cambridge boat. The crowd was so shocked at this information that hardly any one thought of cheering Cambridgs, and the Light Blue victory in the end was but feebly acclaimed. The, swamping of the Oxford boat 1S not an unprecedented mishap in the history of the English university classic. In 1859 the Cambridge boat sank, and in 1912 both boats went under. On the latter occasion the Oxford oarsmen righted their craft and finished alone, but the umpire decided it was “no race,” and it was rowed again two days later. LOTT BEATS HARADA FOR S. A. NET TITLE AUGUSTA, Ga., March 28.—George Lott, Chicago schoolboy marvel, and member of the Canadlan doubles champlonship team, this afternoon won the South Atlantic men's singles title in the final of the tournament by defeating T. Harada, Japanese Davis cup star, 6—§, 5—7, 6—4, 8—6, 6—3, 6-8. Mrs. T. Sohst of New York won the women's singles title, defeating titleholder, §—0, 1—6, 6—3. S. Howard Vashell of New York and A} H. Chapin, jr., of Springfield, Mass., won the men's doubles, defeating Sam Hardy and Lott, 6—3* 63, 6—3. Miss Cassel and Harada won the mixed doubles, defeating Mrs. T. Sohst and S. Howard Vashell, 5—7, 6—: 6—1. NURMI AND RITOLA WIN IN PITTSBURGH PITTSBURGH, Pa., March 2§ — Paave Nurmli, the flying Finn, easi won his one-mile race here tonight on an indoor track.at ‘the 107th Field Artillery * Armory. His time was 35 2-6, .many seconds slower than e record for the distance. James Connolly, Washington, D. C., was second and Verne H. Booth, Mel- rose A. A., New York, third. In the other feature events, Willie Ritola, Finnish-American star, won a three-mile run In handy fashion. His time was 14:48 2-5, also slower ‘than his time for the same distance in New York lust February. Clyde Lies, University of Pittsburgh, was second and J. fi,’ey of the Westinghouse €lub, th! PROTEST AGAINST NURMI FINALLY IS WITHDRAWN \ NEW YORK, March 28.—The Con- mecticut Association of the National Amateur Athletic Union has with- drawn the protest- it filed against Paavo Nurmi after he had falled to appear in a meet at Hartford March 14, The association's registration board todny informed sports offcials here Nurml had Seen cxoncrated, J = 1e manage- With few exceptions, the athletes are in splendid form for thei vith fair weather the series of exhi- base bali effectiveness in every way. last year. It was feared that Peck might be through with base pall after he suffered the leg injury that forced his retirement from the 1324 world sertes. The veteran, however, instead'8f showing any signs of permanent dis ability as a result of that hurt, has withstood the wear and tear of field- ing and base running surprisingly well. Nor has Judge noticed any hint of a return of the allment that af- {fected his knee and put him out of | commission 5o often in other seasons Bucky Harris, a great natural athlete i in his usual superb condition. Bam Rice and Goose Goslin are ready mow to step into the cham- plonship campalgn as outfielders. Tha Goose, who was so slow in rounding into condition last Spring that he had to be disciplined by Manager Harris, is down to 2 good playing welght and much faster than formerly. His fleld- ing technique is better, too. Earl Me- Neely, the remaining member of the regular outer-garden trio, is covering his center territory better than he did last Fall, and the throwing arm weakness that was noticeable then has been remedied to some extent Eight of Pitchers Ready. PFourteen pitchers are on the roster of the Nationals and ecight of them are in superb condition physically according to Trainer Mike Msrtin. Of the lot, Jez Zachary and George Mogridge, southpaws, who have seen considerable service with the club. appear to be the most advanced, but Walter Ruether, lefthander prosured from Brooklyn, and Stanley Covelos- kie, righthand spitballer bought from Cleveland, press the first pair closely As it is now, these four are lkely to be among the guintet of hurlers Manager Harris will look to for reg- ular service during the titular strug- gle. Allen Russell, spitball Joe Martina, aged recruit year, have developed rapid the last two weeks, while J. Benson Brillheart, for the third time trying for a berth with the Nationals. Harry Kelley, youngs from Memphis of the Southern As ciation, are fully ready to pitch route Vean Gregg, 40-vear-old portside hurler, who would stage a big league comeback, has made much progress in training, but he and Fred Mar- berry, the voung Texas giant who was the Nationals' iron man last year, still have a deal of wors to do before they may be consideréd well prepared for active service Johnsom Needs More Work. Walter Johnson, who led the American Leaguc pitchers last year, despite its being his eighteenth in the circuit, is not progressing as rapidly in training as Manager Harris would like. Reporting late and with some | extra poundage on his frame, Johnson has had to work out carefully and has not been getting any great amount of power into his pitches. But with strict “nursing’ the dean of the moundsmen is expected to be OK when the gong rings for the 1925 season. Curley Ogden, who performed so sensationally for the Nationals when he came to them from the Athletics last Spring, has been a disappointment so far. An operation o cure a pitch- ing armi allment was performed on Ogden last Fall, but no one knows yet whether it was s essful. Ogden has not done well in two starts, although Manager Harris insists the big fel- low will round into form soon and that he will be retained until he shows he is of no value to the club. Jim McNamara, young lefthander, acquired optionally from Wichita, has been doing some good hurling, despite a spre throwing arm, but his retention is_rather doubtful. Manager Harris is ‘to cut his pitching squad to 10 men at or shortly after the start of the American League season, and it now seems that the three slabmen to be separated from the world cham- plons will be oghosen from among Russell, Martina, Brillheart, MeNa- mara and Kelley. Ruel Is In Fine Shape. Herold Ruel is in excellent physical condition and again prepared to hear the brunt of the Nationals' catching burden. ~ He is heavier than when he entered the campaign last Spring and much heavier than when he entered the world serfes last Fall. He has been throwing better, too. Bill | Hargrave is about the same type of catcher he was last year. Bennett Tate, the youngster of tlie Tot, has improved in ability, but still 1s overwelght. Ho¥ever, he is likely to lose most of his extra poundage during the northward barnstorming trip. The Nationals are far better off in reserve talent than for several years Spencer Adams, who came from the Pacific Coast League, and Mike Mec- Nally; veteran American League sub- stitute, are greatly superior to Tom Tgylor and Ralph Miller. upon whom the Nationals had to depend for work from second to third base in the latter part of the 1924 race. . The out- field substitutes probably will be Harry Lelbold and Wid Matthews. Leibold still is one of the best out- flelders in the game, oven though a veteran in service, while Matthews is stronger than he was last Summer and stil full of that indomitable spirit that made him so valuably an asset while with the Nationals. Roy Carlyle, outfielder, brought from the Southern dssociation for trial, lacks fielding finesse and has yet to.prove his ability as @ batter. Despite yarns . concerning Peck's tottering limbs and Johnson's weak- ened ankle, the ciub generally is trim physically and its spirit is good, too. Players and managers will have their (Continued on ThIrd Pagtd veteran, of within and