Evening Star Newspaper, March 5, 1928, Page 28

28 SPORTS.’ THE EVEN NG STAR, WASHINGTON, D. ¢, MONDAY, MAR"CH 5, 1928. SPORTS. Harris Not Afraid of Powerful Yanks: Nationals® Pinning Hopes on Piiching GRIFFS APT TO OUTSMART CHAMPS, MANAGER FEELS Will Hold Special Drills { BY DENMAN THOMPSON, Sporte Editor of The Star. TAMPA, Fle. March 5—The Yan- kees' romp to 2 pennant last vear and their completa rout of the Pirates in the world series has made them over- whelming favorites to repeat this sea- son. Possessed of what probably is the greatest array of hitters ever assembled, a pitching staff rated as even better than that they sfarted with in 1927 and & defense that should be fully as capa- ble, dus t> the comparative youth of all save one of the regulars, they are the almost unanimous choice of the base ball wise to achieve again the title which has gone to New York in five of the last seven campaigns. There is at least one keen student of e who declines to subscribe vulnerability of the Yankees, however, and as it was du° 3 the in- soirational qualities of his leadership that the Hugmen were subjected to a hiatus in their reign at the top in 1924 and again the following son. he is entitled to a respectful hearing. “A lotta horse radish.” the svorage fan may say. “Bucky's bossing a rivel team and it wouldn't look good for him to sav ln_\’lhm‘% else.” But a talk with Harris would cdnvince any one but a sonfirmed pess mist that he is not mere- Iy “whistling through a graveyard.” He means it when hLe opines that the Yankees are anything but a cinch to cop another flag and advances some raiher pertinent reasons. Upsels Make Game. Seated in 8 comfortable rocker on the wide veranda of the Tampa Bay Hotel the manager of the Washington bail club discoursed for the better part of u sunny hour on the outlook for the American League race for .which the Nationals now are in training -here “I'm not so old in years,” said Harrls. “but I've been around long egpugh tc observe that just when all signs point to one thing something entirely differ- ent frequently happens, and so it is likely to be with the Yankees.” Bucl made it clear he was not referring basz ball alone. and to his credit it must be set forth that he did not use the expression. “life is like that.” “Here's the New York club, a very well balanced outfit of exceptional power which is being touted on all sides to waltz in again: As they would sav of a champion runner or an outstand- ing vaulter M this Carr at Yale, they have the form. °! " quite naturally 18 the foundation for reckoning in all lines of competitive endeavor for men. and even for animals, as is shown by the fact that in the racing racket the tables of past performances are com- monly-known as ‘form sheets.’ “There is no term used more in con- nection with sports. but there is another seen’ very often and which ex- plains much of the popularity of contests, and that is ‘upset.’ If winne always could be picked on the basis of the known ability of the contestants. matches would lose their at- tractiveness, in:fact, cease to become sports, Sees, Jolt for Yanks. “As Isaid before, here are the Yan- kees who on.the basis of form. or past performances or what not, are being gen- erally selected to canter in under the wire again. Well, some one back in the old days wisely observed ‘anything can happen in base ball' That's just as true now as it was then. I can't help thinking it is just- about time for zome #ang to .come aleng and hang a shiner on this so-called super-club. The stage is all set and the time is ripe for the dops to bz spilled. They are good. there’s no question about that, but they can be beaten and if I get my team to functioning as I hope to, we may be the ones to do it.” Harris' success as a field general is founded on the same qualities that make for greatness in other leaders, the willingness to set the example for those who take orders from him and have them do as he does instead of merely &s he says. He possesses on: attribute scidom found in base ball managers, however, and that is the ability not | on'y 1o recognize his own shortcomings, but the courage to acknowledge them. He blames himself for the fact that | the Nationals skidded severely in the two scasons following their pennant winning efforts and has taken steps to | rectify what he regards as his own de- ficlencics, instead of being content to have the slump of the team attributed o bad luck in the matter of injuries to star players. The aging of depend- 8ble veterans and the improvement at- tained by rival clubs. Setting Fine Example. . Never even approaching the estate of 8 man who usually 1= referred to as a “drinker.” like most other normal hu- mans Harris has not been averse Lo being socizble upon occasion, and while in no sense a tobacco fiend. he has smoked in moderation Taking stock of himself this pest Winter, h~ reached the conclusion that even light indul- gence. if not harmful, certainly was not keipful v proper physical condition #nd as & result repounced all forms of ertficial stimulation. As he talked he GIANTS’ CLUB-MAKING MATERIAL JONHN 5. McGRAW, VICE PRESIDENT AND MANAGER. Wi Home Address Terre Haute, Ind. Holten, Kans. .. Cineinnatl, Ohio uchula, Fla. Sanford, ¥la. es. . Larry Bento Menry T Boney, Ben C. Cantwell. W. M. Clarkson. .. Rileigh, N. C. James Chaplin .. Jess Doyle Fred Fitzsimmons Jas. L. Faulkner. ¥rank Menry Arthur G. Johnson . Juck Lo Levy..... Miaml, Via. Belleville, 11 Los Angeles, Callf. Colton, Calif. Cleveland, Oblo Long Beach, Calit. Birmingham, Als, Lima, Ohio Woonsocket, K. 1. . Apalachicola, Fla, K. 5t Jouis, 1. Jeo A. Mangum Chester Nichols Ned 5. Porter ..., William Walker Catchers. W. V. Barrett John Cummings . 4. Francis Hogan Alfred Spohrer . Bavannah, Ga. _Pitisburgh, Pu . Summerville, Mass. Lansdowpe, Fa. L Winter Park, Fla, ¥l Paso, Tex. Guiiord College, N.C. Walde, Ark. Andrew Cohen € R Crawlord Travis Juckson . Baxter Jordan . Witkiam 1. Lal ¥red Lindstrom. . Andrew Kerse William Ferry Outhielders Charles Fullis , Miss. . Memphis, Tenn. . Girardaville, Pa. . McNell, Ark, s elen, Ca rg, ; Springfield, Mase Gretps, Lo, Sun Francisco, Callf, Oukland City, Ind, Oakland, Calif. Laslie Mann . Melvin OU Yrank 4. O'Doul Edvward Roush ames 1. Welsh “Where 1 he now?” all er- | or Youngsters at Tampa in | Effort to Perfect Club for Bitter Fight with League Leaders This Scason. /had a cigarette between his lips, but it was a “dry” smoke. He has not lighted {one for more than two months. “We have the material for a corking good pitching stafl.” Bucky continued: “a punch combincd with defensive abil- in gratifying proportions, lots of peed, end. best of all, a high average Jof intelligence on the Washington club this year. What we will need in addi- |tion is proper co-ordination, with care- ful attention to little details that often are neglected. “In the past two years we have not ‘clicked’ at all times as well as we should, even if we were handicappad | with illnesses and broken legs and sucn things. After that second pennant 1 teel that I sort of ‘let down, along with some cf the others. A team can’t do that and get anywhere. It's my job | to s2e that this condition doesn’t exist this vear. and I'm going to set about it | without any delay. Special Drill Planned. | “As soon as the squad is complete | by the s 1 of Rusl I am going to call a meeti1z and explain to the boys just what is e _cted of them thi | It won't b> a iccture, for I'm going to | admit th-t I een off in my work.| too, but they will be told that nothing | less than 100 por cent hustle at all | times will be tolerated and that any man who shows the slightest sign of shirking will be benched tmmediately. T'm going to have Milan try to show the players how to take advantage of their speed so that they can emulate the tactics that made him one of the | best base runners in the game and the | rookie pitchors are to be drilled in the | fine points of their duties, such as { masking thr delivery and holding | runners on th: bases, and there will {be individual instruction for the | younger inflelders and outflelders. | "It isn't feasible to attempt lessons in specialized points at the regular ‘morning work-outs because of the con- | gestion of the field and the general S | confusion due to so many working at the same time. For this reason I am | going to have two squads drilling, one | starting at 10 am. and the other at| 1:30 p.m., and at the close of ths after- noon duel the special tutoring will be | done. { | “Reeves and Gillls, the two most | prominent candidates for shortstop, I | will take in hand myself for rncnce" | around the bag at second and FII turn | | West, Ganzel and Barnes over to Milan |for pointers in the intricacies of fly | chasing, with the fielding of ground balls especially stressed. West is un- | usually proficient in this as well as in | | throwing and can be used to illustrate | points to others. | “These special practices will be a feature of our training every day now, | at least until the middle of the month, | for after that we have games scheduled | for ‘%rlcucnlly every day until we start | north. Will Ban Golf. “Another reform that I am going to effect this year is & ban on golf. | After March 15 that game will be | absolutely barred for all players until the close of the season, and that goes for off days, too. I am convinced there is nothing more harmful to a ball club than for its members to have their minds on golf during the | base ball season. Why, I have known |days that when it rained a little in | the morning the players would be pull- |ing fcr a postponement so they could iget out on the links. Golf is too in- teresting. When a player has the priv- ilege of indulging in it he is likely| to have that on his mind instead of | base ball, so it's going to be out.| that's all. “I only wish I could bring the boys | |to realize what a wonderful chance we really have to finish on top of the heap this year. With the right kind of co-operation it can be done, and if I can only get that idea in their heads we won't have to take the | backwash of any team. not excluding | the Yankees. They might have it on | us in sheer power, but it will be pos- | {sible for us to outsmart them, and | | there would be only one answer to that—another pennant for Washing- ton.” Hadley Is Cheerful. Buap Hadley, young hurling star. | wh) was operated on for appendicitis | late Priday night, continues to make fa- vorable progress toward recovery, and it is regarded as certain now that no complications will set in. He was visited at the hospital yesterday by many of his mates and cheerfully assured them that ne would be back at work in a week. His estimate in that respect is a bit optimistic, but he should be able to return to the hotel by that time and may b> able to undertake light exercise after an additional week, With the arrival last night of Jack Kloza and Sam Jones. who immediately signed his contract, and_with Muddy Ruel due today, Tommy Taylor will be the only camp absentee. Foster Ganzel is much worrled by the serious fliness of his wife, at Wollaston. Mass., but contrives to keep his mind | on his work well enough to continue at the head of the procession In the wana | drills. { | | Melght. Weight. Bute. Thro A ik s, Throw 150 162 186 165 N.Y.N.L.C. Jersey City | efrcuits. s LY. N.L.C. Fort Smith- | Charlotte Buffalo Jersey City Waycross- N.Y.N. N.Y.N.- Denver T EER BrrrEER X RPpaR ® === =§sg=== ® R EER Memphis N.V.N.L.C Hoston Wilkes-Barre Bosto, sRERT=SE ®EEEEX SEaR®x®z RREaN == =R =pm®x Nanbranciswo pll A 601 K Bosten Nut'l, L] ~Al Devormer, transferred to Toledo, Rogers Hornshy, Cansteried Lo Boston Nationals;, Burlelgh Grimes, transferred (o Pittshurgh, WEEK-DAY LEAGUES l WILL PLAN TONIGHT| Representatives of the various local| week-day base ball leagues will assem- | ble tonight at 8 o'clock in the recrea-| tion room at the Government Printing Office to_make plans for the mmlns} season. It has been suggested that one | man be placed in control of all the| A newcomer to local independent dia- | mond ranks in the approaching cam-| paign which plans much activity ls‘ the Bond Clothes Co. nine. Games with the Business and Central teams for| April 2 and 6, respactively, already | have been listed and tilts with other | scholastic outfits are planed. J. Earle | Moser will manage the team and also Go the catching. Moser is listing | games and receiving applications from players for trials at Main 5260 between 7:30 o'clock and midnight. Manager Hutchinson, 133 Efeventh | street southeast,. is arranging games | with unlimited class teams for Phoenix | A. C. base ballers. Dates with Hern- | don, Va: Camp Meade and Mechan- | iesville, Md., nines already: have been | closed. i Diana Fishwick, feminine golf cham- plon of England, is not only the young- est girl to win the title—she 1s 16—but | she won it after only 18 months of golf. RIGHT ACROSS THE COUN RY’ SIX HURLERS PICKED FOR EARLY CLASHES TAMPA, Fla, March 5.—Tenta- tive pitching selections for the Na- tionals’ first two exhibition games of the season have been made by Manager Harris. For the initial encounter of the Grapefruit League campaign Thurs- when the Washington Club will travel by bus to Avon Park to encounter the St. Louls Cardinals of the National League, Clarence Grif- fin, Paul Hopkins and Luther Roy. have bren assigned to tiavel for three innings apiece. For the opener of the encounters scheduled for Tampa next Saturday, when the Boston Braves will be cn- tertained here, mound duty is to be shared by Morace Lisenbec, Ed Wells and Clayton Van Alstyne. These flingers have been adjudged as among those furthest advanced in conditioning and as all but Lisenbee are battling for berths Harris wants 1o see how they shape up under fire. FATRMOUNT SIGNS YOUNG. Herble Young, Washington boy, who has shown promise the past few years al Martinsburg in the Blue Ridge League, has signed with Foirmount, in the Middle Atlantic circult. He once was mascot for the Grifim» RANGY SOUTHPAW SLABMAN AFTER BERTH WITH GRIFFS Photos By OT.THONER - RING ELIMINATIONS ; MOVING IN A CIRCLE By e Assoclated Press | NEW YORK, March 5.—The heavys weight eliminations will be right back where they started if Jack Sharkey | does the expected and outpoints Johnny | Risko, the Cleveland rubber man. next | Monday night in Madison Square Gar- den. | Tms would leave Sharkey and Tom Heeney es the survivors of the semi- finals;” the same palr of punch-tosstis | whos> colorless draw a iew weeks ago | foreed Tex Rickard to make a new | deal | Tne net results, it seems will be rep- resented in gate receipts, ‘but not t:\mlcmie-r« for Gene Tunney's crown. 'A. B. C. BOWLING EVENT |70 BE STARTED TONIGHT 1 KANSAS CITY, March 5 (®).—City officials and civic club teams will open the twenty-cighth annual American | Bowitng_Congress tournament here to- Inight that will attract entries from more than 130 cities before the meet concludes April .2. A tctal of 2,231 five-man teams have | been cntered, creating a new record. There ars 2280 double entries and 571 X ingles Mound Squad with Few Ol Irague chih prospe BY BRIAN BELL. Associated Press Sports Writer. TAMPA, Fla, March 5.—Although the base ball ghost of Waltor Johnson stalks through the training camp of the Washington club, there arz 16 pitchers on hand, all willing to be “another Johnson.” | By common consent of th2 powers- | that-be on the club, where Johnson is | more of an institution than a pitcher, | no one will be elected to fill the place | Barney left permanently vacant when he went away to manage Newark. As the work proceeds at the first | Washington training camp in 20 years !in which the great Johnson has had | no active part, the club is preparing to pin its hopes on pitching despite the | absence of the big fellow with the ter- | | rific “fast one." Ten of the double | octette of pitchers will start the sea- son, and Manager Harvis and President | | Griffith hope to worl: out a combination | | in which supple. young arms will get| support from heads wise in base ball. | |Only two of the pitchers gave passed | | thefr thirtieth birthday, and one is ju.st" Long on Hurlers. Sam Jones is 35, Milton Gaston has turned 31 and Tom Zachary is 30. The board of strategy suffered its first blow when Irving Hadley, sensational young giu:her of last season, was sent to the ospital. He will emerge in a few weeks without his appendix, but the season will be well advanced before he | can pitch.- Horace Lisenbee, almost as young and even more sensational than Hadley, is in perfect health and| will be able to start. | Fred Marberry, veteran of ti fI | at 24, in point of consecutive ser: | though Tom Zachary went away and | came back, is confident that he will| be graduated from a relief role to a| starting status. Garland Braxton will| continue to dash in from the bull pen | {in times of stress. Ed Wells,. late of Detroit and Birmingham. may stage & | comeback, and Clayton Van Alstyne, | boasting a great curve ball, has a| chance to return from his exile to Birmingham ot last season. Clarence | Griffin, a little southpaw. will not be discriminated against on account of his size. President Griffith likes the | |little fellows on the mound. He “as| | cnce a little pitcher and a good one. Southpaws Plentiful. There is no chance of a shortage of | |left-hand pitching tal’nt. In adlition | | to Braxton, Zachary Wells and Griffin, | Bob Burke has been brought over from ! last year and Lloyd Brown is up lmml Memphis. | Manager Bucky Harris thinks one| way to make the Nationals a fighting | ! club is to start a fight at the outset, so | in addition to the battls for pitching | places, he has declared first base. mnn-l | | | | i stop and center fisld wide open to com- | petition. With George Sisler and Joe Judge, aged but still active first base perform- ers, available, there seems to be a con- | viction that a trade may yet cause a | distribution of the over supply. Neither | |'seems ready to sit on the bench. Sisler | | Is appare; slated to start the sesson. | | Collegians to Battle. { Bobby Reeves has the inside track at | shortstop. If the former Georgia Tech| star had turned to boxing instead of | base ball he would have made a reputa- tion as one able to “taks it.” When he | | 1s knocked down he gets up. Two other | collegians, Grant Gillis and Jack Hayes, | both former wearers of the Crimson of | Alabama, probably will be reserve in- | fielders. A battle for center fleld may continuc | right through the season between Sam | West and Foster Ganzel, with Barnes, a third A'abama col o resorye. ) A TASTE that has won smokers in every nook and corner of these United States/ E(OM the Atlantic to the Pacific, from the Great Lakes to the Gulf, among every class and condition of amokers throughout this whole country, Chesterfiold has made good solely by reasvn of its better tobaccos and better taste. CHESTERFIELD CIGARETTES THEY'RE MILD and yet THEY SATISFY that old. | pol PROMISING SLAB TALENT | NING AT TAMPA d Heads to Help Youthful Stars Well Supplied with Southpaws—Tilts For Three Positions Are Assured. West has shown more speed than Gan- zel, but Washington's “babe,” who comes from a base hall family, is a terrific hitter. Two Southeastern League re- crults, Kloza and Simons, have impres- sive batting averages and if they fail to stick will be shifted in the minors. Muddy Ruel and Benny Tate will do most of the catching with the third| place going to Pete Cooper, from Birm: ingham, or Hugh McMullen, with Louis- ville last year. but formerly a major leaguer. HOT STRETCH DRIVE IN HOCKEY CIRCUIT By the Associated Press. NEW YORK, March 5—With the play-ofts for the Stanley Cup. the hockey trophy, in the offing, the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers today supplied an even pace for the crest of the American group in the National League. These sextets have gone into another dmladlock for the premier post at 42 nts. Three clubs in the international group of the circult are bunched within four points of one another at the top, the Canadiens leading. The standing: International Group. Ottawa .. Toronto .. New York A New York Ran Boston .. Detroit Pitteburgh 01 Chicago (Two paints for victor: o 8 Sl JEREDE SRD 3 Consolidated Cigar € Lacesrr & Mysas Tosacco Co New York W e BRAINS VS, BRAWN INAL FLAG RACE Yanks Posséss Punch and A’s Credited With Having Gray Matter. By the Associated Press, NEW YORK, March 5—Brains vs. . Brawn. That's the main prospect in |this year's American League race, | The Athletics have base ball brains- plus lined up for the tussle with the |brawn of Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and |the rest of the Yankee clubbers. So far the elemental forces of the | Yankees have proved a little too strong ‘lor base ball's best minds. Babe Ruth's big bat has outwitted many a master mind, including that of John McGraw, The Athletics combine more diamordq experience under one tent this than probably any club in history, n excepting the foxy old Orioles, the Cu of Frank Chance's day or the Mackm | themselves of th: 1910-14 era. | The two chief strategists alone ¢ |gregate 128 years. Connle Mack, ¢ | est of major league pilots, is 66 an first lieutenant, Kid Gleason, is stil.s kid at 62. | Then there is Jack Quinn, the veter an pitcher, 42, and the oldest playet in cither league, ready for his twenty. | fifth year of base ball. Jack has spent 15 of these scasons under the big top. | ig top. | The big three of the last quarter cen- (tury of American League all-around | stardom—Eddie Collins, Ty Cobb and | Tris Speaker—add their wisdom and |ability to the Philadelphis cast. Eddie 1s about out of the competitive picture. ingle left in their bats. All are 40 or {over. This will be Cobb's twenty-fourth season. Speaker's twenty-second and Collins’ twenty-first in the big show. Jimmy Dykes, Eddie Rommel and Cy Perkins. other members of Mack’s ma- chine, all have been in the majors 10 years or more. COntal Ligar & Tobaes (e W Peaun sl Ave N W Whington, BV Vhoue. Main S