Evening Star Newspaper, May 23, 1929, Page 45

Sports News WASHINGTON, D. C. THURSDAY, MAY Griffs Face A’s With PUNCH SHOWN IN PINCHES MAKES CLUB LOOK STRONG | Goslin and Myer, Snapping Out of Baiting Slump,i May Make Things Interesting for Macks in 4-Game Series Starting Today. | BY JOHN B. KELLER. | HILADELPHIA, May 23.—There’s some life in the old critter | yet. That much battered nag, the Washington club, must have stumbled across a well-filled oat bin before it visited Yankee | Stadium yesterday for it capered about the pasture like a colt, | snorted and pawed the turf and ran rings around Col. Jake Ruppert’s | ponderous Yankee percheron. { | Perhaps the double-victory shot the Washington entry took yes- | terday may prove just what it needed to put it in trim for better running in what remains of the American League championship race. Who can tell? g 0 | At any rate, the Nationals in drubbing the Yankees twice in one | afternoon showed more fight, more dash and more power than they, had displayed before in the flag campaigning. | They did not go along as a smooth-running machine, far from it. There were blunders on the bases, attempts at sacrificing were pitiful and flelding at times was hectic although but one error was charged against the Washington club in each game. But the Nationals showed them- | club showed more dash than fight in selves able to get runs, a notable | the cpening engagement. It didn't have | achievement for them these days | and yesterday one secondary only | to the scoring of the dual win. | A continuation of the spirited of- fensive may work wonders here in the series of four games with the Athletic: that was to be ushered in this after- noon with another double-header. To date. the Nationals have lost scven of eight engagements with Connie Mack's | hustling herd. The losses were due to | weak hitting more than anything else. | Split Would Be Welcome. But with their batting eyes apparently | cleared once more, the set may net them something worth while this time. Even a fifty-fifty split in the quartet of contests could be considered a fine comeback by the club that has been taking it on the chin so much since the season started. That Sem Janes is out of commission as a result of a muscle-wrenching he | suffered in the first tiit of the Yankee double-header vesterday works no par- ticular hardship on the Nationals in a pitching way in this series. They had only seven hurlers to employ anyway for Jones would not have been available for the set here even though he had | not Sam needs at least | three days between games when he is | |COX NEW TEXAS STAR to fight. It was different in the second, | though. Then the battling was desper- | ate all the way and the Nationals dis- | played more gameness than ever before In the campaigning. They fought stub-’ bornly to overcome an early Yankee | lead and when their slender advantage | was wrested from them late in the fray | under most trying circumstances they resumed the attack with splendid spirit | to carry on to victory. It was a bril- | liant effort for any club, let alone one that had been cuffed around by all foes for weeks. ‘Two victories do not make a poor ball club a good ball club any more than one | robin brings Spring around. But two such victories as the Nationals scored | yesterday can go far toward putting | new life into an aggregation of players | capable enough individually to form a good ball club. | WITH .458 MARK AT BAT| By the Associated Press. | The five-man rookie, or class rule, ap- | pears to have slowed up the caliber of | base ball played in the Texas League as | compared to 1927 and 1928, but it also has caused the rookie crop to appear LARRUPING LEFTY * = /) 1 S W \ % i Y, i HELPING THE Lowry KeEP AREAD 'O Logifds ///////////I///fém.:..%' "OPouL.,. MERVGIANT, WHO 15 PHILS F NEW —BY FEG MURRAY HE SOCKE D PAGE 45 Revived ( Confidefice Following Double Win Over Yankees BY WALTER TRUMBULL. HE double-heacler between New York and Washington was about an inning old yesterday when I wandered through the Yankee Stadium and found Clark Griffith sitting in a box at the far end of the dugout from which Wal- ter Johnson once more was directing | the Senators. The last time I had seen |Mr. Griffith was in Tampa, Fla., upon which occasion he had spoken as to the possibility of winning the American | League pennant. We exchanged polite | opening leads and then I swung a rude | question: | e | lul “The matter with it is,” countered Mr. Griffith, “that it isn't winning ball seemed to be a frank, true and logical answer, but it did not sufficier: 1y go into the matter. More details w needed for a wholly satisfactory intes view. ard. ‘Why isn't it winning ball games?"” Run Crop Is Short. “Because it doesn’'t get enough runs. The pitching has been pretty fair and} the flelding’s good, but the club isn't | hitting a lick. The weather’s had a lot to do with it,” continued the Wash- ington owner, becoming more expansive. “I have a hot-weather ball club, but it | hasn't had any hot weather. In the | South, the team pounded the ball. I| thought I had one of the hardest hit- ting clubs in the game. But in the | weather we've had since the season opened the boys have got out of con- dition again.” “Do you mean that certain men are not hitting,” I asked, that the whole team’s in a slump?” | “Nobody’s hitting. Look at Goose | Goslin! Last year he led the league, | but this season he isn't hitting the side of—" | Mr. Griffith paused. The Goose had | Jjust swung on a ball delivered to him} by young Henry Johnson. As the bali | arched toward the right field bleachers the other enthusiasts in the box anxiously to watch its progress, but Griffith remained seated. “Don't worry,” he said. “It's in.” Then, becoming more animated, “Whee! boy, Goose! Hit another one, Joe.” | Joe Judge didn’t hit another homs run, but he did deposit a right-field single to his batting account. i “What did you say about this club | | | rose | Mr. Nats Need Hot Weather to Hit, Then Watch Out, Warns Griff ‘What's the matter with your ball | The watchword evidently was | f | bring them home. Goose is a great { hitter, but he hasn't been hitting.” | "“He is a fine outfielder,” I admitted, | and then asked another question: “You were one of the great pitchers | of the game and you have been a man- | ager and owner. You've seen them all. | ‘Who are the three ggeatest out fielders | you remember>" “Cobb, Ruth and Speaker,” said | Griffith. “Considering everything, they | are the best.” Is asked him whether, for all-around value, he would put Speaker ahead of such stars as Bill Lange. He said un- | hesitatingly that he would. Three Best Infielders. “Who were threc best infielders?” “Well,” replied Griffith, “I'd take Wagner and Lajoie and that big fellow | out tkere” He pointed to Gehrig. | | “Yes, for batting. fielding and general | value, I'd pick those three. When it | came to a third basemen, I'd have to| think a little. There are a whole lot | | of things to consider.” | | When I asked whether he surely | would put Lajole ahead of Collins, he | | asserted firmly that he would. I didn't| ask him his choice for the best pitcher. | It was too sure that the answer was sitting in the dugout in front of us. But | I did ask concerning Walter Johnson's health. ‘Water's all right now,” said Griffith, “He's in good shape again and I'm glad | to have him back. “We'll get going,” asserted the presi- dent of the Washington club. “We sure :\'u;“get going, if only this team starts o hit.” (Copyright. 1929. by North American News- P er Alliance.) 11-INNING BATTLE IS WON BY GEORGETOWN PREP| In an 11-inning game the George- town Prep nine triumphed over Devitt, 4 to 3, yesterday at Garrett Park, Md. Three pitchers were used by the win- ning club, with Fanjul, the third hurler, proving especially _effective. Walker went the route for Devitt and did well. SRS BALTIMORE SEMI-PROS SEEK OPPONENTS HERE The Baltimore Cardinals, semi-pros, have open dates in June and August for Sunday games to be played in, NATS POUND BALL AS BOXMEN SHINE Club Clicks in Every Depart- ment as Hugmen Are Downed, 10-2, 3-2. HILADELPHIA, May 23.—Pirst by knocking the ball to all parts of the big Bronx base ball plant, | then by sending to the hill a pitcher who stood the Yankees on | their heads, the Nationals made Wednesday a great day for them in the Nation's metropolis by breaking a five- game losing strea) The free slamming of the apple netted them a 10 to 2 tri- umph and the ez- | cellent,_ pitching By the leff - handed Garland Braxton enabled them to walk off with the second number of the program, 3 to 2. ‘Thirteen hits for twenty-three bases | rattled off Wash- ington bats in the initial encounter | i and the issue was | decided lsd elnl:l;in as | Goose Goslin. the second inning. | Henry Johnson, Ed Wells and Dusty Rhodes were the New York huriers to feel the sting of the Nationals' attack. Johnson found it 0 great to bear in the second session | and gave way to the left-handed Wells, who once wore a Washington uniform. Wells took a sound thumping, but was kept in_action through the eighth in- | ning. Then Rhodes pitched a round. Four Washington runs were register- ed in the second session, three of four hits and two passes then gleaned figur- ing in the tally-making. Tate's twi bagger paved the way to the first marker and later Goose Goslin stepp: to the plate when there were two mate: n the runway. He parked the ball high in the right field bleachers for his sixth homer of the season. Another Four-Run Attack. There was another four-run biock in ! the sixth, four hits doing the work be- fore 2 batter was retired. This time Goslin drove one of the tallies over | with a double and Joe Judge accounted d Washington or for a series_alte ving : Ait, and pitching as he did yesterday in 2 HOME™ RUNS not_hitting?" I inquired, softly. | bebveen Washington and Baltimers. ® | OF, the thee others by driving & hom New York he could not have pitched | more promising than in many seasons. RK IN THE PENNANT RACE, against the Athletics during the stay | Larmon Cox, slugging Fort Worth here. | outfielder, on whom the Detroit Tigers ik e of coure, it e e, | oSl Save e seems o be e hand * Walter Johnson would | outstanding new gllyer of the season. “of :mound talent to | At the close of the third week's play As it is he must gflt:eul hlmn% at . .45: 4%“50 ?xx‘-ng lead- eague by almosf e | e v | 4t Cox 'fige‘llom to the rs, ons of | yd Brown and Fred Mar- 1‘1‘52 Manager Bucky Harris' outfield worries It i mot likely that Garland | Manager Bucky Harrls out Braxton will be able to take a turn in this series. The left-hander is too frail RN T T COLORED LEAGUE NINES PLAY NEXT TWO DAYS to work effectively with only a short | Navy Yard and Agriculture nines are rest_bet: , and he pretty well | to meet in a Colored Departmental Base t yesterday against | the Yankees. Given some runs, though, Ball League game tomorrow afternoon on Monument diamond No. 8, at 5:15 the few pitchers available are apt to get results. ‘The most pleasing features of the | o'clock. Government Printing Office and Treasury teams were to face on this double victory over the Yankees were | field in a loop game today at the same Goose Goslin's display of nunch in pinches and Buddy Myer's rise to of- fensive 'r he had been expected to reveal from the outset of the season. ‘The Goadse stepped out in the first game to bat in four rums with highty wallops, e. his best, effort of the campaign. He came | veterans' Bureau squeezed out a 3-2 triumph over Navy Yard in a league match yesterday. RECORDS OF GRIFFMEN (Including & the in h he got ‘but one hit in five ef- forts in the secomd, three times he smote the ball with great force. Myer Gets on Often. Myer went up to the plate 11 times in the course of the two games and only once did hé fail to reach first base. Twice he made that sack by forcing out a teammate, but he made five safeties and drew three bases on balls. It was | the biggest day vet for the Nationals’ | 3t lead-off man and may mean that at last he is to be the big factor in attack the club has looked for him to become. Getting away as well as it did, the WHAT HITTING DOES ames played to date.) Battins. . AB. R. H. 2b.3b.HR.8.5B.RBLPct. arory 18 0 0 5 PP UNEG SR A ooch . 8§ rncaiionies 3 0% wosooonunasscwlEleRate cosossonuonsnanEEFnEnwmm 200000muanBueatBRE B (oo PRSI = WASHINGTON. ver. 3b.. C] sowananmnod L ooo220000200000-Ha0I-00 SO EDEDD i A OO 00050000-0a0moNALNNLIAS 255550509001 50NOHOHHO =4 a Q PPN | SBENGETE § 2288855 | Braxton Jones | emsowonson® N =l 225550300-M I~ et [ - 1 B s artmls Soammanand oos0ommmed oomumwmmnt Johnsony Wells, p. Rhodes. “Bord Totals By the Associated Press. Yesterday. 10 27 Goslin, Nationals; Judge, Nationals: B “for Rhodes 3 | Simmons, Athletics; Haas, Athletics; e e y T nt‘zr‘n 2—10 | gotl-:'luck, Red Sox; Schulte, Browns; ‘Washington. 3] 0 0—2 hite Sox; Frederick, Robins: s s hy m | G piiles: Thompson, Phillies, and | | 00000~mmmsuwel B momummm. -l SEatustiye Mg LR T 2l ioussnuawans! =l ooros0020925™ Runs batted in—Goslin ‘(4), Rice. Lary, | Hurst, Phillies; " Koenig, Marberry (2).~Two-base | ' ‘each one. Yee L Soulfs Malnts b, TR0 | Davi, Phlies v uns—Goslin. Judze. Macer onin (21, Marberr American League Leaders. K Gehrig, Yankees. Ruth, Yankees Cronin to J Cronin 1o Judge _New Yor! e Goslin, Nationals Simmons, Athletics ork. 8: Washington. base on balls—OM Johneon. 5: off off_jones. National League Leaders. 17 off Marberry, v Well piicher—Jonrzon. . Ymo fcher—Joh erapbeil and Geisel. Tim Do and 38 minutes. Wilson, Cubs . SECOND GAME. League Totals. ON. R > = b1 semwaonad National American WASHINGT wver. 3b. 111 ..260! Grand total BIG LEAGUE LEADERS sm3323222" Braxton. 5l wasnuoooa- Totals By the Associated Press. American. Batting-—Kamm, White Sox, .395. Runs—Gerhinger, Tigers, 34. Runs batted in—Hellmann, Tigers, 34. | Hits—Gehringer, Tigers, 43. Doubles—Kamm, White Sox, 15. Triples—Blue, Browns, 4. Homers—Gehrig, Yanks, 9. Stolen bases—Johnson, zers; Averill, Indians, 5. Pitching—Uhle, Tigers, won 7, lost 0. National. Batting—0'Doul, Phillies, Runs—O'Doul. Phillies, : Runs hatted in—Hafe Hits—Herman, Roins Doubles—Prisch, Cards, Triples—Frisch, Cards; ates, 5. Homers Ot Stolen baser L] omomommawonoay N o> Gehringer, momomasaasal § | sosoommmnoman® Bl masaaomnal vl cosossssssmo-? 4l maoo. 5! soss000000090M 2| cooosonuoms 3! “Batted for Grabowski in “Ratied for Dickey Batted for Hovt in nington seventh 413, L. Wan-r Giants, 10. S Swanson, Reds Hort. 3 n a 8y HIS FINE ALL AROUND PLAY. John McGraw traded Frank J. (Lefty) O'Doul to the Phillies last October with cash for Fred Leach. One reason given was that Lefty couldn't hit left-handed pitching. At this writing the Phillies are in fifth place, while the Giants are in seventh, Lefty O'Doul is batting..385, and Fred Leach is hovering areund the .222 mark. O'Doul is just one of the many reasons why McGraw has a Spring headache. So far the big Pacific Coast boy has socked seven home runs, as many as Babe Ruth. His two cir- FFIDAZ2 VRRCE o TR . Metropolitan Newspaper Service cuit clouts on May 16 off the great Dazzy Vonce sent the Robins down to their ninth straight defeat. And, quite in keeping with his role of a “Glant alumnus” he has flailed McGraw’s pitching this Spring as other ex-Polo Groundsmen, Hack Wilson, Rogers Hornsby and George Harper, have done in the past. On April 18 he got two homers off Hubbell; on the 23d, three hits out of five times at bat, includ- ing a homer and a double, off Benton, and on April 24, three hits off Hubbell. And McGraw said he couldn't hit left-handed pitching. Certainly Mr. Hubbell is extremely left-handed. ‘The Glants got Lefty from the San Francisco Seals, where in 1927 he batted .378 in 189 games, scored 164 runs, made 278 hits, stole 40 bases, hit 33 home runs, and 43 doubles, leading his league in runs, hits and stolen bases. In 114 games with the Giants he batted .319, stole 9 bases, made 113 hits and scored 67 runs. O'Doul had a trial with the Yan- kees soon after the war but didn't stick. Miller Huggins doesn’t need a heavy-hitting outfielder half as much as John McGraw does—now, anyway. | | | i Giants Barely Yanks Slip BY WILLIAM J. CHIPMAN. Associated Press Sports Writer. ANS at Ebbets field yesterday saw the Giants narrowly avold going into last place. Master Edward Moore, the miniature second baseman, came all the way from Toledo to drop-kick a double-play ball about the lot in the tenth inning of the nightcap with one out and the bases full of Giants. The performance of Master Moore enabled Fred Fitzsimmons to take a 7 t0 4 decision over Lou Koupal and Doug McWeeny after Clise Dudley had pitched the Flatbush forces to a 3 to 2 triumph in the opener. The even break served the purposes of the Giants in their effort to avoid the cellar. " the The rest of the fighting in 00 | National League was mainly for ex-| 00 ercise. The Phillies ceased to be the Phillies at Boston, but the Braves once more became the Braves. The result was & twin triumph for the Baker Boys, 6 to 3, and 13 to 4. Pirates Wallop Reds. The Cubs and the Cardinals took an afternoon off, but the Pirates cornered | the hapless Reds at Forbes Field and administered an 11 to 2 humilation be- fore Gen. Hendricks could withdraw his troops, or the remains of them. It was I BIG LEAGUE STATISTICS American League. YESTERDAY'S RESULTS. ‘Washington. 10—3: New York, 2—2 Philadelphia, 16: Boston, 2. Cleveland, 7 Detroit. 4 8t. Louis, 7. Chicago, 3 STANDING OF THE CLUBS. Percentoge GAMES TODAY. Washington at Phil New York at Boston Detroit at hicaze, ¢ 8t. L. at Cieveland. D * Chicago. National League. YESTERDAY'S RESULTS. Brooklyn. 3—3; New York, 2—7 (2d game 105 mminas) Philadelphia, 6—13: Boston. 3—4. Bittsburgh. "1 Cinchnat, 2 Other clubs not scheduled. STANDI OF THE CLUBS. GAMES TOMORROW. Boston at New York. off Braxto 3. whe s Pirates, Pitching — Grimes, won 6, t 0. a Shile. at Brooklva. Cinclnnati &t Pitts Chicago at St. Louls. Avoid Cellar; VETERAN BOWLERS to Third Place PUT TEAM IN FRONT i Pop Halley, Harry Krauss and Harry ?b& stl’ligph:‘.sfgr L\}'l]e Eflf{fi l‘.\;’% nohjlabr]le | Stanford, whose names are written in- rom & Pitlsburgh standpoint, chiefly| geliply into the history of duckpins as ?;cln}\::ebgg‘.the fine work of Ray Kremer: m;m&rfrof thek{:mous old 'l:oynl team, The American League situation is| 8Ot their creaking arms swinging daily becoming more and more alarm. |in form reminiscent of other days and yet of record that any of the little| NO. 2 team is.out in front today in the Miller's seven_ fellow managers have | lost s0 much as a minute’s sleep over | the situation. Asa matter of fact, Dan | 'ghick nfimga -:(r‘lda CLi A Howley is strongly s | other cos s 740, ey amnyisbediod otialntng 5 fuse led the famous trio with 334, The master mind of Sportsman’s | All got off to a slow start. Park thought his way into second place | E. E. Heinzman shot the high singles | yesterday as Rip Collins pitched the | score of the night with 378 and tied for St. Louis forces to & 7-to-3 triumph | fourth place. Red Megaw leads with | ment at Convention Hall. t Red Faber and the White ot | 410 over Red Faber and the White Sox |410. while the Senators were snapping’their | _In the doubles five teams beat 700. {;zsmkg slsrmcll( in t;\_fi pénces at the ggvym “'er°dlse‘$;r;;1 u7n‘% P‘if{t:;l; 7:,.3& ankee Stadium. e Senators won | Doying an Y. g by 10 to 2 and 3 to 2 in a bargain on | Stringer, 709: Stanford and Heltman, the banks of the Harlem, and to com- | 704, and Nubton and West, 702. plicate the case further, the Athletics — ——— | MIDGETS SEEK FOES. polished off the Red Sox in Philadel- phia with little or no effort, 16 to 2. Chevy Chase Midgets are gunning for Saturday and Sunday diamond games. The day's campaigning left the Ath- | letics with a lead of two and one-half Manager Helder is receiving challenges at Cleveland 481, after 6 p.m. games over the Browns, who in turn led the champions of the world by one | full contest. The Yanks, three and | gne-half games out of thie lead, are further from their accustomed roost- | it Diace than ot any oiser tme snee| | MINOR LEAGUE RESULTS the vear of Babe Ruth's $1,000000 o NTERNATIONAL LEAGUE. The athletic triumph gave Robert Mnnll’:fl:’fl“nuflllo,l Moses Grove another easy entry into! Rochester, 8. Toronto. 7 (12 innings). Readipg, 1: Newark. 0. Baitimore, 2; Jersey City, 1 (13 innings). SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION. Birmingham, 4: Little Rock, 2. Memphis. 5. Atlenta. Chattanooga, 9; New Orleans, 1. | 2 8, 2. Monroe, EAGUE. Pittsfield, 4-5. Springfield. Bridgeport, 3-4; Allentown, EASTERN CAROLINA LEAGUE. Fayetteyille, 3; Greenville, 1. Rocky Mount, 9; Kinston, 4. Wilmington, 6; Goldsboro, 2. MIDATLANTIC LEAGUE. Fairmont, 7: Jeannette, 3 ling, 6 Johnstown, 5 (12 inni' ¢ Clarksburg, 3: Cumberland, 2. Scottdale, 4; Charlerol, BLUE RIDGE LEAGUE. rtinsburg. 4; Hagerstown, 0. ambersburg. 12. Waynesboro, 6. ederick, 9; Hanover, 7. AMERICAN ASSOCIATION. Loussville. 9: Columl the winning column of his ledger. After | the Macks scored 12 times against the | Bostanese in the fifth, Moses disap- | peared in the direction of the club- house, leaving Oswald Orwoll in full charge of the sltuation. Ed Mortis was | Sionie, 3 Nashvile, among the Boston pitching victims, : Simmons, Haas and Rothrock got into o g M tHe I hDRiA-ran oIl Durham. 4: High Point, 3. = S | Winston-Selem,_ 9: Greensboro, 3 payvalter Miller” again pitched emart| Henderson, 0. Sslisours. 8 all in enabling the Indians to defeas | y N’ ASSOCIATION. the Tigers by 7 to 4 at Navin Field in | SOUTH ATLANTIC A the remaining American League fixture.| Asheville, 10, Charlotte, 4. - — e | Columbia, 4-3; Knoxville, 6-2. | ‘ Augusta, 6; Spartanbur, 5 GUEST OF YALE leEN | SOUTHEASTERN LEAGUE. | Tampa, 8; Jacksonville, 5. HIGHEST POLO RANKING 4 Montgomery, 8. | cola, 1 NEW YORK, May 23 (#)—Winston ' COTTON STATES LEAGUE. Guest, former Yale captain, has become Vicksburs. 12: Meridian, I3 18, sb the first and only plaer in the history B of American indoor polo to be given | ¢ LEAGUE. a handicap rating of 10 goal | it el Previously sharing a 9-goa! handicap | R, MoMes 8 Topeka, & o with two other stars, Guest was raised | Omab, 6, Wichita: to sole possession of the new fop rating | Tulsa, 6; Pueblo, 5 At the annual Spring mecting of fhe | TEXAS Indoor Polo Association of the United ' Dallas, 2 1 Stai 3 Q‘Sfl!}\ A:nnmr‘v. 2 Besides being the highest ranked th,6:" Houston indoor player on record, Guest is sec-| DeRUmOnt: i Wichita Falls. 8. ond only to Tommy Hitchcock on the PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE. country’s present outdoor list having | Hollywood, 7 fasramerita, o. distinguished himself in international | Qakiand 5: Missicns, ., " play last year and neared a handicap| 8an Francisco, 6; Seattle, 1 of 9 goals. | EASTERN LEAGUE. , Albany, 7: New_ Haven. 6. - Hartford, 9-8: Providence, ;i | FEG MURRAY SAYS: “Walter Hagen plays golf with the | Prince of Wales."—News item. But you can bet your sweet life you | won't ever read of H. R. H. the P. of W. wrestling with “Strangler” Lewis. | Add similes: useless as telling a: Western oarsman to “keep his shirt on.” | “Clyde 'Van Dusen laughed at all op- | position the twenty-three-year-olds that opposed him could furnish."—From c Fri | ing for Miller Huggins, but it is not |85 & consequence the Stansbury Lodge | Masonic Bowling Association’s tourna- | “I said they weren’t hitting, and they l’éflfinn!‘:l bf:aertl hltfilv'l,g," mnéhmnined Mr. ! of T stoutly. “We got three men on | Warren H. Lemm bases in the first inning, but we didn't ' avenue, Baltimare " - Norin East DOWN THE LINE WITH W. O. McGEEHAN. The Greatest Fighter. OMEBODY writes to ask my opinion as to whe Was the greatest fighter | under the Queensberry rules. Without qualification, T Bho\flgr say Joe Gans, the Negro lightweight. I say this, having known Gans only after his career was supposed to have been very close to the end, after he had | been cut loose by his first manager, who learned that Gans was in an | advanced stage of tuberculosis. Naturally, a practical prize-fight manager had | no particular use for a tubercular Negro fighter, so he gave Joe Gens his uncon- | ditional xreleuse.hns t:lhey! Ssy in base ball. | t was then that Gans started to show what he could have done when he had his full health if the exigencies of the prize-fight business had not kept him under wraps. When Gans went to Goidfield in 1906 to appear in the first fight staged by Tex Rickard, he was a doomed man and he knew it. Only he and his former manager did know it. | You may or may not recall that Gans was forced to make 133 pounds ring- [side for that bout. Billy Nolan, known as Pound-of-Flesh Nolan, discovered that the Marquis of Queensberry rules made no provision as to whether a fighter could weigh in nude or with the fighting togs. He found a proviso in the modern rules which said that any point not covered by the Queensberry code must be referred to the London Prize Ring Rules of Broughton. He waved the k at Tex Rickard and Benny Selig, the last manager of Gans, and demandéd that Gans weigh in with shoes and fighting togs, which made another pound that the wasted Negro fighter must lose. He was a gaunt figure when he faced Battling Nelson in that ring under the blazing desert sun, but nobody knew how really sick he was. Certainly he did not show it in that fight. They might have given that bout to Gans on a foul in the first few rounds. Twice Nelson Kicked him deliberateiy in the shins and spat at him. From the start Nelson was charging Gans and “boring in” like an angry little red savage, but Gans seemed to be rolling the punches aside with ease, shufing about flatfooted with apparent languidness. He backed up to the ropes above where Rube Goldberg and I were sitting and kept up a running fire of conversation, which exasperated Nelson for a few rounds. Then he started to destroy Nelson's features deliberately and effectively. It was one of the most vivid exhibitions of a bout between the perfect type of boxer and the perfect type of fighter that I ever saw. This continued for forty rounds. By that time Nelson had mothing that resembled a human face.” Gans was just a trifle leg weary, but his reflexes were working perfectly. He never missed and he never seemed to be hit. I always felt that he might have knocked out Nelson any time after thirty rounds, but he did not seem to care for this. He wanted to_pay him back for those kicks on the shin. Both of Nelson's eyes were closing, and if it had gone on much further the “Durable Dane” would have been rendered entirely sightless. The ex- pression on the face of Gans never changed. I can see it yet. He was the saddest and most wistful looking negro I ever saw. Never did a shade of anger appear in his face while he was fighting. | The foul that ended the fight and gave the decision to Gans came in that fortieth round. There has been some difference of opinions as to that blow. But when it _landed those two figures were silhouetted against the setting | desert sun. I am quite satisfied that the blow was foul. It saved Nelson from being knocked out. Pictures like that linger in the mind, IN REVIEWING the career of Joe Gans I am discounting many of the defeats charged against him early in his career. For instance, there was the knockout by Terry McGovern. If I recall correctly, this caused no small scandal in the manly art of modified murder. Of course, one cannot make excuses for Gans, but there is this much to be said in extenuation. Gans was the most consummately clever lightweight that ever lived, and in addition he carried a finishing punch which he could let go at will. The managers of many of the white fighters knew this, and they would not sign their men with Gans unless there was an understanding. Gans had to agree or starve as a professional prizefighter. How many of the good one would face Sam Langford unless the Tar Baby was handcuffed, as the boys say? Gans fight in San Francisco was a case in point. The The Washington Red Sox and teams ‘When Gans Held Back The first Britte Leonard-Britton fight was so startlingly like it that one might almost sus- pect that it was plagiarized from that bout in San Francisco. In this bout Britt was allowed to make a wonderful showing against Gans. In the twentieth round Gans slipped to the floor as though he had been hard hit. hile Gans was on his knees Britt struck him, as Leonard subse- quently struck Britton, and Gans was given the decision on a foul. Wwas made tp appear the better fighter, but Gans retained the title. quite a coincidence. A few years later they met again, and Britt could not lay a glove on Gan. Gans slapped him lightly at will for a few rounds, apparently waiting his time to punish Britt deliberately and thoroughly before knocking him out. Britt saw what was coming and discovered that his ulna bone pained him. He refused to continue. This happened while Gans was suffering from the illness of which he died a few years later. Britt It was The Fall of Gans. THE second Nelson-Gans bout, which was held in San Francisco, the wasted Negro lightweight was knocked out in the seventeenth round. The face and figure had become more gaunt. It was a shadow of the old Gans, and that look of fixed and wistful melancholy in the Negro's face had become intensified. It seemed that he was hurt hardest because some of his friends had lost their money on him. He said: “Get me just one more fight with Nelson and bet that I will last 20 rounds. I can's beat him, but I still can keep any man in the world off for 20 rounds.” ‘The d bout was arranged. It was cruelty to a dying man, but Gans insisted. He could not train, for that would have wasted his waning strength. He merely went through the motions. In that third bout there were times when it seemed that he could hardly shuffie around the ring. In the first few rounds he cut Nelson's face accurately as ever, but toward the last he could hardly keep off the rushes of Nelson. He did last the 20 rounds, but when he came out for the twenty-first he collapsed from sheer exhaustion and deathly illness. The Finishing Touch. UT in that last bout he dealt a blow that led to the finish of Nelson. In the seventeenth rcund—as I recall—just before the bell he drove a right under Neison's heart. They told me later thai when Nelson went back | to his corner he gasped: 'm through. He has broken all of my ribs. ! But the chief second whispered: “Can’t you see that he is dying on his feet?" ‘They pushed Nelson back into the ring and the fight went on. But that blow story on Kentucky Derby. Those nags were almost old enough to furnish a house, . 8. Minneanolis, 3: Milwaukee, 1. Toleds indianapolis, 3 ®ansas City, 9; 8t. Paul, 0. “softened” Nelson for Wolgast. The career of Gans rather indicates that the manly art used to he a scurvy game. Mr, William A. Muldoon says that it has improved vastly. I wonder. L | into the right-field stand. Three | ;\Lllg netted two r‘um in the ninth, Fred their caliber are preferred. Write | Marberry driving over the scores with |a double bounced off the left-field stand wall. Jones and Marberry shared the Washington pitching burden. The Yank:; | got to Sam for a run in the second | round and reached him for two hits | after one was out before a muscle wrench_forced his retirement. | The second game was a mound scrap | between Braxton and Waite Hoyt, with | the latter escaping a worse licking only through spectacular suport. The Na- tionals hit him much harder than their 11 hits might seem to indicate. Th= | Yanks were held to seven safeties by Braxton. One hit only was needed to give the Yanks a lead at the outset. Comb doubled and scored on the successive iu- field retirements of Koenig and Ruth Then Braxton checked the Yankees in fine style, while the Nationals kept plugging away at Hoyt. Finally in the sixth they crashed into the run column. Goslin’s “single, Judge's sacrifice fly. West's double and Bluege's single netted two markers. This advantage was erased by th- | Yanks in the eighth, but only becausc Cronin booted a grounder after two were out. Ruth opened this frame for the home club by ding a triple off the left fleld stand wall. It was & hard drive that on the rebound sped like 2 shot past Goslin,.who had raced over to | grab the sphere, and continued to keep | left center. - But Braxton tightened anc Gehrig only fouled to Myer, whil® Meusel lifted to Rice in such short right that Ruth had no chance to try for home after the catch. Then Lazzer sent a feeble roller to Cronin, but tic shortfielder, who had played so smar - 1y previously, kicked the ball and Rut> | went over with the tying tally. Cronin Makes Amends. | Cronin made amends for his mispla | immediately by opening the Nation: ninth batting turn with a single. Brax ton forced out Cronin, but was moved t. | second by Myer’s one-baser and sprint ed to the plate just ahead of a thro: | from_Lazzeri, who had recovered the ball Rice had slammed by Gehrig for : one-base hit. How serious is Jones' injury will no | be known until a thorough examination | of it is made by a surgeon here today Jones hurt himself when he made his second pitch to Koenig in the fifth in- ning of the first game yesterday. He then complained of a twinge in his left side, but tried to continue pitching. After Koenig singled Jones was re- placed by Marberry. Trainer Martin strapped Jones' left side below the ribs | immediately. but the pitcher complained | of feeling much pain this morning and was scarcely able to raise either arm. Sammy West had a great time in cen- ter field in the double-header. He | ranged all over the pasture, making | seven putouts in the first game and |four in the second. In the nightcap | he made a whale of a catch to retire | Combs in the fifth inning, going behind Rice for a shoe-top grab of the drive that came to him between the right fielder's props. Neither Ruth nor Gehrig waxed fat at the expense of the Washington pitch- |ing. The Babe had eight times at bat in the two games and got nothing more than his triple in his final effort in the nighteap. ~ Gehrig singled the first time he batted in the opening encounter. then in seven more trips to the plate during_the afternoon got nothing more | than three walks. NIGHT BALL POPULAR IN WEST COAST TOWN By the Associated Press. “Night ball,” a contest similar to in- door base ball, has become a favored nocturnal sport at Escondido, Calif., with two leagues playing complete seasons. ‘The game is played on a regulation diamond with powerful lights illuminat- ing the field. ‘There are two leagues of eight teams each and at the conclusion of the re ular playing season there is a “series for the championship. WEBCOS NEED CATCHER. ‘The Webco Insects are after a base ball game for Saturday afternoon, and also are looking for a good catcher. The team will hold its weekly meeting to- morrow night at 4508 Thirteenth street. The Webco manager may be reached at Columbia 2007.