Evening Star Newspaper, March 12, 1937, Page 49

WASHINGTON, D. C, ¢ Foening wm SUNDAY MORNING EDITION Travis Polishes Shortstop Play : NAT GAINS KNACK OF POSITION PLAY Cecll Confident He Is Set for Big Year—All Worry About Ailing Myer. BY FRANCIS E. STAN, Staff Correspondent of The Star. RLANDO, Fla., March 12.—Joe Tinker was sitting in the Washington dugout today while the Nationals were having their infield practice. Old timers will remember Joe Tinker. It seems he used to be a shortstop with the Cubs. The younger generation knows him as a legendary figure— somebody who belongs with Wagner and Lajole, Evers and Chance. Bucky Harris was sitting there, too. On the field Nick Altrock started to bang grounders to an infield composed of Buddy Lewis at third, Cecil Travis at short, Johnny Mihalic at second and Joe Kuhel on first. “I guess you could give that young fellow on short a few pointers, Joe,” said Harris. Tinker turned. “Say, TI've been watching that kid for a few days now. The way he's going he doesn't need any pointers. Boy, he is hot.” In sooth, Cecil Travis it hot. Kuhel never was more graceful in his life than he is now and Lewis seems vastly improved. But Travis, day after day, is stealing the infield show. He goes to his right, almost in back of third, and yesterday he made a pip of a stop back of second. It reminded you of Cronin in 1932 and 1933. Claims New Confidence. FVE'RYBODY in camp, as well as| outsiders who should know where- of they speak, say that Travis can't miss this year. This can be taken as meaning something and then, again, it may be recalled that some people " said the same thing last year, when he wasn't so good. The big item. however, is that Travis, himself, thinks he cannot miss. Clark Griffith wants him to show ag- gressiveness and punch players. It is to be doubted whether he will, but | Cecil has changed over the Winter. He’s become more positive in his ideas. “There's all the difference in the world between the way I feel at short now and the way I felt a year ago,” he was saying today. “Gosh, year I didn't know what the score was. I didn't play hitters right and had no idea how to do it. I wasn't confident at all. “Then I was benched and Bluege and Kress played short. Up to last year I'd always been a third baseman and so I never noticed shortstops as much as third basemen. But after I was benched I watched Bluege and Kress. I saw how they shifted posi- tions, when, for instance, a runner was on first base and it looked like a | hit-and-run. “Doggone it, T had never shifted. Half the time, when a runner tried to | steal, I didn't cover the bag gquickly enough as a result.” -_- He'll Hit Better, Too. I LEARNED a lot. I still have lots more to learn, but at last I'm | making progress. I'm glad, too, to | hear somebody say they can notice a | difference, because I've been feeling different and I wanted to be sure I wasn't fooling myself.” ‘This is a big mouthful for Travis, Pt the youngster, a grizzled major league veteran at 23, wasn't finished. When he was asked about his hitting, he took that up with equal zest. “I may do a whole lot better at bat this year, too,” he said. “Mr. Griffith always wanted me to change to a ‘pull hitter' and I've tried hard to do it. You know what I mean—pull to right field. I've always hit over .300, but somehow I've felt that if I could just bat natural I'd hit better. “None of that ‘pulling’ stuff for me this year. I'm going to bat like I used to hit at Chattanooga. I'm the kind of a hitter who waits till the last mo- ment and then swings. When I'm going good my drives go either through the box or loop to left field. I'm no power hitter and I'm not going to kid myself. “What's that? Maybe I'll hit .350 some year? Well, you know I've al- ways wanted to do that—ever since I came up to Washington. And I sort of feel T'll do it one of these years.” Myer, Bluege Are Ailing. 'HE infield of Kuhel, Mihalic, Travis and Lewis held for this steadily. There was nobody breaking into the drill, except where the catcher was concerned, and reason is that Ossie Bluege and Buddy Myer are on the shelf. Myer came up with a stiff neck the other day and can do nething except run around the park. He isn't taking part in the batting drills and isn't flelding. Day by day he becomes more of a worry to the club. Everybody seems to be impatient for Buddy to throw off the wraps except Buddy himself, Bluege owns the first legitimate sore arm of the training season. That has eliminated him from drills and be- tween Ossie's arm and Buddy’s neck She intra-squad game listed for tomor- row may not be played. Harris needs more inflelders for the “second team” and rather than make a joke contest he prefers not to play at all. That, in the opinion of players, is & real pain in the neck. last | Ben Chapman, National out- fielder, who has served warn- ing that he intends to lead the league in base stealing, gives the “low down” on the art. He's just getting up steam here. PRYSICAL EXAMS Averill's Holdout Werrying Tribe—Bees’ Hurlers Are Well Advanced. | By the Associated Press. | INTER HAVEN, Fla.—The new home plate with bev- eled edges, to be used in the | National League this sea- | son, was installed at the Denison | Field training base of the Philadel- phia National Leaguers. An innovation for the Phillies, a rigid physical examination of all play- ers, was started yesterday. MEXICO CITY.—The Philadelphia Am]etics favor substituting Mexican pitching for the brand they expect 4n | the American League this season. The Mackmen, in two games, walloped na- | tive pitchers’ offerings for 45 hits and 36 runs in shellacking the Agrarians, |18 to 1 and 18 to 3. CATALINA ISLAND, Calif—Man- ager Charlie Grimm of the Cubs had | | his first look at Rookie Outfielder Joe Marty and expressed pleasure over his batting style and evident power. HAVANA—If the Giants' Spring training exhibitions are any indication, | the National League champions are | going to have the same old trouble | this year: no hitting. In seven games against Cuban opposition they” ve scored only 21 runs, and yesterday | collected only five hits in a 12-in- ning tie. Mungo in Good Mood. ‘CLEARWA’I‘ER Fla—Van Lingle Mungo, satisfied with a Brooklyn | Dodger contract at $15,000 salary, figures he’ll win 23 games this year. | The fireball right-hander ended his hold-out when the club met his terms yesterday, leaving only First Sacker Buddy Hassett out of the fold. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—Old Pat Malone, the investment that paid divi- dends to Manager Joe McCarthy, will be back at the old stand as relief hurler No. 1 for the Yankees this year. He pitched three innings of hitless, runless ball for the ‘“regulars” in the first intra-squad game yester- | day. TAMPA, Fla—General Manager | Warren C. Giles of the Cincinnati Reds said today he had wired the club’s “final offer” to Holdout Hurler . Don Brennan. SAN ANTONIO, Tex.—Pitchers may cause most of the worry the Browns will give Manager Rogers Hornsby during the remainder of the training seasorr The Rajah sent eight hope- fuls to the San Antonio Missions, No. 1 Brown farm. Averill’s Holdout Hurts. NEW ORLEANS.—Manager Steve O'Neill viewed with growing alarm today the absence from camp of Earl Averill, Cleveland Indians outfielder, who has been busy waging a holdout campaign. LAKELAND, Fla.—Mickey Coch- rane, despite his own admission that he will not play the full season, is un- worried over the Detroit Tigers’ catch- ing. Of George Tebbetts, comparative newcomer who was with the team last year, Cochrane said: “He’ll be one of the great catchers of base ball.” Hes also has Ray Hayworth and Rookie Mike Kresh. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.—The Bos- ton Bees’ pitchers appear so far ahead of the club’s hitters that Manager Bill McKechnie canceled today’s scrub game for a long batting drill. SARASOTA, Fla.—The reports of Bobby Doerr’s progress appear to have disturbed Ossie Melillo, for that vet- eran Red Socker arrived four days ahead of the deadline and today NOW GIVEN PHILS Gettlng Ahead—Feet First Sports Mirror By the Associated Press. Today a year ago—Henry Picard and Johnny Revolta retained Miami four-ball golf honors, de- feating Gene Sarazen and Johnny Hines, 4 and 2. ‘Three years ago—Equipoise to return to races at Havre de Grace, seeking all-time money record. Five years ago—Henry Brock- smith, Indiana, ran mile in 4:1215 and 2 miles in#:18%5 in Big Ten meet. {LOUIS KNOCKS OUT TWO DENVER, March 12 (#).—Joe Louis knocked out two opponents here last night during a four-round exhibition. | Louis was awarded a knockout over Seal Harris, paunchy, 260-pound Chi- cago Negro, after a minute of the sec- ond round. Louis then took on Eddie Mel- | chrome, a sparring partner, flattening i hlm early in the second round. FRIDAY, Hooking the pillow in proper style. -—gPict.tres by Elwood Baker, Star Staff. + Diz Might Match Base Ball Pay by Pitching- Coins BY EDDIE BRIETZ, Associated Press Sports Writer. T. PETERSBURG, Fla., March 12.—On the way to Daytona Beach to talk things over with the Cards yesterday, Dizzy Dean stopped off at the fill- ing station at Bradenton and in 15 minutes won $8 pitching quarters with the boys . . . “Looks like I can pick up that $50,000 per year right here at home,” commented Dizzy as he pocketed the dough. Loneliest training camp in Florida is Detroit’s because of L) Mickey Cochrane’s “no wives al- " edict . . . You should have seen the almost bald head of Gen- eral Manager Warren C. Giles after he had celebrated his first day in the Cincinnati camp by sitting in the bleachers throughout the Reds’ first nine-inning practice game. ‘The Yankees haven't given up on . Lou Gehrig yet . . . They recall the last time Lou was a hold-out, - he and Col. Ruppert rode South on the same train . . . Not a word has been heard here from Joe Di Maggio . . . Base ball men, who ] can't imagine a Yankee exhibition tour through the South and South- west without Gehrig to draw the customers, believe Lou will get his $40,000 if he waits long enough, but one and all say Col. Ruppert is Just stubborn to let Di Maggio sit at home a year before paying the $25,000 he demands . . . In the meantime, the camp awaits the Ruppert arrival, now set for Sun- day. Jimmy Hamilton of Nashville predicts Cincinnati will win the pennant in two years . . . “If S X Dressen was a foot ball coach,” said Hamilton, “you would say he has ‘eth three deep” . . . Casey Stengel still kéeps in touch with his major league friends and writes that his ears are just as big as ever . . . With Sammy Byrd out of the way, Jack Salveson of the Senators, who averages in the low 170’s, will the base ball golfing unfi o 5o 'THE Paul Waner lout begins eo look Everyl to be the real thiing body down here says Maj. Bob Neye land’s Tennessee foot ball team will be Joaded for bear this season. Star MARCH 12, 1937. Classified Ads PAGE D—I Phils Appear Doomed to Cellar "POPPIN( OFF" Nian" 3 Added Spring Training Starter. IRDDLED BY SALES, TALENT IS SCARGE 25 in Squad, Gleaned From Countryside, Not Even on Club Roster. (This is another of a series on fmajor league pennant prospects.) BY PAUL MICKELSON, Associated Press Bports Writer. INTER HAVEN, Fla., March 12. —The old hard truth about the Philadelphia Phillies is that they’ll be miracle men to stay out of the Na- tional League cellar in 1937. Riddled by player sales, which have netted $350,000 in cash and no player talent over the last three years, the Phillies haven't much to work on ex- cept for Player-Manager Jimmy Wil- son and a couple of pitchers. The | outlook is darker than dark. Wilson, who bragged about a great pitching staff last Spring and then was criticized by Owner Gerald Nu- gent when the mound staff bogged down during the season, is back shout- ing praises of his hurlers again this year. He thinks he’ll have a pitching staff second to none with Claude Pas- sau and Bucky Walter his mainstays. Men must be developed for infleld and outfield duty, but no one with the complexion of a good, reliable major leaguer of first-rate caliber can be found around the camp; of course, it's early, and a few finds may be un-| covered, but good ball players are | shaken off the tree early. Needed Southpaw Badly. HILADELPHIA'S pitching weak- | ness last season, when the hap-‘ less club dropped to the cellar, ap- | parently has been patched up with tne acquisition of two southpaw pitchers— Bob Burke, who once pitched a no-hit | game for Washington, and Wayne La‘ Master, winner of 13 games for Louis- | ville in '36. “If we'd had one decent | left-hander last season, we'd have | won at least 15 more games,” de- ' clared Manager Wilson, The rest of the pitching staff un- doubtedly will consist af Orville Jor= gens, Joe Bowman: and Hugh Mul- cahy, a rookie who won 25 at Hazle- ton of the New York-Pennsylvania League. Wilson is high particularly | on Mulcahy, a big fellow with a lot of zip on the hide. Dolph Camilli, at present a member of the holdout union, and Pink Whit= ney have first and third base, respec tively, clinched. Del Young, up from | Oklahoma City, and Bill Andrus, re- cruit from Little Rock, are battling | it out for second, with George Charein, | purchased from Nashville, hot candi- | date for shortstop post. Leo Norris, | who didn’t satisfy Wilson as a fielder around short last year, also may get a | chance at second. | Digs Deep for Prospects. THE outflield is set with familiar | faces who can hit but who aren't | exactly famous fly hawks. Chuck | Klein and Johnny Moore have two | garden spots set, while Morris Arnoe vich; Hershel Martin, a fine-looking rookie from Houston, or the fleet- footed Fred Tauby of Dallas are out for the third outfield job. Wilson is trying a new stunt this Spring, and it may produce some- thing. Instead of loafing and soaking up Florida's sunshine for the last month, Jimmy bought himself a spy- glass and began combing the countrye side for young, willing fellows who wouldn’t mind paying their expenses to camp for a tryout. Right now he's got about 25 of them—none of them on the club roster—and Jimmy's hop- ing he might discover at least a couple of prospects for development. But if exceptional good breaks don’t come Jimmy's way the National League pennant contenders are pret- ty sure to find Philadelphia a real | city of brotherly love next Summer. | MORE CLASS SOU SOUGHT FOR TENPIN TOURNEY Event of $300,000 Entry Type With 2,000 Select Teams Planned for A. B. C, BY the Associated Press. EW YORK, March 12.—The all- time-high entry list and prize money for the current American Bowling Congress’ annual champion- ships have given officials ideas about making the event in future a $300,000 affair without the top-heavy num- ber of performers. William H. Pollack of Buffalo, N. Y., former A. B. C. president, explained the possibilities today in disclosing an amendment he plans to propose at the annual convention of the A. B. C. spril 2. “It is my opinion,” he said, “that with the increased entry fee and the prize money thus doubled we would build up a tournament of upward of 2,000 teams—all in regular competi- tion. We would have an entry fee of approximately $300,000 and could make our annual tournament more attractive to teams from coast to coast. ‘Elimination of a good portion of the so-called ‘booster’ teams and plac- ing only the better teams in the meet would tend to increase attendance and place the A. B. C. in real cham- pionship class.” CASEYS GARNER TITLE Roosevelt Center Champs Will Play in City Series. Roosevelt Community Center will be représented by the Knights of Colum- bus courtmen in the city-wide play-off series between basket ball champions of the various centers starting tomor- row night. The Caseys won the title of the Roosevelt Center last night with a 35-32 victory over F. A. A, who had won_ the first half of the Rdosevelt Community Center League. "A‘:coflu spree, which netted 12 point & TOW st the start of. the second- half, clinched the verdict for K. of O. The Sports Program 1 Fans Basket Ball. Catholic University vs. American University, Catholic U; gym, 8:15. TOMORROW. Basket Ball. Georgetown vs.,Penn State, Tech High gym, 8:30. Track. Georgetown in I. C. A. A. A. A. meet, New York. Swimming. Interhigh championships, Y. M. C. A. pool, 2:30. first half had ended in & 11-11 He. [§ CARDS PREPARING TO LET DIZ RETIRE. Pitcher Avers He’s Going Into Other Business as Pay Parley Fails. By the Associated Press. will prepare to go through the season without Dizzy Dean, Sam Breadon, president of the club, announced after a series of con- tract conferences yesterday failed to AYTONA BEACH, Fla, March | D 12.—The St. Louis Cardinals shake the pitcher's demand for a | $50,000 salary. As he left for his Bradenton, Fla., | home, Dean declared he was retiring from base ball and entering other business. Hints of Compromise. READON said he had offered Dean a salary equal to last year's $22,- 500, with a “little more money” to be added if certain contract clauses were elminated higher pay if home attendance reached 500000 and if the Cards won the pennant. “Old Diz” hinted he might think of some sort of compromise, if the com- promise figure were a big one. but Breadon said there would be no com- Ppromise. “If he retires we'll have to get along without him and we'll prepare to do 50,” he declared. BASKET BATTLE CLOSE. Only 3 points separated the Amer- ican and National League basket ball champions at the end of their game in the Southeast Community Center last night, Merrick Boys’ Club, the National | champs, downing Clarke's Service Sta- tion, 30-27. These clauses promised | Bpecial Dispatch to The Btar, ORLANDO Fla., March 12—A muscles takes workouts with “Rookie” and the man laughs, tall, heavy-set man with foot ball leg the Nationals every day and even has Shanty Hogan whipped when it comes to pointing to a loss of weight. Clark Griffith, sitting in one of the dugouts at Tinker Field, calls him leaving an impression that he wished he could be one of the Washington players and not merely one of the more prom- ising American League umpires. Lou Kolls 1s the ump drawn by the Washingtons this year, which is the second Spring in which Will Harridge has seen fit to condone his men in blue along with the ball players. The idea is to give umpires time to sharpen their eyes in exhibition games, kcts they carry worklng out with all the zeal of a rookie from Chattanooga and melting away excess poundage. “I weighed 222 when I left home a | | week ago,” he explains. “Now I weigh 1203 and I'm still going down. This Spring training for umpires is great stuff.” . Maybe you don’t recall Kolls readily. T suppose the act for which he is most famous in Washington was the time when he sent a couple of Maj. Brown's cops into the right-field grandstand for a bottle-thrower. The Washing- | tons were playing a tight game with | the White Sox and Kolls made a deci- | sion at first base that was close. And in favor of the Sox. | A “coke” bottle whizzed out of the stands and landed a few feet from Lou. The crowd was large and it was angry, but Lou dauntlessly dispatched coppers to apprehend the bottle-throw- er and for a moment the situa- tion was tense. Griff later sent a fiery letter to Har- | ridge claiming that Kolls might have started a riot by his action. | Umps Must Have Ego. I\OLIS laughed as he reminisced. He then turned serious and said: “I still think I was right. I've um- pired in the American League for four vears now and I still am satisfied that I haven't missed a play on the bases. Gosh knows I've missed balls and strikes, but I maintain that on the bases I think I've been perfect. Lou was conscious of the impres- sion he made when he spoke. “It sounds like A-1 egotism, I know, but somehow that becomes a part of an | umpire’s armor. “We're not as bad off the field as we seem to be on. It's just that it's necessary to have con- fidence in yourself when you're umpiring.” Kolls has an interesting view on | base ball . . . The kind of a view the average fan doesn’t get. He is an officer of the league’s law and | realizes it, whereas the customer anc to Lou Kolls has taken both items senousl; minor league catcher, but he 1s shave some of the breadbas- At best he was doesn’t. For the sake of background, though let’s skim over his career., Sought as Pro Boxer. OU KOLLS was a professional athe lete at the age of 13. He was in grammar school then, a tall stringy kid who weighed only 117. Tough a8 a nut, however, he was subsidized by the town high school and his mother was paid money for her son's services on the foot ball team. His mother was chiefly de- pendent on Lou, who took to boxing for extra money. Un- beknown to his mother he fought 14 times as a professional and under the name of Red Cole. Finally he was matched with one Steve McGinley. “That was the worst beating I ever | got,” he said. “McGinley hit me with | everything in the arena but somehow I stayed 12 rounds and in the end they called it a draw. It was a terri=- ble decision. “I got $35 for the fight and it cost me $85 to get my face fixed up. My mother, of course, tock one look at me and the secret was out. I couldn't figure how I was making any money, anyway, so I quit the racket.” Kolls turned to foot ball, then, and toured the country as a pro. He played center and one of the backfield men was a stumblebum named Jim Thorpe. “I begged Jim to move to tackle when he reached 41 or 42 years oid,” related Lou, “but the big Indian said he had to carry the ball or not play at all. So that was that.” Has Ideas of His Own. FRD\( foot ball he turned his atten- tion to base ball. He played in the | Three-Eye League and in the Western 1League but his arm was bad and he | dropped out to take up umpiring. This was all after he got out of the Army. He was a front-line “runner” in France. In 1925 he started umpiring in the Mississippi Valley League. From there he went to the Western and then to " (See POPPING OFF, Page TRI-WEARS for Spring— Smart as Esquire—Fine as master craftsmen can make—Witness, the ‘“Royal Ace” shown ahove. It’s of black or brown calfskin and but one of a valiant hést of new Spring Tri-Wears . . . including neat Calfskin styles for dress, swanky Buckes for sports, businesslike Norwegians and Cordovans for street wear . . . Each and every one a top value any way Yyou look at it. Most styles________._ 5 .75 14th & G HAHN S “ThEK e 3212 14th