SUNDAY, JULY 15, 1945
THE MICHIGAN DAILY
PACE TnUEE
SUNDAY, JULY 15, 1945 PAGE THREE
.......... ;.
Detroit
Drops
Three - Game
Series
with
Boston
or
=Y
SPOUTS
NEWS + VIEWS + COMMENT
By BILL MULLENDORE, Daily Sports Editor
EDITOR'S NOTE: This column was written by Mary Lu Heath, Sports Night Editor.
WHILE FANDOM AWAITS the recovery of the luckless Brooklyn baseball
spectator who was supposedly set upon by Dodger manager Leo Duro-
cher and a ball park cop in payment of uncalled for insults during a
recent game, we have been considering the question of the rights of both
the fan and ball player in their relations with one another.
Mr. Durocher's participation in the fracas is unfortunate in that it
beclouds the issue. For an assault and battery charge, heaped on past
escapades, is no surprise to the sports world in which "the Lip" has long
been regarded as Peck's Bad Boy. If the manager involved had been
mild Bill McKechnie of the Cincinnati Reds, or equally mild Joe McCarthy
of the Yankees, the arguments on behalf of both combatants would have
been less one-sided.
A few years ago, we had occasion to talk with Mr. Durocher for an
hour or so on umpires and Life in general. He is nobody's fool, and
nowhere near the ruffian he is painted. Let it be known that he has
been to college, that he can broaden his "a's" with the best of them,
and that his manners are admirable. It is our opinion, then, that Mr.
Durocher is something of a charlatan in $150 suits, a man of many
personalities who has an eye for publicity-any kind of publicity, so long
as there is lots of it. It is easy to see, consequently, why sportswriters
and respectable citizens alike read of his implication in the legal
mixup and rubbed their figurative hands together in glee.
We do not mean to defend Mr. Durocher, or any ballplayer who loses
his head over the abuse of a fan, but we would argue that the conduct of the.
average baseball crowd is not above reproach.
AFTER ALL, there is no justification for extreme insults aimed at a ball-
player's character or his family. His personal life is his own; and the
$1.10 or so paid by a fan does not give him the privilege of reviling it.
Criticism of a player's ability on the field is a different matter altogether,
and should be treated with less restraint by the spectator.
For instance, if a Brooklyn fan chooses to call Luis Olmo or Dixie
Walker or Goody Rosen a "Bum" (the present connotation of the term
is "incompetent"), we are certain that the Senor and the Messrs. Olmo,
Walker, and Rosen would be able to laugh it off. But we would not
expect the worthy gentlemen to laugh it off if the fans chanced to call
their families by scurrilous names.
The. players are paid to play ball; the fans pay to see the players play
ball and to criticize their playing; the players' responsibility to the fans and
the fans' demands 'on the players should stop right there.
In the past, the fans have been ugliest in the midst of a" pop bottle
or ripe fruit epidemic.. Brooklyn moralist Walter Lanier (Red) Barber
recently stated that there was "nothing lower than throwing a pop
bottle-nossir, nothing lower!" Although we do not agree with every-
THEY'RE IN EARNEST:
,d.
List of Potential Starters Cut
In Second Week of Drills
With the opening game of the
season against Great Lakes nine
weeks away, Head. Coach "Fritz"
Crisler has prescribed work and more
work for his football charges since
practice started.
When the current five-week ses-
sion began two weeks ago, Crisler an-
nounced that conditioning drills
would be the order of the day during
the early weeks. These drills, how-
ever, have turned into daily gruelling
scrimmages. Throughout the first
week of practice, the boys were run
through conditioning drills, dummy
work, and light contact drills. Offen-
sive tactics were also stressed with
the running off of basic line plays
and passing plays.
Blues vs. Whites
As the second week rolled around,
the drills became rougher and tough-
er and scrimmages came into the pic-
ture. Hard work is on tap for the
team and rightly so, because Michi-
gan's 1945 gridiron schedule is go-
ing to be among the toughest in the
school's history. The squad has been
divided into a Blue team, which will
probably comprise the varsity, and a
White squad, which will-be the junior
varsity under Coach Art Valpey.
Crisler stated that no positions
have been clinched yet, but that he
has narrowed the list down to three
or four men for each position and is
devoting his time to these prospects.
"This squad is big enough," he says,
"but it's mostly green and inexperi-
enced. Simulated game conditions
seem the only way to incorporate
needed experience within the funda-
mentals we must teach before Great
Lakes comes here to open our sched-
ule on September 15."
The quarterback post is ably filled
by Capt. Joe Ponsetto, letterman.
Howard Yerges, Russ Reader, and
Bill Redmond. Letterman Warren
Bentz, varsity pole vaulter, sprinter
Henry Fonde, Walt Taninga, and
Pete Elliot have been sharing the
halfback duties while fullback pros-
pects include Jim Foltz, George Chi-,
ames, and Dan Dworsky.
Field Narrows
In the forward wall, holdover Har-
old Watts has been holding down the
center spot, letterman John Lintol
has been shifted from the pivot post
to tackle. End candidates are Bob
Mann, Ed Bahlow, Don Hershberger,
Ed McNeil, and Al Wahl. Dom To-
masi, the Michigan nine's regular
second baseman, Bob Callahan, for-
mer Missouri center, and Stu Wil-
kins are aspirants to guard berths
while other leading tackle prospects
are Gene Hinton and George John-
son.
ail
-I
Major League StandingsI
1
_1
AMERICAN LEAGUE
Did you know?
By Herbert Ruskin
That in only seven of 48 years
of Big Ten football has the cham-
pionship squad failed to win without
losing a game. The lowest winning
percentages occurred ins1928 and
1938. In 1928, Illinois won four
and lost one, while in 1938, Minne-
sota had the same record.
That since it entered into the
Western Conference, Michigan's foot-
ball teams have won 14 titles in the
37 years it has been a member.
. . . That, although Ken Doherty,
Michigan track coach, failed to win
a track letter in high school, he
came within nine points of setting
a world's record in the Olympic
Games Decathlon events in the
1928 games, which were held in
Amsterdam, Holland. He attended
what is now Wayne University in
Detroit, where he competed in the
shot put, discus, javelin, high jump,
broad jump, hurdles, and pole vault.
. That Herbert O. "Fritz" Crisler,
head Michigan football coach, once
held a similar position at Minnesota.
After Minnesota, he went to Prince-
ton, where he stayed until 1937, leav-
ing with a record of 35 won and nine
lost. Beginning with the 1938 seas-
on, Crisler assumed his present posi-
tion with the Maize and Blue.
That the ost Field House,
dedicated in 1923, is one of the
largest buildings in the nation de-
voted exclusively to intercollegiate
athletics. It contains, among other
things, a complete laundry, a shoe
repair shop, and an equipment
room that bears a strong resem-
blance to a sporting goods store.
Pavot Wayr behind
In Aqueduct Upset
NEW YORK, July 14-UP)-In one
of the biggest turf upsets of the year,
Wildlife won the $50,000-added Dwy-
er stakes at Aqueduct today as
Pavot, the 4 to 5 favorite, finished
last, nearly 30 lengths behind the
winner.
A crowd of 38,964 saw J. M. Roeb-
ling's three-year-old, winner of the
Shevlin on Tuesday, get up in the
final stride to beat W. L. Brann's
Gallorette by a head and William
Ziegler's Esteem by half a length in
a photo finish.
Ten lengths behind, in fourth and
fifth places, came William Helis' en-
try of Rick's Raft and Pindus.
Mueller Relieved
in Seventh Frame
By The Associated Press
BOSTON, July 14-The Boston Red
Sox swept their three-game series
with the League leaders today, taking
the Detroit Tigers, 7 to 1, as pitcher
Emmett O'Neil allowed but three
hits.
It was a strange game that O'Neil
pitched. He allowed but one hit in
the first seven innings, but he walked
ten men and was in trouble much of
the time.
The Tigers' only run was in the
ninth. Jimmy Outlaw walked, Ted
Maier doubled and Bob Swift walk-
ed; then Outlaw scored when Hub
Walker grounded out to Skeeter New-
some.
The Sox' first run was in the first
inning with two out when George
Metkovich walked and came home on
Bob Johnson's double.
Johnson's 11th homer of the seas-
on started off a three-run fourth in-
Bomber Comes Home
DETROIT, July 13-(AP)-Sgt. Joe
Louis, home on a 20-day furlough,
spiked rumors today that an Army
discharge was imminent.
The heavyweight boxing champion
said he would return to Camp
Shanks, N. Y., after his furlough was
over. He said he also planned to at-
tend the Tam O'Shanter golf tourna-
ment July 23 at Chicago.
ning. Then Dolph Camilli walked
and after Johnny Lazor and New-
some went out, Bob Garbark was hit
by a pitched ball. Camilli and Gar-
bark scored on Eddie Lake's single.
After the Sox brought in a run in
the seventh Les Mueller left the
game and in the eighth the Sox col-
lected two runs off Walter Wilson.
In the eighth Garbark walked,
O'Neil singled and Lake beat *out
a bunt. Garbark scdred on Tobin's
fly and O'Neil came in on Metko-
vich's fly.,
Detroit ...........000 000 001-1
Boston . ............100 300 12x-7
Byrd, TNelson t
Play in PGA
Finals Today
DAYTON, O., July 14-(/P)-Sam
Byrd, the baseball man from Geor-
gia, and Byron Nelson of Toledo,
who has shaved 31 strokes off par in
171 holes this week, will do the
shooting tomorrow at the Moraine
Country Club for golf's biggest pro-
fessional prize-the PGA champion-
ship.
Byrd, who quit playing baseball in
1936 to become a golf pro and now
operates out of Redford, Mich., carv-
ed out his second straight seven and
six victory as he blasted dark horse
Clarence Doser of Hartside, N. Y.,
out of competition in today's 36
hole semi-finals.
O'Neil Twirls 7-1 Win;
Allows OnlyThree Hits
TEAMS
Detroit ...
Washingto
New York
Boston ..
Chicago
Cleveland
St. Louis.
Philadelph
NAT
TEAMS
Chicago
St. Louis
Brooklyn
New York
Pittsburgh
Boston ..
Cincinnati
Philadelph
W L Pet.
.........43 31 .581
. ......40 32 .556
........40 35 .533
.........40 35 .533
.........39 38 .506
........35 38 .479
.........35 38 .479
.a ......25 50 .333
PIONAL LEAGUE
W L Pct.
.........45 29 .608
.........44 32 .579
.........44 33 .571
.........42 38 .525
. ..... :39 37 .513
.........37 39 .487
i. .........35 38 .479
ia . ... 21 61 .225
GB
2
31/
3V2
51/
7'/
71/2
18
GB
2
2z
6
7
9
9
28
lh
thing the sage of Flatbush says, we
"KEEP A-HEAD
OF YOUR HAIR"
We specialize in "Personality"
and crew hair styles, scalp treat-
ments and facials. We welcome
your Tonsorial Queries!!,
THE DASCOLA BARBERS 4
Between State and Michigan
Theatres
are inclined to concur here. Not
only is the pastime ethically ques-
tionable, but it is also dangerous to
the player. .Injuries are not un-
likely, and. we, shudder to think of
the consequences that would re-
sult if anyone should invent a sup-
er duper robot-bottle.
The mutual regard of fans and
players, in short, would be strength-
ened immeasurably if they were to
exercise more discrimination in the
field of ball park etiquette.
IT WASN'T EASY;
Pete Gray Wins Major League
Assignient After Uphill Fight
JEWELED BADGES
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BURR PATTERSON & AULD COMPANY
Fraternity Jewelers at Michigan
1209 SOUTH UNIVERSITY RUTH ANN OAKES, Mgr.
Summer Store Hours: 10 to 5 Monday thru Friday
III I
I
By SY LICHTER
Baseball history is being made to-
day, and the man who is doing it is
St. Louis's one armed outfielder, Pete
Gray.
Gray was like any other kid back
in his home town of Nanticoke, Pen-
nsylvania until he decided to steal
a ride on the side of a car that was
going past his home. There was a
lurch, and he reached out to support
himself with the spinning spokes of
the car wheel. In a matter of hours
his mangled right arm was ampu-
tated.
With the little spending money
he got, he hired two boys to go
out and collect sacks of stones for
him so he could practice throwing
with his left hand. In a matter of
weeks, he could throw better than
any kid in his town. Then le went
out for the "Hanover Pitt" team,
later to become its most valuable
player.
He sent Mel Ott, a big league man-
ager, a letter asking for a tryout,
and Ott replied that if he was ever
in Florida he should look him up.
Gray did this, but when Ott saw him
he said that it was hard enough for a
player with two arms to make good
in the big leagues.
One day, unknown to Gray, a scout
saw him play. This scout wired the
manager of the Three Rivers club in
Canada about the slim left hander,
and the manager invited him to play
for his team. When he arrived, the
very surprised manager was about to
send him back, but one of his out-
fielders took sick, so he started that
afternoon. With the bases loaded he
came to bat and hit the ball prac-
tically half way across Canada.
His next stop was with the
Southern Association's Memphis
team. He led the league with 68
stolen bases. He hit five home
runs. His fielding was practically
flawless. He was easily the spark
that sent the Memphis team to the
first half championship, and kept
them in the running for the second
half. And he was voted the most
valuable player in the league.
Pete Gray's refusal to accept what
appeared to be certain defeat in a
popular game shows just one exam-
ple of the stamina that makes him
the miracle man in baseball. Even
though he is one-armed, his playing
in the Southern Association was one
of the outstanding events of minor
league baseball in 1944. It brought
him a contract with the major
leagues-and today he is playing in a
St. Louis Brown uniform.
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