Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 11 April 1939 — Page 12
By Eddie Ash
REVIEWING A. A’S HIGHLIGHTS AND THE LOWLIGHTS AS WELL
"Indianapolis Times Sports
lations with
EAGUE history, high spots and low, are always interesting fan fodder just before the curtain goes up to usher in a new season . . . so let's go down through the American Association years. The A. A. was set in motion in 1902 and is about to hop off on its 38th campaign. . . . Veteran fans probably will recall many of the unusual items that the loop “book” contains, although the average baseball follower soon forgets and starts looking ahead for something “new”
to occur.
On May 18 and 19, 1932, the Kansas City club went 16 2-3 innings against St. Paul pitching without getting a hit. . . . Bryan Harriss didn’t give the Blues a hit on May 18 and on the next day Russell Van Atta held the Blues hitless until after two were out in the eighth inning. Maybe that one will encourage the. Indians Thursday. Kansas City has been a no-hit victim six times . . . 1908, 1910, 1920, 1932, 1932 again, 1933. Maybe were trying to give Current Manager Meyer a severe headache. On Sept. 12, 1915, Dave Danforth of Louisville struck out 18 Blues for the league record. Maybe this one will make the K. C. youngsters dizzy out there in the opener.
Now They Know Something
N April 11, 1912, Kansas City and Columbus played an entire game with one ball. . . . Boy. what thrift! . . . But that was before the fans learned how to snatch fouls. On June 4, 5, 6 and 7, 1912, the Minneapolis club stole 28 bases in four games. . . . The G-Men had not yet entered the picture. . .. In 1911 Toledo did not win a game on the Minneapolis grounds. . . The Millers were that stingy and closed the gates of mercy. On July 13, 1913, Baskette of Toledo pitched a no-hit game against Minneapolis but lost, 1 to 0. . . . One more reason why the Millers belonged in the hoosegow. In 1905 Columbus ended the season by shutting out Louisville four times in three straight days. . . . Not even mint juleps could save the Colonels. In 1908 Rube Marquard of Indianapolis in six consecutive times out got four shutouts. , . . Three of the games were two-hit affairs; two were three-hitters and one a four-hitter, an average of less than three hits a game. . . . He fanned 40 men and allowed only two runs. But the Rube doesn't live here any more.
Pitched a No-Hitter, Too
r 1908 when Marquard established a league record for low-hit games in a season, he had 18 contests under five hits as follows: Six four-hitters, six three-hitters, three two-hitters, two" one-hitters and one no-hit contest. But there wasn’t any chip off the old block in his case. Otto Bluege of Milwaukee walked five times in succession on May 10, 1937. .. . Hit the jackpot, no less. First 10 batters of Indianapolis to go to bat in 10th inning of sec-_ ond game on Aug. 27, 1933, hit safely. That's a warning to the Biues not to force the Redskins to go extra innings to beat them Thursday.
= 2 = ® =
Since the Kentucky Derby was first run, 28 bays, 21 chestnuts, 11 browns and four blacks have won it.
2
= 2 =» » 2
Joe Louis and Joe Roper mix in that World's Fair heavyweight championshipb bout on the California Coast next week. . . . And theyre charging the customers to get in!
4 = = = #” 2
Frank Makosky, star relief hurler, is back with the Blues. . . . He helped them win the Little World Series last fall.
. uo" n> 4 6
Kansas City’s Joe Vance, who is scheduled to open against Indianapolis Thursday. is a sinker ball thrower . .. and his delivery is tough to hit for distance.
PAGE 12
Blues, Tanned and Tuned, Arrive
Vince DiMaggio, Yankee Joe’s
ing back to the majors. A brilliant
Joe Williams—
NEW YORK, April 11.—-Reams of copy have come out of the South about Zeke Bonura, the new Giants’ first baseman. You'd think he had just made his debut as a big leaguer, and had shown the critics something they had never seen before.
The fact is, of course, he is pretty well established as a big leaguer, having performed in the American League for some several semesters. The Giants picked him up on the way down. Nobody seemed to want him very badly in the younger league. : When a player who has been around long enough for the various managers to get a full look at him, and is waived out of a league there is usually a good, substantial reason. Why then has Mr. Bonura become a headline figure with the Giants before he has played a single game in the National League? The answer seems to be that the critics are pleasantly surprised. Mr. Bonura has what is known as color, and color makes for good copy. Mr. Bonura appears to be distinctly an individualist and unlike most individualists he is blessed with a warm, generous, jovial nature. ye fact that he can hit a baseball violently is an added recommendaon You've got to talk to Mr. Bonura to appreciate his magnetism. Somehow you like him just by looking at him. He enjoys every minute of the game, for he has a genuine zest for playing.
“I Can’t Believe It”
HENEVER a ball gets away from him—which happened too i often in the American League for his own good and his managers peace of mind—Mr. Bonura manages to i00k naively surprised, as though he can’t figure out how it happened; and when he strikes out he comes back to the bench dolefully shaking his head. His Janina em to shriek: “Incredible! That never happened to me ore.” It takes a bit of double checking to converse with the gentleman. He wouldn't deliberately lead you astray but his stories don’t always Jibe with facts. That's not because Mr. Bonura is an alibi artist but merely that he lives in a dream world of his own. True, there are times when facts disturb him somewhat but he has a convenient and comforting panacea for this; his theory is that if yeu pretend something isn’t there it will obligingly go away by itself. There is the matter of his fielding, for instance. You know how he is rated in baseball. of course—"“good hit, no field.” But Mr. Bonura is certain he is an excellent fielder. He dismisses the indictment against him as a vicious legend. Jimmy Dykes and Lew Fonseca of the White Sox started it all. They were jealous and didn’t want him to think he was good. And Mr. Bonura beiieves every word of this. It makes no nevermind to him that practically everybody else in baseball considers his fielding something less than perfect. They are prejudiced, or they happened to see him on an off day. Stories from the South indicate the Giants’ master minds have improved Mr. Bonura's fielding. This is interesting if true. But it makes vou wonder why the American League master minds didn't try to do the same thing. There must be some people in that league who know something about fielding, too.
Double-Crossed by An Old Friend
R. Bonura's last stop in the American League was Washington. His manager there was Bucky Harris. Some years before Mr. Harris managed the Tigers. His first baseman then was one Dale Alexander. . . . “I always said Alexander was the worst first baseman I ever saw,” said Mr. Harris, “and then I got a load of old Zeke.” We have yet to hear a single neutral say anything complimentary about Mr. Bonura's fielding, and by the same token we have yet to hear anybody, neutral or otherwise, say anything but nice things about him as a person and a personality. There is one play at first base Mr. Bonura likes to make and can make with the best. That's taking a swift peg from the catcher and trapping the runner off the bag. This is one signal he never misses. So far as he is concerned all other signals are just so much tripe. Year before last he was with the White Sox and Luke Sewell was the catcher. They worked the play well. It seems the signal wasreasonably simple. Well, last year the White Sox were playing Washington and by now Mr. Bonura was with Washington. In this particular game he was on first. Sewell flashed the signal—the same one he had used with Mr. Bonura in previous years—and trapped him off first. “And you call that friendship,” moaned Mr. Bonura as he walked dejectedly to the bench.
Cameras Are Judges for Swimming Title Events
DETROIT, April 11 (U.
_ races in the Detroit Athletic Club's style and 300-yard invitational swimming meet. ley events. The re D. AS officials “said Jat t{reserve their d
individual
OT
P.).—A been filmed to determine the wincamera will be the final judge hereners. The camera will catch the Saturday night in picking the win- end of the relays and the women’s ners for national championship {National A. A. U. 100-yard freemed-
Tribe Nears End of Trail
Starts Trip Home Today; Downs Lookouts, 6-4.
Times Special CHATTANOOGA, April 11. Rained out of its final game here today with the Chattanooga Lookouts, the Indianapolis baseball team was to leave at 1:30 p. m. for the Hoosier capital and Perry Stadium. By trouncing the Lookouts vesterday. 6 to 4, the Redskins made it an even dozen victories against only five setbacks while engaged in Dixieland exhibition contests. The Indians are due to arrive in Indianapolis at 10:20 a. m. tomorrow. They will open at Perry Stadium Thursday against the Kansas City Blues.
Four Runs in Seventh
The Hoosiers put across a “big” inning in the seventh yesterday, scored four runs and defended the advantage but not without a scare in the ninth. John Niggeling worked five stanzas on the Tribe firing line and held Chattanooga to two hits. Red Barrett, recently of the Cincinnati Reds, was unveiled as an Indian in the sixth and was touched for seven blows in four rounds. Indianapolis’ leading sticker was Catcher Bill Lewis who collected two singles and a triple. Jesse Newman also smacked a triple and Pete Chapman a double. The Tribe hit total was 10. Yesterday's box score:
INDIANAPOLIS R
McCormick, Chapman,
al cosoomcssw — S| coooswr met on | OOWWOIB WII ND( pr wl orvwosuvmmm~cor ommososcocoo
Totals 7 2 xRan for W. Lewis in the eighth.
CHATTANOOGA
>
od pr
COON D3)
1 X
TOO OD re D © OD NIC tot ot pot pot ps COOHOPRNOOD IP
zLayne
xRan for Lucas in the seventh. zBatted for Smith in the ninth.
Indianapolis 100 010 400—6 Chattanooga 000 100 102—¢
Runs batted in—Lang, Nicholson, Chapman 2, Newman 2, Hitchcock 2, Hooks.
ays—Letchas to cheock Hooks 2. ft_on bases—Chattanooga 8, Indianapolis Base on balls—Off Lucas 2, Niggeling 1, Barrett 2. truck Sut By Lucas 3 Niggeling 2, Smith 2, Barrett 2, Hits—Off Niggeling, 2 in 5 innings; Lucas, 9 in 7. Hit oy pitcher—By Nigge ing_ (Benjamin). Winning pitcher— Niggeling. Bosing pitcher—Lucas, DruDires==HY ge and Chambers. Time—2:05.
LaMaster Resting After Operation
ST. LOUIS, April 11 (U.P) .— Wayne LaMaster, Brooklyn Dodger pitcher, was resting comfortably today from his elbow operation. Dr. Robert J. Hyland, who has performed similar operations on other hurlers, removed a bone chip from
-
judges will |day
Master’s left elbow joint yesterHe LaMaster’s con-
center field for the Kansas City club. He's just down from the Boston Bees and has high hopes of climb-
OOOO
TUESDAY, APRIL 11, 1939
brother, patrols
olis. fielder.
Dozen In
By TOM OCHILTREE
Playing in a gale that would make a New England fisherman reef in sail, a foursome composed of O. E. cummins, Herman Kohlman, George Denny and George Urquhart turned in a best ball score of 65'to win the first pro-amateur meet of |the season at the Fortville Country | Club. | Because of the weather, this event, ‘held yesterday afternoon, attracted only 12 players. The participants seemed to enjoy themselves, however, and before the round was completed they had developed a few new wrinkles to the game such as lining up behind tees to form wind breaks for each other. This system was an actual necessity on some holes to enable the players to keep their balance while driving. On the fairways the boys were on their own and had to lean into the wind, which may explain why some of them had hook and slice trouble.
Two Under Par
Best individual card was turned in by Mr. Cummins, a member of the Fortville club and the Lions Club national champion two years ago. His 68 was two under par and a half dozen strokes better than anyone else in the field was able to do. It was chiefly his stroking which carried his foursome to victory. He was only one over par on one hole and he had birdies on three others. The second-place foursome had a
You know him well. Johnny Riddle, Blues catcher, former Indian and a resident of IndianapHe streamlined his figure while training in Florida and is carrying far less weight than last year.
Linksmen Battle Stiff Winds Pro-Amateur Meet at Fortville
best ball of 67. Its members were Bob Tinder, host pro, R. C. Duke, Bob Lorton and Harry Leive. Bob Hiatt, V. R. McVey, R. K. Stafford and Bert Bruder in the third foresome shot a best ball 73. Since there were only two pros available, Mr. Cummins, an amateur, was given the position ordinarily occupied by a pro on the winning team. The event was on a draw-for-partners basis.
Long Putt Bounces In
At the fifth the winning team was one under par and it increased its advantage throughout the rest of the round. For sheer weirdness, George Denny's play on the third hole would be hard to match. Looking up too soon he foozled his drive and sent it bouncing awkwardly down the fairway for about 100 yards. His second landed in the bottom of a ditch, while his third shot, an excellent recovery under the circumstances, was over the green and about 25 feet from the cup. He rapped his next one a solid blow and it went in the cup on the first bounce to give him a par. Consistency in his approach shots stood Mr. Denny and his team in good stead particularly on the incoming nine, while Mr. Kohlman hit a series of bullet-like drives that enabled him to take short cuts on the dog leg holes even when he had to carry over 150-yards of out-of-bounds regions. After eight straight pars, Mr Cummins birdied the ninth by sink-
Leafs Confident They’ll Cop Cup
TORONTO, Ontario, April 11 (U. |P.).—~The Toronto Maple Leafs were 6-5 favorites today to take the lead in the Stanley Cup playoffs when {then meet the Boston Bruins in the {third game of the best-of-seven [series tonight. The clubs split the opening two {games in Boston. They arrived here {last night, and the Leafs were undaunted that they were still on the short end of 10-9 quotations to take the series. “We've got ’em on the run,” yelled {one Leaf player as they got off the train. “We'll take the next three.” |The two teams have met in four
Leafs have eliminated the Bruins.
Push Organization Of Junior Loops
A baseball league for boys under 16 will be sponsored this season by the Indianapolis Amateur Baseball Association. Another for players from 16 to 21 years old is expected to be organized. These announcements were made at a meeting of the association last night, at which four leagues for adult players were organized and plans made for the forming of two more. Adult leagues organized were the Industrial, Municipal, Big Six and Manufacturers. All are to be sixteam circuits, but openings still exist in the latter three. There also are two openings in the Boys’ League. F. Earl Geider,
association secre-
Florida Race Tracks . Close Rich Season
MIAMI, Fla. April 11 (U. P). — Florida race tracks closed a prosperous season today and final reports disclosed that a new record was set in parimutuel betting during the winter race meets. The State Racing Commission said that total wagering at horse and dog tracks and a jai-alai fronton produced a total of $1,968,598 in revenue for the State from the “take” on bets and admissions and occupational taxes. The total wagered at three horse tracks, one of which ran only five days, 10 dog tracks and the single jai-alai fronton during this season was $55,272,416, compared to $54,047,114 last season.
Nova in Training HOT SPRINGS, Ark. April 11 (U. P.). — Lou Nova, the California heavyweight who meets Max Baer June 1 in the first of the summer outdoor fights, began a two weeks preliminary training period here today. He will take the mineral water baths along with light workouts.
T OB A (
One pipeful will tell you more about real good taste than a thousand words. Just try the big
green tin for |5¢!
chain. Manager Meyer believes the lad will come through in a big way and come close to filling the shoes of Eddie Miller, Kansas City’s 1938 star who was promoted to the Boston Nationals.
ing a 35-foot putt—the longest one made in the tourney. His card and the best ball of his foursome follows: Par—Out In Cummins—Out ...
Best Ball—Out ..3-3
Keynote of the affair was struck by the player faced with a 200-yard approach on the fourth hole, who declared: “They way this wind is blowing in my face, I need a French 75 here rather than a spoon.”
or |
Marshall-Roche (vo Tops Mat Bill
The meeting of Everett Marshall, 222, La Junta, Colo, and Dorve (Iron Man) Roche, 220, Decatur, Ill, will be the feature attraction for wrestling fans tonight at the Armory. The rival huskies are carded for two falls out of three. Everett and Dorve are “big timers” in the mat industry and their bout
Schedules Boston PHILADELPHIA, April 11 (U. P.)—St.
Joseph's College will inaugurate football re-
Boston College next fall in a
game at Boston, Oct. 6, M. C. McManus, graduate manager of athletics, said today.
Opener.’
Schedule 2 Workouts At Stadium
All Kansas City Players in Good Shape, Manager Meyer Reports.
Sun-tanned and radiating cone fidence, the Kansas City Blues rolled into Indianapolis early today and sounded their trumpets for all to know that they are on deck for the opening-day warfare with the Indians at Perry Stadium Thursday, The Kawtown pastimers come pleted their Florida exhibition schedule on Sunday and beat it here with no stops en route. Manager Bill Meyer planned a dress rehearsal for his athletes at the Tribe's park today and a second and last tune-up session again tomorrow—provided, of course, the turf is firm enough to permit the boys to get in some leg work. The field was dry in spots yesterday but it also was soft in spots and Stadium Superintendent Jack Price wasn’t feeling any too cheerful about the situation. The Blues trained at Haines City and they said the trip was okay and that all hands are in sound physical condition. They split even with the Indians in two practice clashes and naturally are keyed to start the season on the right foot by beating the Hoosiers when it counts. “But I guess Ray Schalk will have something to say about that, too,” Chief Meyer added after compli=menting his team on the hustling spirit it displayed in camp. Last spring the Blues were the preseason choice to win, the pen= nant and finished second in the regular race, won the playoff and then knocked off Newark in the Little World Series. “We have a younger team this trip and whether the replacements will come up to the standard of the 1938 stars remains to be seen after the rookies receive that old acid test under pressure,” Meyer continued. “I believe the league as a whole is better balaneed this season and the fans all around the circuit probe ably will see plenty of fireworks. “Picking a race is out of my line, Some of the clubs still are to receive reinforcements. I'm pretty well satisfied, though, and the Blues don’t fear any opponent. We'll have our oar in regardless of the caliber of the race. and right down to the wire—I hope.” Meyer has just about decided on the following lineup for opening day: Rizzuto, ss; Boyle, rf; Schulte, 2b; Saltzgaver, 3b; Matheson, If; Di=Maggio, cf; Sturm, 1b; McCullough or J. Riddle, c; Vance, p.
promises to bring forth plenty of ac-
tion. Marshall is a former heavy-
weight champion, while Roche has been a consistent winner here. Young Joe Stecher, 224, Lincoln, Neb., hopes to maintain a clear slate as he goes against Bob Jesson, 223, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in the semiwindup.
Southport Wins Pair
In an athletic double feature at {Southport yesterday, the Southport 'High School baseball and track [squads scored victories. The Cardie inal nine downed Ben Davis, 7-5, {while the thinlies defeated Warren Central, 77.to 40.
STANDS TO
REASON
This Rich Kentucky Whisky Tastes Better . . It's Made the Generous Slow Mash Way That Takes More Time and Grain!
No you get still more for your money in a whisky already famed for its generous quality. Bottoms Up is made right to begin with in the slow old-fash-
ioned way. And
now at 3 full years of
age, you'll enjoy the fullest measure of satisfaction in mellowed, finished goodness . . « And at the same low price,
THIS WHISKY IS 3 YEARS OLD “SLOW MASH"/
KENTUCKY STRAIGHT BOURBON WHISKY
DROWN.FORMAN DISTILLERY COMPANY, INCORPORATED... Al Lovie In Keutssky ... Sees 009
3