Indianapolis Times, Indianapolis, Marion County, 19 April 1944 — Page 11

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: LE i I TS

By Ernic Pyle

+ WITH FIFTH ARMY BEACHHEAD FORCES IN ITALY, April 19 (By Wireless). ~The mechanics of supplying the 5th army forces on the Anzio beachhead are undeni-

ably beautiful in execution.

; We have taken a port full of sunken ships and. jumbled streets and wrecked buildings and cleared enough paths through it for the movement of our ships and vehicles. * Once our supplies reach the vicinity of beachhead waters they are under shellfire and

bembing raids that come any moment of thé day\ or night. In addition, German E-boats and déstroyers lurk on the edge of our concentration of ships, and naval forces must be $lways on the lookout for them. * Our Subpites are unloaded in : many ways. Some few ships can go right up to a dock Others go to nearby beaches, The bigger freight ships have to lie off the harbor and ‘be unloaded into smaller boats which in tum unload onto the docks or beaches. , All day long the

Anzio, churned by big and little ships moving constantly back and forth. It resembles the hustle and bustle of New York harbor. On the far edges lie cruisers and Other battle craft. In the vicinity there is always a white hospital ship to evacuate our wounded and sick from the beachhead. x » EJ # 2 ALONG TOWARD dusk small, fast craft shoot in and out of the great flock of ships, laying smoke screens, “while smoke pots ashore put out their blinding cloud of fog. At night when the raiders come over a mighty bedlam of ack-ack crushes all thought on shore and far out to sea as the ships themselves let go at the groan and grind of German motors In the sky. Sometimes the raiders drop flares, and then the universe is lighted with a glare more cruel and pene-

trating than the brightest day, and every human.

on the beachhead feels that the Germans are looking down at him individually with their evil eyes. When the moon is full it throws its swath of gold across the lovely Mediterranean, and sometimes the aights are so calm and moon-tinged and gentle that you cannot remember or believe that the purpose of everything around you is death.

It's Really Dark

WHEN THERE is no moon it is so black you have to

£ grope your way about, and even the ominous split-

second flashes from our gown big guns do not help

% you to see.

Sometimes the shelling and the raiding are furi-

* ous and frenzied, At other times hour after quiet

hour goes by without a single crack of an exploding

your hand, and see right before you a in the three dimensions of land, spectacular that even Hollywood erence to a drama beyond its

around Anzio are under

i s steady thundering flow of heavy war traffic. The

A GROUP OF boys and girls from the Brazil (Ind.)

and went home “looking a sight.” En route to inspect radio station WISH, they were walking toward the

3 entrance of the Board of Trade building just as a

window washer, cleaning a state C. of C. window on the second floor, literally kicked the bucket. The bucket that he kicked happened to be full of dirty, sudsy water, Most of those in the group were splashed by the water, but the bulk of it fell on three youngsters, including a red haired little girl wearing a nice purple dress. The three couldn't see anything funny in the situation. As for the window washer, he quit for the day. Said he was too nervous any more windows. . . . William L. Sage, 1416 Alabama st, maintenance man for Best Foods

. Corp, will be in his favorite seat back of third base S at Victory field tonight, marking his 43d consecutive

Indianapolis baseball opening game, He attended his opener when the team played at Ohio and tal, and hasn't missed an opener since then.

Part of the Show

: THREE SOLDIERS attached to the station hos(we didn't get the first name) Smith—decided

tod at Ft. Harrison—Privates Jimmy Foy, Joe Aroner

day they’d like to see the opera, Carmen, so they

. phoned English’s theater to reserve seats. They found . there were no seats available, but they got to see the

: show anyway—from backstage and on stage.

They

. were hired, along with about 20 other soldiers, as

HAE at SHA

“supers.” They were dressed in gypsy soldier cosYumes And they not only had a fine time, but got a dollar each, as well, Incidentally some of their service men in the audience had no trouble ‘spotting them, despite the outlandish costumes. Their G. I. shoes gave them away. . . . Maj. James Harris, of Indianapolis, second command of the 1532d

|My Day

| NEW YORK CITY, Tuesday. —Charles Keene Tay-

lor of the vocational research bureau was most in-

4 teresting yesterday morning at Hyde Park, he showed | the young high school students that during their School years they are building up a record which can

be used to decide what they will do well in future life. He pointed out, too, that the things we enjoy doing in our leisure time are part of this record and that personality and character will have a great deal to do with the final decision of what vocation will be best. He cited to them two boys, both of whom wanted to be doc-

Up Front With Mauldin

Copr. 1944 by United Feature Syndicate, Inc. ¢« “Darn fine road, men!”

movement is endlessly fascinating. One day I stood by the road just to watch for a while, and of the first 12 vehicles that passed, each was something different. There was a tank, and a great machine shop on heavy tractor treads that shook the earth as it passed, and a jeep of a one-star general, and a “duck,” and a high-wheeled British truck, and a famous American six-by-six, and a prime mover trundling the great “Long Tom” gun with its slim, graceful barrel pointing’ rearward,

Everybody Is Busy _

THEN CAME a command car, and a stubby new gun covered with canvas, gn four rubber-tired wheels, and an ambulance, and & crew of wire stringers, and a weapon carrier. Then a big self-propelled gun on tractor treads, and finally another “duck” to start the heterogeneous cycle over again. Everywhere there is activity. Soldier-workmen saw down trees and cut down concrete lamp posts so that trucks may use the sidewalks of the narrow streets. Huge shovels mounted on truck chassis stand amid the wreckage or buildings scooping up brick and stone to be hauled away in trucks for repairing damaged roads. Allied military police stand on every corner and crossroads to highball trafic on through, and believe me, it's highballed. Everything moves with a great urgency, a great vitality. The less hesitation the better in this land where shells whistle and groan. There is little hesitation anywhere around Anzio.

Inside Indianapolis By Lowel Nussbaum

ful injuries received when he was caught in his booby trap. Maj. Harris, who has charge of the in filtration course, built a clever booby Sap Hn for Suction of MIVict Jen IaLIRg the Course: trouble was that when he set ip off, he away from it—but not fast enough. And the I portion of him nearest the booby trap was wounded. He hasn't used a chair since.

own

‘Campaigns by Mail

JOHN M. CAYLOR, a candidate for the state legislature, is doing his campaigning via penny postcards showing the statehouse, On the cards he has typed: “I would like to serve two months here next year as your state representative. May I have your vote for state representative on the Republican primary ticket May 2? ... Seen on E. New York st the other morning: A young woman wearing a fur coat, driving a car with one hand and drinking a bottle of Pepsi Cola which she held in the other hand. « « « Mary Humphries, of the State C. of C. research department, is moving to Hollywood, Cal., soon to join her mother and her 12-year-old brother, Dickie, who is in the movies. The youngster is a member of the cast of “Shine on Harvest Moon,” opening "April 28 at the Circle. .. . Our complaint department is receiving squawks again about taxicab gouging, despite the new taxi ordinance, One of the provisions of the ordinance is that when several passengers are carried, the driver must reset the meter each time

| 60% feet, to be exact).

, dianapolis against the

he stops to let a passenger out. We're told that some of the cabbies—not all of them-—are ignoring this provision, They don't reset the meter, and they charge each passenger the full fare out to his destination,! no matter how much out of the straight line route! the cab has traveled. Mention to the driver that he “forgot” to reset the meter and like as not you'll be! told, “Oh, no ‘one pays ‘any attention to that any more.” Or you may even be told to, “Get_out, if you don't want to ride, you cheap skate.” The cab companies seem anxious to halt the practice. If you think you have been overcharged, notify the cab company, giving the number of the cab, and theyll probably refund the overcharge,

By Eleanor Roosetelt

lance. It will be open for a month, and beginning today, there will be people there from the various hospitals, military and civilian, demonstrating how the work is done. The pictures and the finished materials on exhibition were exciting enough in themselves, but. actually seeing people at work as I have in our various hospitals will thrill everyone who attended this exhibit. I hope this exhibition will be strown in the District of Columbia, in New York, and in various other cities throughout the country when its month in Philadelphia comes to an end. No one should be without the information which these demonstrations can impart. It means hope for the handicapped, whether the disability is mental or :

SECOND SECTION

Our Town

1e Indianapolis Times

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 19, 1944

PAGE 11

Py Ball-No.

NTON

SCHERRER

In case the question ever comes up—and sure as shootin’ it will—you ought

to be prepared to know

that, because of an Indianapolis boy and his fast ball, the distance between home plate and the pitcher's box was increased by 10% feet (from 50 to The boy was picked up during the John T. Brush regime, the picturesque baseball period about which 1 raved yesterday. The kid whose fast ball changed the complexion of the baseball . diamond was born in Mooresville, but learned the rudiments of the game around here—first as an outfielder of a scrub team composed of boys living in the neighborhood of Sturm ave. and later as a pitcher of the Grand Avenues, a semi-pro club belonging to the City league of Indianapolis. It was during this period, in 1887, that he pitched an exhibition game against a team of professional players made up mostly of members of the Indianapolis club (the Denny-Glasscock combination) which at that time belonged to the National league. On that occasion, the kid mowed ’em down with a fast ball as wild as it was blinding. John T. Brush saw that game, rubbed his eyes, and then and there signed up Amos Rusie, a 17-year-old rookie, a brother of John Rusie, pressroom foreman of The Times.

Lacked Control

Because of his lack of control and a disposition to issue too many bases on balls, Rusie was farmed out to the Burlington (Iowa) club for seasoming. It was there, in 1889, that he received a wire from Mr. Brush to drop everything and catch the

first train for New York. After a.

gosh-awful trip of two days and nights in a day coach, the bewildered boy arrived in the big city, more dead than alive. Next day he was put in to pitch for InGiants, The Gothamites let out a sarcastic roar when a six-foot 225-pound pitcher entered the box. That afternoon Amos displayed a line of fast balls the like of which had néver been seen in the sophisticated East. Sure, he won his game. A few days later he licked the Boston club by a score of 7 to 8. The only reason Boston got as many runs as it did was because of Rusie’s charitable disposition—too many bases on balls. The next week he pitched in Philadelphia. The Phillies didn't get as much as a run. The following year, in 1890, Rusie was sold to the Giants along with the whole Indianapolis team. The sale, as fantastic a story as any in baseball, deserves a chapter of its own. Today's paper shortage permits only a factual outline. In 1890 when anything could happen (and usually did), the professional. ball players formed a labor union and followed it up with their prerogative—a strike. It left New York without a club but, strangely enough, not Indianapolis. Seems that the resourceful Mr. Brush had persuaded his players not to strike, When the season opened and New York found itself with nothing to play with, Mr. Brush sold the whole Indianapolis outfit to the Giants—for a pretty penny, you bet. Whether Mr, Brush's behavior reflected his love for the Giants (he was born in Clintonville, N. Y.), or whether it was the result of a dislike for labor unions remains a debatable question, Less debatable is the inescapable fact that, because of the National Brotherhood of Baseball Players, Indianapolis lost not only its big league club, but also Amos Rusie.

Strikes Out 345

In his first season as a Giant, Mr. Rusie set an all-time record for the National league by striking out 345 batters. That same season (1890) he established another record “which still stands—-276 bases on balls. In the course of four years he won 132 games out of 224. By this time people were wondering whether anything under the sun could stop the Indianapolis boy. Finally in 1893 somebody hit on a scheme. The pitcher’s box was moved 10! feet farther away from the batter. It didn't penalize Rusie a bit for by

Left, Richard (Rube) Marquard . . . the “$11,000 Beauty.” Right, Amos Rusie . . . the “Hoosier Cyclone.”

this time he had perfected a line of curves which needed just that additional distance to. give the ball the necessary room in which to break. In 1895, Rusie was going like a house on fire. Lillian Russell asked to be introduced to him; the Hoffmann House bar created a (Rusie cocktail, Weber and Fields put on a Rusie skit: and little boys dll over the country saved their pennies to have “eriough' (25) ‘to buy a brochure labeled: “Secrets of Amos Rusie, the World's Greatest Pitcher: How He Obtains his Incredible Speed on a Ball.” It was the year, too, he was christened the “Hoosier Cyclone.” Two years later, in 1897, when he was 27 years old, Rusia was billed to pitch against Chicago. Bill Lange, a fast man on the bases, was the runner on first, Rusie watched him out of the corner of his eye and with a quick throw caught Lange cold. Soon as he had Lange out of the way, Rusie realized that something had snapped in his arm. He was never the same after that. The Giants kept him through the seasons of '908 and "99 and then sold him to Cincinnati which by that time belonged to John T. Brush. It was a reunion of patron and protege.

Out of the Box

In the first two games Rusie pitched for his old boss, he was knocked out of the box. It was the end of one of the grandest, if not the greatest pitcher that ever lived. Prank Bowerman who - caught both Rusie and Mathewson for the Giants once told Joe Kelly (who told me) that Amos Rusie was the better of the two. The only other case resembling Mr. Rusie's (at any rate, from the point of view of glamour) was that of Richard (Rube) Marquard, a southpaw, who came to Indianapolis by way of the sandlots (and fire engine house No. 20) on Cleveland’s West side. By that time Indianapolis was a member of the American association, having joined that league in 1902. When Rube was going good as an Indian he had the support of Ownie Bush , (s.s), Davidson (c.f), Hayden (r.f.), Charlie Carr (1b.), Coulter or Cook (1. f.), Paddy Livingston (c.), Williams (2b.) and Hopke 3b.) which, if I remember correctly, was the batting order, too.

Record Still Stands

While with Indianapolis Marquard turned in a string of six straight games which still stands as an A A. record, Four of the games were shutouts. In three games he allowed only two hits; in two, only three hits. The other game was a four-hitter. On the occasion of his last performance in Indianapolis on Sept. 3, 1908, Marquard turned in a no-hit

game. In the fall of that same year, after winning 23 games (including the no-hit performance), Rube Marquard was picked up by New York for $11,000 cash, an up-till-then record price for a pitcher. By that time the Giants belonged to—guess who? Nobody else but John T. Brush. He acquired the property after having disposed of the Cincinnati Reds. It was generally believed around here that Mr, Brush paid something like two million dollars to get the Giants and John McGraw. Mr. Brush stayed in control of the Giants until the day of his death in 1912,

When he died he still had a big stake in the When on N. Pennsylvania st., ‘a clothing store he had helped to start in 1875 or thereabouts. Even more ghostly is the discovery that some of “Lombardy” is still intact. -Its stones form a wall adjoining the building of the Meier Electric people at 3525 E. Washington st. “Lombardy,” the name of Mr. Brush'’s

Indianapolis home, got its title |

because of Elsie Lombard, a photogenic actress who was Mrs. John T. Brush.

‘$11,000 Beauty’ When Rube Marquard turned up in New York, he was only 19 years old and as handsome as Indianapolis pitchers come. At their first sight of him, the New York fans dubbed him the “$11,000 Beauty.” He had only one physical defect—a curious crick

‘in the neck which gave his head

the appearance of leaning on his right shoulder. It made some customers nervous for fear he wasn't watching the runner on first base. Otherwise he was per-

fect. He stood 6 feet 3 inches tall

and weighed 180 pounds which was right in line with the Hoosier tradition that pitchers have to be big to be good. In the course of the next two years, Richard Marquard, the pride of Indianapolis, came -to be

known as the “$11,000 Lemon.”

Two reasons account for Rube's downfall: (1) John T. Brush’s lovable quality of never selling Indianapolis short, and (2), Wilbert Robinson's attempt to gild

a lily. In support of which are -

the following historic facts. When Marquard arrived in| New York, the Giants were fighting hard to win the pennant. Mr. Brush was so anxious to turn the trick that he ordered McGraw to put in the travel-tired Marquard. McGraw demurred claiming that the boy was still green, but so great was Mr. Brush’s faith in Indianapolis products that he had his way. It proved a disaster for the “$11,000 Beauty.” Whereupon Wilbert Robinson, who was McGrav's coach at the time, took Marquard in hand. After two years of fooling, Mr. Robinson came to the conclusion that the three-quarter motion curve Marquard pitched back in Indianapolis was perhaps the best way after all

Gets Own Way When Marquard had his own way (by which time he was 22 year old), the “$11,000 Lemon” helped New York win the pennants of 1911,°’12 and ’'13. In those three years he pitched 101 games and won 73, Some of Marquard’s N. L. records were terrifyingly impressive. In 1912, for instance, he turned in 19 straight victories. And so far as I know, no pitcher has equaled his run of 18-low-hit games in none of which the opposing teams got more than five hits. One, indeed, was a no-hit performance. By that time, of course, the New York fans reversed themselves and went back to calling him the *“$11,000 Beauty,” a sobriequet that took on an added significance when a selfappointed commission of New York tailors pronounced him the best-dressed man in the metropolis. Eventually Richard Marquard- married, Blossom Seeley, a trim and lithe-limbed musicalcomedy actress. Thank goodness some. of my stories have a happy ending. In the opinion of many fans, the Marquard-Carr-Bush com-

Owen J. Bush (s. s.) and Otto Williams (2 b.)

« « The little fellow

is “Ownie.” The picture was snapped in 1908, the year the Indianapolis

A. A. club had everybody. shouting.

bination was the best-balanced team in the history of Indianapolis baseball. Certainly, the most dramatic. Compared with it, all subsequent teams had the letdown of an anti-climax. For that reason, if no other, this is as good a time as any to drop the chronological treatment of this story and take up its geographical aspects. As I pointed out yesterday, the first game of professional ‘baseball around here was played in 1869 in a converted cornfield at the northeast corner of Delaware - and South sts. It remained the official diamond until 1887, the year John T. Brush acquired a National league franchise for Indianapolis. That same year Mr. Brush built a. baseball park, complete with bleachers and a peanut stand, on the ground now occupied by the Methodist hospital. “At that time it was known as the northwest corner of Tennessee and Tinker sts. With the removal of the ball park from the South side, the location of the players’ hangout was changed from fire engine house No. 7 to Dodson’s drug store on the corner of what is now Illinois and 16th sts.

Many Park Sites Except for an interim-park in Bruce's grove in the neighborhood of what is now College ave. and

\ 20th st., the next official ball park

was the one at Market and Oriental sts. adjoining Noble's pasture. The Bruce grove park which was just outside the city limits, was heaven's answer to a prayer for Sunday baseball, It proved a fizzle not because Indianapolis was more religious than it is at present, but because of the difficulty of getting there, even with horse and buggy. As for the Market-Oriental park, its location was unfortunate, too. This time it was the fault of the hilly terrain. out there. On rainy days, the first baseman—a magnificent, luxuriously-mustached gentleman by the name of Motz—had to scoop up bunts in a puddle of water. The hangout of the players during this period was fire engine house No. 11 on E. Washington st.

Play in Cemetery »

After Indianapolis had fooled away a lot of valuable time playing in associations of no particular significance, a new diamond was laid out in the neighborhood of Washington and Gray sts. which was miles away from a fire engine house. It was here, in 1902, that Indianapolis first played as a member of the American association. Two years later, Charlie Ruschaupt and W. H. Watkins leased the ground on W. Washington st. opposite the streetcar barns and laid out a bigger and better park. The nearest fire engine house was No. 6 which was too far away to be of

any good as a hang-out. During this p®riod, and possibly antedating it, there was another park—the one on, Kentucky ave. when Indianapolis had a club in the Federal league simultaneously with one in the American association. The Federal league club didn’t last long probably because it played its games on what was once Greenlawn cemetery. A ball club has enough trouble without inviting more by playing on a diamond laid out in a graveyard. The Watkins-Ruschaupt field on W. Washington st. was the stage upon which Ownie Bush (s. s.), & born and bred Indianapolis boy (Irish Hill), scored his triumph—a triumph so great that it pushed him into distinguished company—first as lead-off man for the Detroit Tigers and later as manager of major league and A. A. clubs. Following Mr, Bush's departure, the club passed into the hands of the Meyer-Kiser interests after which it was bought by J. C. McGill and W, C. Smith. In 1927, James A. Perry acquired the plant which at that time was still on W. Washington st. About 12 years ago, Norman A. Perry, who took over the ball club after James Perry's death, built the ‘present magnificent park on W. 16th st. Heaven help you if you can't find it today.

Mr. Bush Returns

. On Dec. 3, 1941, a red letter day in sports, the franchise of the Indianapolis club passed into the hands of Frank E. McKinney and Owen J. Bush, a veiled but transparent disguise which didn’t fool anybody. It was the same Ownie ~~ who packed ‘em in during the dramatic days of the Marquard-Carr-Bush combination. Mr. Bush's return to Indianapolis in a professional capacity furnishes ane other nice example of artistic continuity. So much for the past. Now what about the future? Bob Coleman (Braves) says it's going to be a “funny season,” an opinion apparently shared by other mane agers including, maybe, even Mr. Bush. For the life of me, I can’t see why this season should be any funnier than the rest. The problem of the present dearth of players which no doubt inspired Mr, Coleman's wry remark can. be solved by revising the pioneer spirit of Eddie Nolan (p.) and Silver Flint (c.) when they operated in Indianapolis in 1877 (see yes-< terday’s Times). Listen, Mr. Bush; the Nolan-Flint battery worked every day of the week— 114 games in one season, and won most of them. Back in those days, nine men were considered quite enough for a ball team. You're welcome, Mr. Bush; don't hesitate to ask us kibitzers for anything else you want to know. The End

Secret Indian Sand ‘Paintings

Reproduced by Art Museum |

By Science Service

L.OS ANGELES, April 19.-—-Sym-bolic pictures, for centuries painted by Navajo medicine men in the sand, have only recently been copied

for preservation,

Most ancient type of painting practiced by the southwestern In-

various. supernatural beings, divine ceremonies, and objects of nature.

HOLD EVERYTHING

Originals were created by pour-| |;

ing pigments derived from powdered sandstone, charcoal, and plant materials on the sand-covered floor of the ceremonial hut,

When the picture was completed, ]

the patient was seated on the paint-

ing and given an infusion of the| |N==

colors to drink, while sacred chants| |

destroyed the picture and the sand| | of which it was made was gathered] |

in blankets and thrown away. REFUGEE TO SPEAK

Times Special

could now be withdrawn. The brake mechanism has been redesigned under the supervision of Delmar G. Roos, engineering vice president of Willys-Overland Motors, and will soon be installed in

jection to the jeep—its handbrake—

Ernie Pyle Gets Credit for Improving Much Loved Jeep

suggestion, works on the internal expansion principle, whereas the old * one used the external-contraction principle. “The new brake will hold tight in any spot,” he was told.

MEMORIAL GROUP

PLANS 1ST MEETING

Members of Indianapolis and Mae rion county patriotic organizations today were urged to join the Gene