The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-10-14

Tn l9U4, ana lreorRe h. N1ltSeg anOlHe' former State leaguer. are the mos
 likely candidates for relief work in tht box. Otis Crandall is the fifth mem. Der of the staff
 There are six of Connie Mack's men
 who were with him when he fought in vain for the 1905 flag. They are
 Bender, Plank, Lord Hartsel, Murphy and Harry Davis. Head and shoul- ders above them all stands "Chief
 Bender. a red skin of the Chippewa
 tribe, who was sent to the Carlisle
 school for his education and promptly
 evinced his fondness for the great
 white mans game. After leaving col
 lege he joined the Harrisburg Pa.'
 team, and in 1903 was brought into
 the big league by Connie Mack. He
 became one of a famous qintette of
 twirlers which brought Philadelphia into it's second league championship in 1905. In the world series he was
 the pitching hero of the only game which the Athletics" took from the "Giants" that year On the other hand, to him Is charged the only de- feat suffered by the Athletics" in the series with Chicago last year, though this came after he had allowed but one hit for eight innings
 With the Indian in the box. is, as was the case last year. Jack Coombs,
 the real hero of the last series Coombs, known as Mack's man of iron" won three straight games in tho l19l0 series, feat which the Giant Mathewson equaled in 1905.
 Coombs is 27 years old. He played at Colby college. in Maine. and gradu- ated at once into big league company with the Athletics in 1906. He is eX actly the same height as his pitching mate, "Chief' Bender. 6 feet 1 inch. He is a holder of records one of them being the famous p inning victory over Boston in 1907. During the 1910 season he went 53 innings at one stretch without letting an opposing club score on him.
 Bender and Coombs will be called upon 1t is believed to do most of the pitching in the series at hand but as the Giants are said to be weaker be- fore left handlers it is possible that the two "southpaws,' Plank and Krause, will be given chance to distinguish themselves. Plank was one of trio of twirlers who won for Philadelphia it's first taste of league championship in Mack's second years. Veteran though he is. at the age of S6, he is still able to do effective work.
 The back stopping for Philadelphia will be same as last year. Ira Thomas, who took the measure of the famous John King of Chicago in last years series, will be first choice behind the bat, and Lapp, who caught one game last year, will be a close second. Lapp is young, and this seasons play has improved him.
 Big Chief Meyers, Wilson and Hartley will catch for the Giants. But it is needless to give biographical sketches of all the newer stars of the forthcoming series. Experts agree that in no wise can the outcome of the series or of a single game be expected to rest with a single player unless it be the pitchers.
 Team for team the opponents are as eavenly matched as any two that ever fought for the worlds title. Experts agree as to this, and recalling their mistaken judgment in picking the Chi | cago Cubs as favorite last year, they are prone to play safe and declare the outcome of the present series to be matter of delightfully."- doubtful un- certainty"
 In the betting, odds have been given both ways. Local experts look back to the wonderful rush of the Giants" through the closing stages of the league fight and pin their faith to Me Graw's rush them off their feet" slogan and the pitching of "Rube" and 'Matty'' supported by the all round excellence of the team.
 Philadelphia supporters take account of the fact that their favorites are already world champions and that they won the title by trouncing the Chi cago National league club. which gave New York a close race for this years league title. They believe that Gen eral Mack has plotted out a winning campaign and that his men with an average of 300 at the bat and with what they consider the finest infield in either league, will take world hon. OTIS as handily as they captured the league pennant this year
 In batting the "Giants' lead the National leage at .271, conceeding 23 points to the Atheletics who lead the American league with .294. In extra base hitting the margin of difference is smaller. but still slightly in favor of the Athletics. In the base running de- partment the experts give advantage to McGraws men, six of whom are leaders in fleet footedness among the National league runners. Altogether the men have stolen 346 bases this sea- son as compared with 22S to the credit of the Athletics
 So go comparisons, which made from any angle, see saw from the Giants" to the Athletics and back again, leaving both forces quite evenly bal anced. If the weight of any one player can tip the scale it will be, eX- perts agree, one of the pitching stars. In at least one respect the series will marx u rtcO1u III paSeDdll history, TOT 1t is estimated that more than twice as many enthusiasts will seek admission to the Polo grounds daily than can be accommodated, and the accommoda- ton will be greater than ever before provided in 8 baseball park in this country.
 John T. Brush, owner of the New York club, has replaced the old wooden amphitheatre at the Polo grounds which burned early this season with a man. moth steel and concrete structure which, when wholly finished, is ex- pected to be the best of the several | magnificent baseball parks in the coun- | try, and by the extension of outfieId | bleachers he has provided room, it is estimated, for nearly 60,000 spectators | today.
 l The number is nearly third greater than ever witnessed ball game. At tendance records at the world series and receipts for the past six years | compare as follows:
 Av, Att'd. | Year. Receipts. Per game | lS05 ...s..... 68,436.S1 1S,344 1906 .s....... 1O6,550.00 16,644 1907 ....,...... 101,727.O0 15613 l9o6 .s......... 94,975.50 12446 lso9 ..'..-... 1SS,3O2.50 22,063 1910 .......... 173,9S0.00 24SS4 Benjamin F. Shibe, owne, of the Philadelphia club, is also preparing to handle record crowd when the play
 ing of the big games alternates to his
 new park bearing the family name.
 The proximity of the two rival cities