The Washington herald., 1913-12-03
Opening DATE
TO GEORGETOWN
Nationals VIII Play Hilltop
pers Here March Is at
Florida Avenue.
OTHER SPORT COMMENT
Bull Sign in Grif's Playground Is
Doomed-Boston Scribe Praises
Costello-Gossip.
By WILLIAM PEET.

1t was learned yesterday that the Ma.
tionals' first exhibition game in the
Capital next spring would be with George.
town, in the Florida avenue ball yard
on the afternoon of March ..
In giving the Hilltoppers this plum
Manager Griffith is providing a nice slice
Of coin for the blue and gray baseball
management, as this game is sure to
draw a big crowd.
Two years ago the Nationals played
Georgetown, the day after the Climbers
arrived from spring training camp, and
a game was scheduled last March, but
had to be called on on account OF rain.
If reports are to be credited, George
field next season, and with good pitching
should be able to give the professionals a
run for their money.
The painted bull sign, which has
adorned the local baseball park for sew
eral years is doomed.
Erected by a tobacco firm which offered
and paid $50 in cash to any ball player
hitting the sign with a fly ball or line
drive, the fans derived considerable
amusement out of the device, but the
bull is doomed, and many will be sUFry
10 see it go.
On account of the improvements at
National park. the right field fence will
be nearly 600 feet from home plate, and
should the bull sign be placed there no
ball player in the league could hit it.
So there will be no bull target next sum-
mer.
As the outfield at the local park. with
the additional land, will be the equal i'm
size of any in the country, ball getting
away from the right fielder will come
pretty near going for home run.
In addition to enlarging the outfeld,
the Washington baseball management
plans to erect concrete bleachers in left
field, which will hold about twice as many
as did the old jury box.
The ground in center field has already
been filled in and new turf planted, so
that there will be no excuse for Milan
letting hard-hit grounders get away from
him next season.
When the Washington fans attend the
opening game next April they will not
only LOOK at a mighty good club, but one
Of the best ball parks in the country.
Walter Hapgood. sporting editor of the
Boston Herald, pays Harry Costello,
Georgetown's little "whirlwind," high
compliment. In the Herald of a recent
Issue appears the following: OF those
Thanksgiving day games in which varsity
elevens participated that between Holy
Cross and Georgetown in Washington
was of the largest local interest. The
Holy Cross eleven, notwithstanding il
had been through a hard season, being
the only team, by the way, to play Har-
ward, Yale and. Princeton, was counted
able to defeat Georgetown and thus have
an absolutely good claim to the football
championship OF the Catholic colleges
of the East. Georgetown. however. proved
too strong and won comparatively easily.
All of the Holy Cross crowd, from Coach
Harry Kersburg down. are unanimous in
declaring that Costello. Georgetown's
quarter back. is the best man they have
seen in that position this year. and he is
some of the mythical all-American
elevens with Dorals. of Notre Dame. and
Miller. of Penn State, the other quarter
back probabilities.
The age limit appears to depend in
a good measure upon the game, says
well-known baseball writer. In base
balls realm most of the high spots
Of the battle are over twenty-five, and
the average is well beyond this age.
Walter Johnson slipped by the twenty
will be twenty-seven this month, and
Eddie Collins twenty-seven next May.
Baker will be twenty-seven in March.
Matbewson is thirty-three. Wagner
will be forty on February "a. and
Plank will soon be thirty nine Iris
Speaker is thirty. So is Jimmy Archer
In fact from all those who might be
listed as All-American material for
1913 not one was below the twenty
he,
only twenty-four in October. and he
cached this crest a year ago-the
crest of All-Americanship.
The average for baseball stardom is
around thirty-and there will be more
stars under thirty than beyond this
mark. The most effective age-or the
age for greatest effectiveness for
handling Americas leading sportive
industry-is between twenty-five and
thirty, and those who are still stars
beyond thirty-five are very few.