Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1917-03-18
Judgments

quite little attention from those who
love the game. For several years we
have listened to all sorts OF futile rea.
sons for going to the parks. 1t has
been Ty ,Cobb's big toe, or Benny
Kauff's ingrowing ego, the fight with
the Feds, an injunction suit to restrain
Indian Johnston from pitching (no
one ever saw him really pitch when he
was playing with the Western league)
or any one of c lot of excuses. All Of
these alibis have disappeared. Salary
wrangles died out early in the season,
the announced cuts having been &C
cepted by the slaves with little or no
protest; Davy Fultz and Ban Johnson
threatened to stage real row, but il
blew up, and now there's nothing to
it but play ball. The dear old public
on whose attention base ball depends
lin the final analysis--won't worry,
and 1t is good, safe guess that even
the drill sergeant will be left behind
when the season opens.
Pa Rourke and Marty Krug are
framing up for repeater this season.
Realizing that there's nothing so un.
certain as base ball before the big
show opens, Pa is going to Marlin
Springs, to spend the next few days in
company with John ]. McGraw, Dick
Kinsella and a few other Swedes,
looking over some of the material the
Giants have dragged in from the bush,
and for whose further development
McGraw is looking to Rourke or some
other equally capable impresario OF
the minors. McGraw has been quite
in line with the thought that Rourke
is some finisher, although none of
the recent purchases from Omaha
have stood up for the Giants. This
was because the regulars refused to
let 60, but when Rourke can send out
men like Pete Kilduff and Ernie
Kruger, he is bound to have respect
from the big league bosses. The real
object of the trip is to get line on
the excess material of the Giant squad,
and to arrange for some that may be
of service in Omaha during the sum
mer. All Of which means that when
the Western gets under Roadway,
some lively competition for places on
the Omaha team is sure to follow.
The man who sticks will do so be-
cause he is better ball player than
the fellow he beats out for the job.
A good deal of CUFF is being wasted
over the passing OF some of the old
timers in the sporting world; of
course the public follows a favorite
into the shadow of retirement with
more or less of sentimental interest,
but it mighty soon turns to his sue
cessor for entertainment. No matter
how good he was, the athlete some
time must go under to age, and al
ways he knows that right behind him
is younger and stronger man, eager
to snatch the laurels from him. This
may be tragic, but it is the rule, and
none has yet escaped it. Plaudits
that greet champion are sincere only
for the moment, and he knows it.
They will ring as true for the man
who beats him. And the great game
will go on, just the same. The moral
to this, for the boys in the business,
at least, is to get it while it's in your
reach.
Omaha horsemen are looking for
ward to another season of worth
while sport. Harness racing has had
much recognition through the last two
seasons, in spite of the fact that auto
mobile racing has doomed all over
the country. There's thrill to the
spectacle of good field Of horses that
can't be supplied by the snort Of a
racing car, and the real sporting blood
tingles much keener over 4 close fin-
ish in 2:l0 trot than it ever can over
racing machines knocking off an hun
bred miles an hour. That is why the
stables are getting ready for busy
summer on the tracks.
Missouri declined to become party
to the resurrection of horse racing,
the legislature having turned down
bill to legalize parimutuel betting.
Memories OF good old days at Del
mar (and nights, too), and some Of
the other merrygorounds at St. Louis
still linger. When the sure thing men
fixed up horse racing for the final
obsequies, they surely did good job.
And the box-fght game is rapidly
going the same way. Barnum was
right, but you have to switch the dope
on EN- occasionally.
Governor Whitman's stand on the
Les Darcy case hasn't been the means
of getting the antipodean wonder any
greater recognition, but it has SEEM
ingly done quite bit for boxing in
New York. The commission took
new heart, and gave the Gotham pro-
motors such shaking up as promises
to remove lot of bunk" from the
game in the big town, AT least, some
of the raw work threatened has been
abandoned.
Scene" Melady suggests that bet
ting on the Stecher-Caddock meet be
field in check. He needn't worry;
judging by the amount of promotion
that is being sprung, there isn't going
to be no betting to speak of.
Old "Doc" Roller came up out of
the tomb to meet DIN in Chi the
other night; and it was just as easy
for the Finn. as it was for the door
keeper. They'll fall for anything
once. .-r
Getting Ouimet reinstated as an
amateur is progressing finely, leaving
us still wondering why he ever was
labeled pro-"
Well, Marin Plestina finally got
job, but he didn't land one of the big
ones. That's what he gets for look
ing SO good.