The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-08-03
MoguZs Discuss Big Series To-day
Corbett's Daily Letter
 On Greaf Sport Topics
By JAMES J. coRBETr.

Have you ever noticed that practically ever spectacular and picturesque player the real drawing cards of basebaIl-are American leaguers?
 The diamond sport never has known more dashing figure than Ty Cobb. For 13 seasons fandom has gone into fren- zes of delight over his achievements. Without a doubt Cobb has drawn more
 fans through the turnstile than any player that ever lived. Once it was said that for every 5000 persons who turn out to see the Tigers perform, at least 2a
 per cent-or 1250-go solely to see Cobb. | Cobb's real value to the Detroit club individually, and to the American league as whole. cannot be estimated with any degree of real accuracy. But there isn't much doubt that in the years he
 has been the baseball satellite he has drawn over 100000 fans to the 1SO0 games in which he has figured. | The reigning sensation of baseball or | 1918 is Babe Ruth, whose home run l clouting has been amazing. Ever slnce the Bostonian swatsmith Legan hammer | ing the ball outside the ball lots, throngs, earlier indifferent to diamond activities | oe 1918, poured into the parks where
 Ruth was scheduled to perform. On, yes. they went to zee ball game, of I course, but what they really want to
 see was the Red sox clubber busting ] the ball.
 | Ranking second only to Cobb as
 drawing card through these later years
 of baseball has been Iris Speaker, tho
 "outfielder incompatible" A mighty
 batter is Iris, sterling base runner
 Those were qualities that have helped to
 make Speaker world famous. But the
 one thing in which Speaker excelled all others was in outfield play.
 It was Speaker who revolutionized out
 field play. Before his day the gardeners
 always played far back, figuring it was
 easier to race in for ball than to run backwards after one. Speaker quickly
 decided that outfielders played too far back and that by playing in close to
 second, he could kill off the Texas league" hits. So Iris stationed himself
 back of second, while everyone pro-
 nounced him foolhardy They ngured
 Iris couldn't get back in time for the 1 long drives.
 | But Iris has been doing it for years land in a way that is sensational His 1 nelding is uncanny; his throwing is bullet like in it's speed. And so Iris 1 is a drawing card
 1 Who is the greatest drawing card
 among the twrlers? Right you are it's Walter Johnson! Whenever he is billed to pitch, a few extra thousand
 fans usually can be counted upon They
 want to see the Speed Kngs' in action. | It has been that way ever since the Idaho phenom flashed into major league 1 view dozen years or so ago It is no I ex&ggeration-and no reflection on the others players-to say that Johnson prob- ably has drawn more persons through the surnstiles than the whole Wasn.ng-
 ton team.
 Then there's Sisier-another fandom lure. Baseball enthusiasts around the American league circuit aren't awfulIy keen these days to see the Browns irl l action-but the do want to see the 1 ''Sizzler' perform and gladly do they
 pay full admission price for the privi- l lege.
 Cobb, Speaker Ruth, Sisler and John json-there's the quintet of drawing cards of the American league; players worth I far more than their weight in gold as magnets; men whose individual brilliance daily attracts to the parks thousands