Evening star., 1918-02-05
SAMM|ES PREPARE
FOR SPRING DRIVE
Troops in France Send Cable
gram to Griffith for Base
Ball Supplies.
BY DENMAN THOMPSON.

Evidence that the American troops in
France are getting ready for a great
spring drive-baSs ball. not warts
furnished in cabIegram received by
Clark Griffith today from Paris. signed
Hood. 1t read:
Three complete teams; send balls
and bats. etc. chief ordnance officers
headquarters. lines of communication
Post Office No III. American EXpedi-
tionary Forces in France. Need badly;
send quick: urgent.
Griffith has received any number of
letters from points in France request
ing base ball supplies, but this is the
first cablegram for equipment that has
come to hand. He has acted promptly
on all such appeals wherever possible,
and said today he would make a special
effort to fill this urgent request i'm
medlately. The manager anticipates
less difficulty in obtaining the funds to
purchase the equipment than in making
arrangements to have it transported
the scarcity of ship room presenting
the greatest problem. With the troops
looking forward to the near approach
of spring Griffith is expecting many
ceived today. and intends to do every
thlng possible to get the necessary
supplies together and then arrange for
ats shipment overseas.
Manager Griffith yesterday completed
arrangements for the first of several eX
hlbitlon games he plans to play before
the soldiers stationed in the canton
mentS Of the National Army in the
south. This contest will be with the At
of he he, 4 lat
at Atlanta. on Monday, April 5. To fill
inns engagement the Nationals will
nave to jump from Chattanooga, Tenn.
over iight. as games are to be played
there on the Saturday and Sunday pre-
vious Griff says it ID planned to have
haif holiday order issued to enable the
troops AT Camp Gordon, near Atlanta, to
witness the exhibition. The soldiers are
to he admitted for a minimum fee and Il
percentage of the gate receipts. about
>" per cent. turned over to the camp
fund for athletic equipment Arrange
mcnt for exhibitions with the Philadel-
phia Nationals at Camps Sewer, Jack
son and Greene have not yet been COM
picted, but games will be played there
later in the week. commencing April !,
II present plans go through.
Branch Rickey. former manager of the
st. Louis Americans and now president
OF the National League club III the Mound
city, a college bred man himself. has Il
leaning toward players whose base ball
education is founded on work with varsity
teams. He already has under contract
Cliff Heathcote of Penn State and Parker
Twombley and Edward Langdon, who also
shined as varsity pitchers last season. In
addition Hickey is said to have landed
Catcher Benton of the University of Michi-
gan. who was the battery mate of George
Slsler when the latter was d student at
the Ann Arbor school. Hickey adheres to
the opinion that AL major league clubs
d. l,,N
not yet attained their majority.
A great load of worry was lifted from
Manager Rowland's shoulders with the an
nouncement that Eddie Collins had been
placed in class of the selective draft.
With the greatest second baseman of all
time time in lipe the White Sox will have the
the world series last fall-Gandil, Collins.
Weaver and McMullin
dap. Felsch. the sensational outfeider
of the SoN, who was married last sum
mer, is expected to escape the draft
under the recent ruling of the War De-
partment. so that with the execution
of Pitcher Jim Scott and Joe Jenkins.
third string catcher, the only PLAYER of
known worth Owner Comiskey stands
10 lose is Urban Faber, who won three
games from McGraws team in the an
nual fall classic.
Eddie Burns, who was Bill Killefer's
u uniiis mate penlnd the bat with the
Phlllles last summer, is one player who
never seems to tire of the game When
the National League season closes he
goes to his home in California and
plays with a team in the winter league
The All-Stars. OF which Burns is
member this winter, have a number OF
other big league performers on their
roster, including Ping Bodie of the Ath-
letics. Harry Heilman of the Tigers,
Al Walters. who is expected to do the
brunt of the catching for Miller Hug
gins Yanks this year; Bohne of the St
Louis Cardinals and Reuther, who re-
fused to report to Chattanooga, after
being released to that team by the Gin
cinnati Reds. The AIl-Stars recently
defeated Duffy Lewis navy yard team
in a series of games at the Mare Island