The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1919-08-03
McGraw Grooming CoNegidn
To Succeed Veteran nGeLd
Gohams Professor of Baseball Has Class of five Young
STEERS Whom He Teaches the Fine Points Of
the National Pastne
BY JAMES ). coRBErr

We often hear of John McGraw as
manager of the Giants.
In that role he has made hims IF
famous. In the vernacular of the the
atre he plays the part of perfection,
and no better proof is needed than the
proof we can find in the records, which
tells US that he has been playing at the
same old stand for fifteen odd years
and winning pennants with regularity
But one seldom hears of McGraw
as a professor of baseball" the sort
of a professor who gathers small
class around him and gives it daily
instructions in the national pastime
McGraw has such class this year
At the outset the class numbered six,
but now it has been reduced by one
because Professor McGraw sent one OF
his pupils to a minor league club, pre-
sumably with the idea of giving him
the advantage of more practical ex-
perience
McGraw's class is now made up of
Al Baird, formerly of Louisiana State
University, who is Larry Doy1e's UNI
derstudy and who has already. had
some major league experience; Frank
Frisch, famous at Fordham University
as a baseball and football star; Chick
Bowen and Arnold Stats, Holy Cross
outfielders and Jess Winters, pitcher
who first attracted attention at Sim
mons college, of Abilene, Kan. The
missing member of the class is Luce
Richbourg, from Florida University,
who has been sent to Oakland, and
who, as a green youngster. has been
getting a great amount of publicity.
Baird. Winters and Frisch are the
notable members of the class and all
have appeared in the box scores this
season. Bowen and Stats, both ambi-
tious to take up professional ball when
their college days are over, will be
handed contracts by the Giant mana
ger some day if they show him the
proper development.
BAIRD A STAR
In Baird it is Beloved McGraw has a
coming star. Baird's actions around the
keystone sack are not unlike those of
Larry Lajoie and as he stands well up
against all kinds of pitching his chan
ces with the Giants are bright. Nc
Graw discovered Baird at Baton Rouge
when the Giants. played an exhibition
game there in 1915. One glance at
Baird's work playing second for the
Louisiana University nine, convinced
him that he was a natural second base
man.
with a greater knowledge of baseball
than the average college pitcher. He
joined the New York club at Marlin
in 1917 and big things were predicted
for him, although he was sent to Kan
sas City for a session under the ex-
perienced eye of John Cancel Later
he was drafted and within a short
time was commissioned as lieutenant.
He was discharged from the army just
in time to join the Giants at Gains
VILE, Fla, last Spring, and this time
he is sticking to the roster like paper
to a wall. Winters has more real pit
ching ability than any young |hurler
who has been picked up by the Giants
since the advent of Christy Mathewson,
and next season he may be expected to
bloom out as a full-fledged regular.
Frisch, being Gotham boy, has many
boosters among Giant fans and Nc
Graw is using him as Heinie thinner
mans understudy. The fact that the
Giant manager is busy grooming in
fielders may indicate that he expects
that the effectiveness of his present
veteran infield will be short lived.
COLLEGIANS FAMOUS
That McGraw should turn to COL
legians entirely for the makeup of his