The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-07-13
TOMMY LONG RATED AS BEST SOUTHPAW
 IN THE ASSOCIATION
Former Baron YOungster Is Idol of Louisville Fans.
 Has Won 12 and Lost But 5
By BRUCE DUDLEY


 Louisville, Ky, July 1z.-The sensa- ton of the 1919 American association pennant chase is Tommy Long, the youthful Memphis sidewheeler, who was having difficulty in earning his bread in the Southern association Inst year. No one disputes the fact that Tommy Is the most effective southpaw in this circuit, and the statement thnt Pug Cnvet, who also had his troubles in the Southern, Is the next best fork banded pitching bet of the league nlso will go unchaIlenged.
 This naturally brings up the question that so frequently is being asked here: Why is it that these two Southern as- sociation pitchers, who barely got by last year, are burning up this loop, which is rated a grade higher than the Southern? Are American associa- tion hitters softer for southpaws than Southern swatters?"
 Last year Tommy Long worked in eight games for Molesworsh at Bir- mingham. He is credited with win ming one and losing two. Cavet now the mainstay of the Indianapolis hurl- ing staff, worked in 19 games for Flaherty at Mobile. His record is seven won and nine lost Leaving Mo- bile at the end of the abbreviated sea- son, he joined the Indians and had no difficulty in winning twice as many games as he lost before the gates of the circuit were closed in accordance with the wishes of the government.
 TOMMY HAS GOOD RECORD
 Pug now has won 13 battles and lost six for Indianapolis. Tommy has won 12 and dropped five. His record should read Won 16, lost one," and there are many fans here who contend that Tom my's history to date should declare him the winner of IT out of F efforts. Two of his five defeats were handed him by the weakest team in the cir cult, Toledo, and two of the losses charged to him came after he had re- lieved pitchers in the middle of a game.
 Tommy Joined the Colonels on April "A and celebrated his arrival by shut bout was the first whitewash affair of the season turned in by Louisville. After nabbing four straight, Tommy got his first bump on May IT at To- ledo when the Hens matched out a run in the fourteenth inning. The score was to 3. Tommy toiled the last five and two-third innings and yielded 1ONt AiAeS liliCC Ol WDlCn came In Fne fourteenth. He gave~one base on balls Tommy's next setback was more de- clsive and was the only struggle he really should have lost. Columbus aa- ministered the spanking The score was to 0 and the game was played at Louisville on May 25. Tommy was nlcked for eight hits. Jim Park, the university of Kentucky moundsman and coach of the Wildcat football team. was the Columbus hurler in this event, and the Colohols never once | threatened to score. Tommy was espe- cially eager to win this bout, as his l brother who had just returned from the navy was watching him work his ] first professional game
 LOST ONE-HIT GAME The third hickey was hung on Tom my at St. Paul on June 2, and guess how many hits he allowed Just one. The score was 1 to and old Charley 1 Hall, of no-hit fame, was the opoos- Ing slabman. Tommy came back two days later and beat Charley 2 to 1. Tommy came to this league with the reputation of being the widest twirler l who ever mounted a mound. He was said to be so wild that it wasn't safe to poke ones head within a block of the ball park. That kid is wilder than Dick Burning, Grover Loudermilk and Gene Woodburn all rolled into one ! ever were" fans heard. and on taking squint at his record this assertion seemed to have some foundation. In the 29 innings Tommy worked for Bir- mingham last season he gave 24 bases | on balls-almost ducat in every | frame
 He's Rorneo's twin" Eclipse park | patrons declared when he worked his | first game as Colonel In this bout, the April 26 game against Milwaukee, Tommy served eight passes and then | shut them out. He gave. one walk in two in the fifth. two in the sixth and I one in the seventh. He was plunked | six times.
 AMBITION REALIZED
 Then the mastery of Pat Flaherty, famed veteran of the mound, began to assert itself PatStook hold of Tommy, 1 changed Tommy's high curve, which he had relied on in the Southern, to a low curve and showed him how to gain control Never throw that curve higher than the waist; the lower down the better" Pat told Tommy, and | Tommy Is faithfully following instruc- tions And if you don't think the wild kid" is getting control, just listen: In the second game he pitched for the | Colonels he passed but one man, and on June 2S. against Toledo, his lifelong ambition to go through an entire con- test without walking a man was real | ized Tommy has turned in several games in which he has allowed but one base on balls. and in no contest since his first as Colonel has he walked more than four men.
 Tommy Is the idol of Louisville fans and the fact that the Colonels are now battling for first place is largely due to the '1ittle left-handed kid's'' heroic | W ho