The Washington herald., 1921-04-14

general Senlllty. lHCIC was hObhlh
President Has Bully Time.
Among the 1912 fans who were
crammed into every corner of the
stands and even the far stretches
of the outfeld. there was none more.
enthusiastic than a gray haired,
smiling man who occupied box
lust behind the home players.
He was the first fan of the land
and the Chief Executive of the
United States.
Arriving early with his party
President Harding chatted with his
neighbors, acknowledged the cheers
Of the bugs, and tossed the first ball
to Walter Johnson just before ne
strode to the mound.
He appeared to enjoy the proceed
ings immensely, and Showed he
knew his stun by keeping a COM
plete sc6re of the game on one of
the cards distributed at the gate.
, After the game President Ban john
son. of the American League, rush
ed up to the Presidents box and
asked for the card. The request
was Granted.
"Thaak you. Mr.. President" said
johnson. This is the greatest SOU
venir ever given or reEiVed IN
baseball"
In ne next box to the President
was Sfce President Coolidge, who
was Bresent as a Washington fan
a Gf tTh
the 1haSzsnSrom Boston won the ver-
dict. He-is still rather partial to
the Old Bay State.
Posies for Mcbride.
Maaassr. Mcbride, making his
debut as an American League man
aEer, was. also m9eh in the lime
light. George was called to the
Presidents box where he shook
hands all around and posed for the
beneht of the movie men. Then he
was marched out to the plate where
he received. more flowers than he
will ever get at his funeral. One
basket of American Beauty roses
stood six feet high and was so bulky
that the aid of Nick Altrock was
required to transport it from the
field.
1t was the first time in many
years that Clark Griffith failed to
occupy a seat on the players bench
at an opening game. Since last sea-
son. however, he has cast off the
managerial duties and conducts
himself as a diEnified mogul should.
Grin was supposed to occupy a box
behind the President. but he was so
busy that his seat was usually va
cant. He ushered the President to
his boN-he greeted General Per-
shinE with a pump-handle shake !;
he marched to the fiagpole in center
field with the General for the flag
raising, and was otherwise very
much occupied. Later in the game
he did quiet down a bit and camped
beside Ban johnson for a spell.
Those Surprising sox,
Everything ran smoothly and ac-
cordinS to HOyIe until the teams
took the field. Then strange things
began to happen. The Red Sox,
whose case had been termed hope
less by experts around the circuit,
showed a surprising amount of life
for a bunch of invalids.
They landed on the mighty John
son for nine hits and four runs in
the first four innings and when
Mcbride sought to stem the tide
by changing pitchers they also hit
the others. In addition they played
brilliant ball afield. This was espe-
cially true of the .infield combi-
nation. Stuffy McInnis robbed
O'Rourke of a hit in the fourth by
spearinS his grass cutter near first
base. Eddie Foster made a won
derful catch of Frank Brewers
sizzling liner in the same inning
and otherwise made himself OBJ
noXious from a Washington view
point. Everett Scott. the dean of
American League shortstops. also
demonstrated that he is not going
back by fancy fielding.
Starting OF by piling up three
runs in the first two innings, the
Nationals were brought to q sudden
halt by Sam Jones, who pitched the
entire game for the visitors. Sam
allowed but one hit in the last SIX
frames. In addition he distinguished
himself as a hitter. by connecting
three times in succession, once for
a long triple which rolled all the
way to the jury box in right field.
II the rest of Manager Hugh Duffy's
veterans are as ready as sam, some
of the prospective first division
clubs had better begin to watch
their step.
Griffs Look Good, Too.
Failure to win the decision didn't
detract from the class shown by the
Grifmen, who were being inspected
for the first time by a majority of
the fans. They couldn't hit Jones
when hits were needed, but other
wise they showed plenty of class.
With the exception of Duffy Lewis
in left field and Frank O'Rourke at
short, there were no new faces in
the lineup. Duffy didn't have much
chance to distinguish himself. but
O'Rourke took care of everything
that came his way and handled some
difficult chances in brilliant style.
He made himself solid with the Gus