San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1924-03-20
LaGrave and Atz Seek to
Lower Baltimore's Record
for Consecutive Champion
ships-Young Cantrell
Earns Mention.
By JOHN b. FOSTER.

Fort Worth, Tex, March 20
There's a long and historic trail
a-winding between here and New Or
leans. It's the trail of the Fort
Worth baseball club which licked
everything in its own league for the
fourth time in row and then jour
neyed down TO New Orleans with a
trainload of big-hatted fans to para
lyze the New Orleans club for the
Dixie championship.
1t was that trail which the writer
followed all of a long day to drop
down in this city of Texas champions
where Jake ATT, the McGraw of the
minor leagues. bid fair before he is
finished with his baseball life TO equal
the minor league record for nIdnag-
ipg. Give him time. that's all.
The Fort Worth team began TO put
on the medals as kings Of the plains
when Paul LaGrave got well oct IN
the game. 1t was a little slow at
the start, but, once he got under
headway. there hasn't been enough
sand in the state TO stop him in his
wild quest for pennants. In 1919
LaGrave got into the final with
Shreveport. The Louisiana outfit
licked him in the playoff, but not
again. In 1920 he won, then in 1921,
1922 and 1923. And now the other
Texas League clubs are sitting up
nights trying to figure out some way
to head him off from a fifth victory.
Wants Baltimore Record.
80 ~ p,fNft
to equal the record of Baltimore for
consecutive championships.
well have to play ball to do it,"
he comedies. you've got to fight in
this league. The boys play ball be-
cause they like it and they'll battle
any team for a nine-inning finish.
If we win five pennants in a row,
we'll take on Baltimore any time they
say the word"
Time was when Dallas was the big
gest peacock in the Texas peacock al
ley and Waco, too once bottled up
remnants like a pop factory working
overtime. But neither of them ever
did what Fort Worth has done-win
four in a row. And neither ever
slapped the Southern Association. MO-
bile managed to win the Dixie title
once for the Southern Association,
but that was because Fort Worth
was bunged up, they say.
The Fort Worth team has had to
work hard to keep up with the city,
which has grown wonderfully, expand
ing miles since the days when the first
big league teams were wont to stop
here for exhibition games.
Atz Takes 1t Calmly.
Jake Atz figures on his fifth cham
pionship this year with the calm as
suranc of a man who knows what
he wants and how TO go about get
ting it. He has had TO make his team
over, but, like a good, resourceful
that doesn't worry him. He
knows what the champion job is. He
can take tile here and tile
there and cement them together into
a real ball playing club.
"We've just simply got TO go over
to the Southern Association and give
those fellows another lesson in base
ball, says Jake. "If the American
Association and the International
want to come out here, we will take
them on. too. Our little old baseball
Of the plains is second to none these
days and maybe the big leagues would
like to sample some of it. They don't
come this way to practice inucn more.
OF course. I'm not saying anything.
but we young champions are hard
lot TO beat. Maybe that's WHY they
ion't come-but I'm not saying so"
A youngster named Cantrell may
have a good deal to do with Fort
Worth's success this season. He is
from Lehigh. Okla. Last season he
would have pitched all the amateurs
# this part Of the country into sub
so Fort Worth took him on