The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-12-06
By H. G. SALSINGER.

 Ambitions to become a college sprint CT were responsible for his later success | as base runner, according to T1 Cobb's own story.
 As boy he wanted to be a tracl athlete. He got all the books or sprinting that his home town library carried. These books were written by college coaches or successful sprinters Cobb absorbed them eagerly.
 He discovered that these experts laiC particular stress upon stride. Without the proper stride no boy could become a sprinter. Cobb committed to memory the paragraphs on stride and then, each morning, he ran one or two miles sometimes more, before breakfast. All the while he was running he practiced the stride described in the books as proper. He developed stride.
 Tt is not speed in base-running, '' Cobb says. "The best base-runners in baseball were successful because they had developed stride.
 Stride Not Enough
 "But stride in straightaway or circu- lar track running, as college and anna teur runners recognize it, will not be alone sufficient to make them good run ners in baseball. Some have tried it and failed.
 "You need stride in base-running, just as you need stride plus something else, and the something else is a fine judg. ment of distance that permits you to make sharp turns and touch each base without perceptibly lessening that stride and cutting down your speed.
 Champion sprinters would be beaten by the majority of ball players in cir cling bases. They would have the stride but they would not have the knack of negotiating the sharp corners of the diamond without losing stride and speed. That is the trick of the thing.
 Stride is also important in fielding. There has never been a great outfielder who did not have a good stride. No matter what speed the man has, if he does not know how to get the most sbut of it in his stride, he will not succeed. Stride is the most important thing in fielding and running bases."
 Cobb Plays Football
 Cobb's stride would have made him great football player. One time, after he was successfully launched on his major league career, he visited Vanderbilt university at Nashville, Tenn, during the football season. He was invited to attend practice. Cobb watched the Vanderbilt squad practice, studied the tactics and the different maneuvers. The next afternoon he re- turned and asked for a uniform. He did we'll in ordinary practice and when scrimmage followed Cobb asked to be permitted to engage in that. The re- quest was granted.
 Cobb played with the scrubs and soon the scrubs were down in their own 15-yard zone. Cobb asked for the ball. The scrub quarterback handed it to him on the next pass from center. All Cobb did was to run through the entire team of Vanderbilt regulars, S5 yards for a touchdown. In his run he straight armed and finally reversed his field The same run, had it been made in a major game, would have been hailed as one of the feature plays of the gridiron season.
 Cobb could not have been a failure in any sport. He took up boxing. Harry Tuthill, who trained and sec onded a number of leading boxers, was trainer of the Detroit team. Cobb asked him to teach him boxing. Tut hill consented. They boxed every day. One afternoon Tuthill said, "I'm through" Cobb wanted to know why.