Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-12-20

front. But on their second Western
| trip of the pear Johnson was inca
pacitated by tonsiiitis attack and
Peckinpaugh and Joe Judge, infield
regulars. were kept out Of action
| by injuries. These mistortuneS so
crippled the team that it fell behind
the Athletics once more before the
end of July and when the Nationals
started their final Western invasion
of the year in August they were trail
ing the Macks by two games.
The Macks took three straight
lacingS from the Browns, while the
Nationals Won three straight from
the Indians. and on August 20 went
into first place. to hold it thereafter.
The Macks broke even with the White
SoX, while the Grilfs did the same
with the Tigers. Three In a row
We're dropped to the Browns by the
Griffs, but the Indians handed the
Macks three licking at the same
time. Then came three straight vic
tories for the Nationals in Chicago.
while the AS took three successive
drubbings from the Tigers. so the
Washington club came home from
the West three and one-nalf games
in the lead
On September 1 and . the Nationals
carried the fight to the Athletics and
beat them both times. The Nationals
then won two out of three games
played with the Red Sox, while the
Yankees twice drubbed the MackS,
and on Labor day they took a seven
game lead into Philadelphia.
The MackS We're vanquiShed in both
of the holiday engagements, but they
won the next two games of the series.
After that the Nationals PLAYED at u
better clip against the Red SoX, Ty-
NJ f,o,
did the Athletics against the Yankees.
White Sox. Tigers and Browns until
on September "a Stanley Harris club
made. sure of the flag by drubbing
the Indians twice while the Browns
were beating the Athletics.
World Series Thrilling.
The world series with the Pitts
burgh Pirates, National League pen
nant winners, while not so spectacu-
lar nor so brilliantly played as that
of 1924 between Nationals and Giants,
was thriller. In it, the Nationals
ran roughshod over an unbalanced
team at the start, only to be hurled
backward by the Pirates, who after
recovering their poise took three con-
secutive games to get the champion
ship.
Weather conditions We're variable
Pittsburgh on an ideal Indian Summer
day. Three days later fur wraps
were needed at Clark Griffith Stadium
here as protection against wintery
blasts. Rain forced TWO postpone
ments and the final contest at Pitts
burgh was played in a downpour that
increased in intensity as the game
progressed.
The Nationals started in Pittsburgh
October n sty wit !,
Walter johnson out pitching Lee
Meadows and winning, to l. The
next day, however, the Pirates evened
the series with 81 3-to-2 victory, al
though Stanley Coveleskie of the
American Leaguers pitched fully as
we'll as Vic Aldridge of the opposition.
A brace of errors by Peckinpaugh,
National shortshop. had much to do
with the Pittsburgh success.
Rain prevented a game in Washing
ton on October 8, but the next day
when chilling blasts swept Clark Grit
fifth Stadium the Nationals won, to
3 That engagement was marked by
Sam Rice's great catch that robbed
Earl Smith, Pirate receiver, of a
homer and Fred Marberry's game
pitching in the ninth inning.
Rice fell across the barrier of a
temporary stand in right center to
graz Siilili = lOll anu DIT Inc Time
Manager McKechnie Of the Pirates
claimed the outfielder had not cap
tured the bail, but Umpire Rigler
ruled that it had been fairly caught.
Marberry Shows Gameness.
Marberry, who relieved Ferguson
after the seventh inning, got into
trouble in the ninth, when, with one
Pirate out of the way. two got singles
and another was hit by pitched ball
to fill the bases. But Marberry
braced and caused Barnhart to foul
out. Against Traynor, Pirate batting
star, the Washington hurler went to
a three-andtwo count, then the heavy
hitter lofted to McNeely in center
field for the final out.
The Nationals scored their third
victory in the series on Sunday,
October II, in a 4-to-0 game in which
Walter Johnson allowed the Pirates
but half dozen safeties. That was
the end for the American League
champions. however. Coveleskie and
several other National moundsmen
were pummeled October II, when the
Pirates won, 6 to 8, and the clubs re-
turned to Pittsburgh to complete the
series.
Despite good pitching by Ferguson
and Ballou, the Pirates bagged a 3-to-
2 game on October 13 and after a
PoStponement forced by rain the next
day the clubs resumed hostilities
October Is. Stanley Harris assigned
Johnson to the hill for the Nationals
and although that pitcher was hit
heavily all the way he probably would
have won with fair support.
Aldridge, who faced the Griffs at
the start, was wild and they got a
four-run lead in the initial session.
The Pirates got back three of these
tallies in the third inning, but the
Nationals came back for two more
markers in the fourth. Some erratic
playing by Peckinpaugh helped the
Pirates to tie the count at Gall In the
seventh. but the erring shortstop with
q homer put the Nationals ahead
again in the eighth.
Clinch Title i'm Eighth.
The Pirates, though, went after
Johnson vigorously in their batting
portion of the eighth and their hits,
combined with more wobbly work by
Peckinpaugh Melted them three runs
could do nothing against Oldham,
Pirate relief hurler, in the ninth.
Goose Goslin and Joe Harris Of the
losers distinguished themselves as
sluggers in the series by getting three
homers each, and Peckinpaugh set a
record for the classic by making
eight errors in the seven games.
1t was sad finish for club that
had fought SO courageously for
months, but-District folk probably
got enough from other athletic and
sport endeavorS to compensate for
the one big wallop suffered by their