Evening star., 1926-03-21

loose he'll have the opposition worry
And there's Ogden. too. I've never
lost faith in his ability to pitch. Even
when he faltered so last season. fig
ured it was the spirit rather than the
arm that was weak. You'll remem-
ber Curly came back to us from Chat
tanooga and pitched wonderful ball.
And I'm quite sure he'll do so again
Both Ferguson and Ogden have been
on the hill twice this training season,
each for three innings at a clip. Alec
hurled against the Braves and the
Phils, engaging the first named with
some success. but serving as a fine
target for the latter. Curly made his
debut against the Tampa CubanS and
was none too good in his first inning,
but found the semi-pros easy in the
next two. When he tackled the
Phillies at Bradenton he made good
headway until knocked down by a
terrific drive from Leach's bat.
Look Good In Daily Drills.
In their daily drills, however, these
fellows have given Harris much to
enthuse over Each has revealed
enough in his peculiar style Of pitch
ing to lead one to believe he VII be
dependable member of the mound
staff in the flag fight. Above all, each
is in wonderful physical trim.
Ferguson, who came to the Ma
tionals last year weighing close to 1876
pounds as a result of idling on the
Yankees bench most of the season,
tips the scales now around 1S0 pounds,
which he says is his normal weight.
1t probably is. for Ferguson certainly
appears hardened.
Consequently, the Bloomfield boy is
tackling this training business more
seriously than in former sea sons and
with confidence that even he admits
was lacking before. Alec feels that
this year he will be able to pitch reg
ularly in the form he has at infreQuent
intervals heretofore revealed.
ogden, when he first came to the
Nationals from the Athletics by the
waiver route, must still have been
growing. That's the impression one
who saw him then gets when seeing
him for the first time this year. He is
now a man of powerful physique.
Curly is Carrying no extra poundage.
He simply has taken on more muscle
and appears fit for the best pitching of
his career.
If these two hurfers perform up to
/the standard Harris thinks they will,
the Nationals will have a mound staff
that will take deal of beating. There
Is bound to be some high-class heav-
ing done by the veteran group that
includes Johnson, Coveleskie, Reuther
and Bush. With two more dependable
younger men to call upon, Harris
ought not to have any slab problem
to annoy him.
Four Games This Week.
Four games, all with big league
outfits, are scheduled for the Nation
ais next week. Three of them are to
be played on Plant Field in Tampa.
The Reds will be met there Monday,
the Dodgers on Wednesday, and the
Giants on Saturday, Thursday after
noon the American League champions
will go to Clearwater for a return en-
Eagement with Wilbert RObinson's
Brooklyn aggregation.
A notable occurrence of the week
will be the season debut of Walter
johnson, dean of major league pitch
ers, who this year will begin his
twentieth campaign under the big
tent. Walter is to toe the slab Mon
day against the Reds for a few in
nings, then will wait until next Sat
urday for another turn. The big fell
low will face the Giants in the week
end tilt.
Between these games Johnson will
get plenty of work in morning drills.
lie is an earnest trainer in these prac-
tice sessions, devoting much time to
warm-up pitching and hurting to bat
ters in addition to his participation in
pep drill and turn around the half
mile track.
Walter is not worrying at all about
the condition Of his salary arm, but
ne is paying particular attention to
his underpinning. 1t was due to his
desire to strengthen his legs to a
greater extent that he asked for a
postponement Of his 1926 slab start
from this week to next.
Next Saturdays effort probably
will be Walters last in a game until
the American League championship
seasons opening in Washington on
April 49, When the Nationals break
camp at Tampa on April l, the day
after they play the Baltimore Orioles,
the veteran slabman will head for the
Capital City, where he will do his
daily dozen at Clark Griffith stadium
while his clubmates are barnstorm-
ing their way Northward with the
Giants.
While there has been no official
announcement from headquarters, it
seems to be settled that Johnson will
be IN the hill for the Nationals
y when they face the Athletics in the
inaugural battle of the 1925 cam
paign. The Champions are anxious
to get the jump on the club that gave
them such brisk brush for the
flag the greater part of last season.
That means that Bucky Harris will
present his most formidable front
for the first fray and undoubtedly
Walter Johnson viii be this year, as
he has in years past, the best bet of
the National pitching corps.
Many Nights Aboard Sleeper.
The itinerary for the Northward
transforming trip of the Nationals
lust issued shows that the club will
have to spend most of its nights on
board it's special Pullmans. The
Champs will leave Tampa shortly
after noon on April l, and will not
rest in a hotel until the night of
April 6, when they will be lodged in
the Hotel Richmond at Augusta. The
next night they will spend in the
Hotel Piedmont at Atlanta. From
then on their home will be on the
rattler until they reach Washington
the morning Of April 10.
Around his home town of Bloom
field, n. j., Alec Ferguson is almost
as famous because of his prowesS on
the basket ball court as on the base
ball diamond. He was a star player
with the Bloomfield Catholic Lyceum
for several years, then Joined the pro-
fessional ranks with club In
Newark n. J.
Among those who broke into the
pro court ranks with Alec was Nate
= Holman, late coach and star of the
well known Holly Majors, with which
team Ferguson also played. Alec was
rated as the best center ever to play
with a Bloomfield team and was an
excellent pivot performer for the
Holly Majors. -
Bill Smith, road secretary of the