Evening star., 1926-03-29

tablished.
Following the championship, Var
don and Ray played several exhibition
matches and included a visit to the
northwest in their schedule. | en-
Aaged in two matches against them,
partnered by Bob Johnstone in both
cases. We lost both matches, but
succeeded in putting up good, strong
fight. One match went to the home
green and the other was lost down
and / to play, so that we were pretty
we'll satisfied with our showing.
My old friend, Alex Findlay, who
now is in Philadelphia, was making
The trip around with Nardon and Ray
and during his stay in Tacoma he sug-
geSted that there was a good opening
at the White Marsh Valley Country
Club in that city. and he promised to
put in a recommendation for me to
the club officials when he got back. So
along shortly after Christmas the offer
was received and promptly accepted.
Parting from the Tacoma Country
Club was hard, both for me and for
the members. Just before my depart,
ure they staged an open tournament
as a kind of farewell, and l won it by
something like 20 strokes.
Connie Mack Prophet
The first year at White Marsh Val.
ley, in the Spring of 1914, gave me
lirst introduction to base ball. That
year, as base ball fans will recall, the
Philadelphia Athletics won the Amer.
lean League pennant. Some friends
invited me to see a few games and it
wasn't long before | developed a real
interest. Before the season was very
old 1 met Connie Mack, the club man
"A Il f.-{a l.,
which continues TO this day. So much
SO that when l won the British cham
pionship this year Connie cabled me
his congratulations. In a good many
quiet chats with Connie. even back In
those days, now more than ten years
ago, he told me that golf was begin
ming to cut in on base ball, and that
if 1t kept on growing as it had in the
past few years the time might not be
lar distant when big league ball clubs
would have to develop and train their
own players.
Golf never can and never will cut in
on base ball as an entertainment prop
OSition. Golf isn't an exhibition game
in the same sense that base ball is.
But it will hurt base ball in this way:
Golf already has spread to the little
towns all over the country. There is
much as 5000 population that doesn't
have at least one golf course. And
there are lots of towns Of 1000 or 5000
that have them.
All Boys Can Learn Golf.
Naturally, in these small towns
every boy in town can learn TO play
golf if he wants to, and most of them
will: first, because they usually get
started by carrying clubs for older
players, and so picking up a little |
money. and also because two can play |
golf where it takes several to get up |
a bali game. The time which the boys |
spend at golf is taken away from base |
ball, 50 that they don't pick up the |
skill in playing that game that they |
would otherwise. This means that as
they grow older they are not good
enough to play on school teams, for
instance. or maybe a college team,
and by that time they are past learn
ing the game.
Ten or IS years from now a big
percentage of the boys who now are
70 to Is years old will have left these
small towns and located in the larger
cities. They viii have learned golf |
as youngsters and as soon as the !
chance is offered they will join clubs |
and follow up the game. Right now, |
| venture that in the membership of |
the average club, either in the smaller !
cities or the larger ones, a check-up |
would show that something like 20 !
per cent of the members took up the /
game after they were grown. In Is |
or 20 years more the proportion will !
be just about reversed.
Boys Being Weaned Away.
So, if golf is hurting base ball, and
| have no doubt it is, the damage is
due to the fact that the small town
BOYS. who, | am told, furnish most of
the big league stars. are being Weaned
away from the game when they are
young and would otherwise be play
ing base ball. After they grow up IT
is natural enough that they will go to
golf.
At various times I have met many
Of the stars in the big leagues. In
The early Spring of 1922 ] got into
New Orleans with Jock Hutchinson as
we were winding up a long exhibition
tour while the New York Yankees
were doing their Spring practice. We
happened to stop at the same hotel
with the bail players, and Babe Ruth,
who is quite keen on golf, invited us
out to the park one morning to watch
the practice.
At the urging of the Babe, Walter
PiDp and some of the others, Jock
and myself both took a turn in the
batting practice. l can't say that
either of us registered huge success.
Like golf, base ball isn't as easy as
it looks. There is quite a difference
between hitting a golf ball sitting still