The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-10-22
| ALKING
IT OVER
WITH JOE WILLIAMS
NEW YORK. Oct. %.

NEW YORK, Oct. %.
TZTHEN the tall and gangling
w Howard Ehmke scrambled out
81 the dugout and started TO I'M
timber his fragile soup bone in front
Of the Athletics bench on the after
noon Of the first game OF the world
s7ries in Chicago. a gentleman who
Has been identified with baseball in
q professional capacity for a num-
Der Of years exploded:
Holy Petei Connie isn't going TO
start that guy is he? Why the Cubs
viii have him out Of there before the
hrst inning is over. He's got heart
about as big as pin head"
Won hear such things often about men
sports. especially professional sports.
on hear it said Of pitcher or team
90 th~v are al r.rht rs long thew
. in front bit fi4t tbev fold IN when
NJ rolr % tcromes tourh. and Of prize
rhters That trey would be champions il
they could take It,"
I suppose it is true there are
some men totally lacking in cour-
age Just as there are other men
who are endowed with flaming
courage. In a general sense 1 sup
pose courage is character wearing a
glistening shield. All of us would
like to have it. Most of us like to
feel that in a pinch We might posi-
bly, come through. At the same
time the urge to make the test is
seldom very urgent.
GONE men in sports are branded
- faint hearted because they hap
pened to fail once in conspicuous
spot, and this brand stays with them
as long as they are in the game;
or unless, as in Ehmke's case, an
unusual situation develops and they
are able to present convincing testi-
mOny 10 the contrary.
Ehmke came close TO being the dominat-
Ing hero of the world series. II he had
failed in the opening game the chances
arc the Athletics. Young. unSeasoned
team. with a tendency to hiChtiness in
critical moments. would have PLAYED with
less spirit and dash in the subsequent
games. Considering the relative mental
attitudes & was much more important that
TIE Philadelphia entry should get oil in a
winning stride than the Chicago squad.
T.
Ehmke pitched more with his
heart and his brain that day than
wI.a his arm. When the pressure
was t.2htest he was invincible. He
famed thirteen OF the Cubs. He
didn't have much on the ball. He
was taking a chance in being able
to put it where the National League
sluggers would have a hard time
meeting it soli['y, if they met it all.
He was gambling on the feather
edge fineness Of his control.
TT IS my notion that the courage
/ involved in that type OF pitching
carries a hiqher spiritual value than
that which is eyemplified by broad
shouldered giant with bullying
muscles and burning speed, whose
technique consists wholly in throw
ing the ball right past the batter.
This is no attempt to present
brief for Ehmke. The gentleman
merely happens to be timely bio
LOGICAL exhibit in a casual, loose
dissertation c" courage. Ehmke Is
q nervous. imaginative type, high
geared mentally. These fellows sense
danger quicker than the Stolid, dull,
impressive types. Hence their bur-
denS are heavier. 1t is stupid to
say the valiant die but once.
It Is something more than legend that
Ehmkc's own mates drove him from the
clubhouse in ridicuIe last summer after a
game with the Yankees in which he
pitched a ball TO Babe Ruth with the
bases full that was knocked from the park
and resulted in The total and complete
loss OF the contest.
THE presence of Ruth at the
i wicket in such a situation isl
ca culated to strike despair in the
heart of almost any pitcher; and
that it should have precipitated a
distressing aftermath at the expense
of the imaginative Ehmke was OF no
deep significance. 1t would have
been much more of a surprise, con-
sidering the emotional capacity of
the man, if he had famed the
hitter.
Courage Is not material quantity that
can be classified with the same fxed
defnitcness that a strong throwing arm.
an effective right cross or a fiawless driv-
ing skill off the tee is singled out and
weighed as possible factor in i'm
pending competition. There can never be
ANYTHING Standard or routine about 1t.
I'D OGERS HORNSBY is popu-
N larly supposed to be one of the
grituest men in baseball. It was
the Hornsby grit and icy composure
that many believed would help
swim. the balance in favor of the
Cubs in the series. Hornsby per-
formed with an impotency that was
shocking to veteran critics. But that
didn't mean he had lost any of his
grit or calnness under fire. He
simply went into a slump at time
when his power was most needed.
That could happen to Hornsby and
still be all right with the customers;
he was known to be a dead-game
guy.