The Washington times., 1930-10-06
AS
THREAT IN
EIGHTH
BY BILL CoRUM

"a. LOO1Ss OCG. Os-1nS SplT1b
Of Pennsylvania turned on the
Philadelphia Athletics in the
fourth game of the worlds series,
and as this is written the Gel
berts, Of Amber, Pa, are making
high holiday.
The Gelberts, Of Amber, Pa,
are Charley and Charley and they
look and talk alike. But 1t was
easy to tell 'em apart after old
man Jess Haines had taken the
"a" away from the AS, leaving
only the "S'', which stands for
second money.
For when the ball game had
passed into the blue-back record
books, Charley, sr., or Papa Gel
bert, wore red, red rose in
his buttonho1e and told the
whole wide world: "Yes sir, that's
my boy" While Charlie, jr., or
Sonny Colbert, went on lacing
his shoes and saying nothing
much unless urged.
Charlie, jr.. had just given
10000 screaming Missourians q
demonstration on the subject
called "shortstop," and showed
how it should be played.
In the eighth inning with
the ball game swAying In the
balance, the younger Colbert
had made what thought was
one Of the greatest plays
had ever seen In any worlds
SERIES and have seen my
share Of these October battles.
Let me set the stage. describe
the play. and then you can see
what you think about 1t.
The game had reached the stake
where the Cardinals and the
crowd knew that they were going
to get no more runs off Robert
Moses Grove, the long, lean Iona
coming leftie. The Red Wings
were winging in front by two.
They had got these two runs
through q break in the Dykes
sRndlot error by Jimmy Dykes on
third base.
Through this break had raced
two at. Louis scores and the Mis-
ter Grove had gone back into his
shell for the afternoon. They
were done hitting him and it was
no secret to anybody in the ball
park that they were done,
1t was up to Haines then to
mold his meager lead or lose his
ball game. Nobody knew that
better than the stalwart old
righthander with the hitch-hop
delivery. He was pitching care
1ully. Too carefully. Trying al
ways for the merest tip of an
outside or inside corner Of the
plate. He said so afterward.
And SO the game moved
on into the eighth with what
the boys delight to call the
Athletics power coming up.
Dykes - Simmons - Foxx-a
tough row to hoe under any
:. circumstances.
Bearing down too hard, Haines,
for fleeting moment, dropped
his guard and Dykes had drawn
a base on balls with nobody gone.
Cochrane came, and HaineS,
who had his number, took him
on a cheap fly to Ray Blades.
But still Jess was in the hole he
had dug for himself. Simmons
already had got two roaring hits
and he was just as likely to lace
one into Grand Avenue and tie
the score as not.
Haines, cool, cagey, game, kept
them in close to the letters and
: twice Simmons sawed wildly and
twice he missed. On the next
pitch AIS big bat met the ball,
but UP close to the handle. and
q slow roller started out across
the pitchers mound. It was too
slow for st, Louis safety. Much
too slow. The sort Of flukey hit
that has won many o hard
pitched game.
Haines, who had moved I'm
with his pitch, stabbed wildly
ut the lazy white ball, missed,
and it was past him. Frisch,
coming up from the other
side, was too far away. The
ball was to the right of the
mound and nobody thought
OF Colbert.
Already Dykes was within q
few feet of second, and Simmons,
a tornado in gray, was eating
up the distance between the
plate and first. Long sleeves
Tapping, striding like a sprinter,
looking more like Ty Cobb every
day, the flying Pole charged at
Bottomley and the crowd caught
its breath.
1t had to be a hit. What was
to keep 1t from it? Two on.
only one out and Foxx to be
dealt with. Bottomley stood, toe
hooked in the bag. waiting, all
but pleading for the ball. But
there was nobody to throw it.
That is, one minute there
wasn't. The next minute there
was. Racing in behind HaineS
lin full stride came a figure in
cream white. There was a
blurred, Scooping motion, too
fast for words of description.
Then, as though shot from a
gun, a white ball whiz2ed at