Evening star., 1932-08-28
VIRGINIA PITCHERS
FIRST UNDER WAY.
Four Major Titles at Stake in
Evening Star Play That
Opens September Z.

- NOItueIu NAeAAlldJ VIII, dIA
Summer, have kept the
pegs hot in unofficial COM
petition, will get down to serious
business on September Z when
the first of four major tourna-
ments, constituting The Stars
annual Metropolitan champion
ships, & held at Falls Church.
Plans for the Virginia tourna-
inent, in which State honors will
be decided, were completed last
night. The matches will be
pitched on the courts of George
c. Thompson, himself a leading
contender for the State crown.
Major details remain to be settled,
but the Southern Maryland tournament
will be held on September 9, the Wash
ington event on September IA and the
Metropolitan final, in which survivors
of the other three will contend, will
be held September 16.
THE District playground department,
i cooperating in the conduct of the
Washington and m e tr o politan
events, is seeking ways and means OF
putting on the tournaments at night.
It is already assured that Virginia and
Maryland will have lighted courts.
Thompson's at Falls Church is one of
the finest horseshoe pitching layouts
in the East, and there are several ex-
cellent lighted courts in Southern
Maryland A choice of one Of the lat
ter will be made in the next several
days.
A proposal that pitchers be made to
qualify for the metropolitan final by
a ringer-percentage system has been
abandoned in favor of the elimination
scheme of the last three years in The
Star tournament. In other words, the
last four survivors in Washington, Vir,
ginia and Maryland will be permitted
to compete in the grand play-off, with
the defending champion. in this case
Harry F. Saunders, automatically quail
fed. This will make field Of IS,
necessitating three byes.
VoUNG Chic Darr Of Ballston will
L be the defending champion In Vir-
ginia. The 15-year-old, who un-
crowned Clayton Henson of Arlington
a year ago, will be up against bril-
1Adllb 1lCNO, oCfCl al dt Va O4iO
last campaign, who have improved.
Among the latter are George Ihomp-
son and Ed Henry of Falls Church who
fought it out recently in a Fairfax
County championship event held n
connection with the Mclean carnival
It was a brilliantly contested match
and one Of the closest on record in the
metropolitan area In three 50-point
games each scored the same number OF
points, but Thompsons were properly
distributed and he won.
"A LEXANDER KIRCHNER of Bar
"A croft, who won the Virginia title
in the first Evening Star tourna
ment in 1929, may return to the horse
shoe wars. Kirchner, forced by an op-
Grafton to give up sport for year,
is fit again and was reinfected by the
horseshoe bug while watching bam-
binos of the game IN the Mclean in
vitation tournament.
John Gourvenec, washington cham
pion, likely will be hard put to remain
on top. Johnny won last year like a
true champion, but due to many up
field he vanquished was not as strong
as the one to be assembled September
IA. This year all who care to may
enter the Washington event, the neigh
borhood and divisional play-offs having
been stricken off the program to avoid
drawn-out competition.
or those holding major titles, Joe
~ Merryman Of Bladensburg. boss OF
Southern Maryland pitchers, ap-
pears to have the best chance to re-
peat. Merryman finished second in the
Mclean invitation, which was won by
Saunders.
In the Mclean final the 1anky Mary
lander had the hooks in Saunders. but
the Iron Champion" pulled typical
spurt to get away. In much the same
way he avoided defeat at the hands of
Vic Riston two years ago in the metro
politan play-offs. On that occasion
'Andsome AIRY dropped on 13 ringers
in 16 shoes.
In the meantime the rigre throwers
are hard at 1t in independent play.
Scores of minor tournaments have been
held this Summer, all leading up to the
big-time competition to get under way
wednesday, September Z, at Falls
Church