The Washington times., 1933-12-29

trhtch ne describes dramatic,
thrilling incidents, moments and
battles in baseball that tDiH Hue
Gs long as the game itself. The
articles appear daily in The Wash
trgton Time.
: By GARRY SCHUMACHER
May Day in Boston. The time,
1920.
Where to look for excitement?
Only one guess. The Common, Of
course. The Reds were to parade
there, make speeches.
E Sedate, conservative Boston, the
hallowed Back Bay precincts,
couldn't be expected to counte-
nance that. There must be a fuss,
maybe a riot. The seeker after
excitement couldn't miss-those
sturdy Irish cops from South Bos-
ton were sure to swing their clubs,
and broken heads were certain.
7 Compared to that, gloomy cav
ernous Braves Field promised the
thrill seeker nothing. Just an
early season ball game between
the Braves and the Brooklyn
Dodgers. Little was likely to hap
pen there. Anyway, it was chilly.
The wind and weather were still
out of the northeast, off the dank
mist enveloped Grand Banks. To
60 out to the ball game was to
sentence yourself to an afternoon
Of acute discomfort.
Fans Loyalty Rewarded
Yet strangely enough some 1000
persons chose the alternative.
why, they probably couldn't an
SWer.
But wise they were, wiser than
they knew, and luckier than they
deserved. They came to see
ball game. What they saw was
pitching epic, an endurance test
beyond comparison in the annals
Of the game. Thrills! Few sport
ing events have ever produced
more.
For when that pale New Eng
land sun took away the last hint
of warmth beyond the Charles
River marshes, and the last ray
Of light, the two teams and the
two pitchers, Leon Cadore and
Joe Oeschger, had won a lasting
place in the baseball hall Of fame,
had played such game as no
one ever saw, before or since.
Twenty-six innings they had
been locked in gripping combat
the longest game in major league
history. Unable to beat each
other both teams had finally
yielded to enveloping darkness.
Light had already fled at the
end of the twenty;fourth inning,
but Umpire Barry Mccormick let
it 20 two more before he re-
luctantly called it a day and
ball game. The score was 10 l.
Ruined Both Pitchers
It was an epic and yet in Its
own way a tragedy. 1t ruined
two careers. For neither Of the
men who made it possible, the
tall, handsome Cadore, nor the
burly, powerful Oeschger:. was
ever again an effective pitcher.
The wear and tear of that Cruel
ling struggle took something from
their arms that couldn't be re-
covered. s
Among ball players Cadore was
an unusual personality, a smartly.
groomed, charming, sophisticated
man. Broadway saw a lou VI
him during his playing days. ana
he belonged. A wit and q con
versationalist, he made fr1enos
easilv and knew his way around:
Anywhere, In France he mao
been a war hero, an officer VINO
had won a citation in action.
AS a pitcher he was scarcely
a tor ranker, yet his intelligence
and astuteness carried him be-
yond many who possessed more
powerful pitching equipment.
Like so many of the ball games
that 90 into extra innings, this
masterpiece of his started un-
eventfully. Nothing much nap
pened. Brooklyn scored in the
fifth when Olson singled, and the
braves knotted the count in the
sixth when Walton Cruises triple
was covered by Tony Boeckels
single. But there was no n1nC
of prolonged extra inning
struggle. The play was too loose
Something was sure to happen.
Twin Play Nips Run
But it didn't. Suddenly runs
became hard to get. What looked
like the winning run attack was
thwarted by Ivan Olson In the
ninth after the Braves had filled
the bases. He scooped up Leslie
Mann'S hard rap, tagged Eddie
Pick on the base lines and retired
the side with a flip to Ed kon-
etchy.
AS the battle entered extra
innings the tempo of the play in
creased. The play became sharp,
precise. One great play was fol-
lowed by another: the game had
become test Of courage as well
as skill.
Greatest Play
Brooklyn, it seemed, must win
in the seventeenth. They filled
the bases with one out. The
games greatest play threw them
back. "Rowdy" Elliot tapped to
OeSchger. The force play at the
plate was easy, but Gowdy's throw
for the double play at first base
was low and wide. Holke blocked
the ball, but it rolled away. Sens