The Washington times., 1936-02-27

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Times Sports Editor

There is some reason to sus-
pect that OF Tawm Zachary
may be approaching his dot
age.
Much as I dislike to admit
such q circumstance, it Is i'm
possible to mistake the plain
evidence that he Is becoming
forgetful.
The philosophical patriarch
Of portside pitchers, who has
not only served in France, but
In Philadelphia, Washington,
Boston, New York and Brooklyn.
to say nothing Of st. Louis, for.
got this year, and mailed his
signed contract to the office Of
the Brooklyn Baseball Club.
Long Custom Broken
The II previous contracts that
the Carolina cotton cultivator has
signed since he came UP to the
Philadelphia Athletics in 1918 un-
der the alias Of Zach Walton,
have always been toted to camp
and delivered by the venerable
nothing-ball artist who admits to
80 years and who must be point
ing for the baseball longevity
achieved by John PicuS Quinn,
whose uniform they had to burn
up before they could get him off
the old Philadelphia Athletics.
Zachary, like so many Of his
calling, was always thrifty, and
until this year he never believed
in wasting a postage stamp by
mailing a contract that could be
rendered in the flesh. Besides,
those mail men might accidentally
lose it.
But Tom must have reckoned
this year he'd better get that
signed contract back to Brooklyn
before they changed their mind,
for he has hung on longer than
is the lot Of most pitchers. left
handlers or otherwise.
M1SSGaGGu SUING aCbS
The facts about or Tawm's age
have never been definitely eStab-
liShed, but his years are generally
supposed to be more than record
ed in baseball'S who's who, If
only for the fact that q player
who came into the game under a
phoney name Ito escape detec-
.tion at Guilford College for play
ing summer baSebalD probably
understated his natal facts as well.
I saw the big, raw-boned, wind
blown, reddish-c m p ! c xi o n e d
Methuselah Of the mound one day
in New York last summer and he
didn't look a minute older than
when he was here in the early '2O'S
fooling the American League bat
ters with that tantslizing delivery
Of his.
His parched-necked type doesn't
show the inroads OF the years.
He looked mature even when he
was ostensibly in his mid-twenties
and pitching for washington. He
looks the same now, although his
seven wins and IL defeats of last
season indicate the old arm must
be getting brittle. He is still a
fine straight figure of fellow at
or around 40 and you can take
that either in years or waist
measurement.
! Minded Own Business
= I expect baseball has had few
personalities with such a penchant
for minding their own business as
Jonathan Thomas Zachary. II
everyone in the world kept his
own council as has Zach, there'd
be no such a word as "slander"
in the English dictionary.
Without being unSociable, for
Zach enjoys the company Of his
fellow players and the admiration
of them, too, OF Tawn was ever
q man Of few words. Most Of his
conversation came in monoSyl-
ables, more particularly his "Yep,"
and Nope"
: But whenever Zach did cut loose
It was usually followed by a squirt
Of chawing tobacco, as if for
punctuation. His prize philosophy
with me will ever be the occasion
on which he was greeted in spring
training camp by a young baseball
writer. By way Of making conver-
sation with Zach, which wasn't
easy for any kid writer breaking
in, the latter opened up by saying
he'd written several compli-
mentary pieces about Zach during
the winter, and had he seen them?
; 'NOpe," allowed Zach.
''What, you never see our
Northern papers down in Caro-
lina?'' calculated the cub re-
: porter.
. do you see Ourn?" asked
s Zach as he scored q buIl's-eye on
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