Evening star., 1937-07-14
KEYMEN STRICKEN,
BUT CLUB BATTLES
Fighting Detroit Outfit Is
ThroWback to Team of
Cobb's Early Days.
BY FRANCIS ]. POWERS.
. H1CAGO, July 14.-Much has
been made of the rowdy az


- H1CAGO, July 14.-Much has
4 been made of the rowdy AZ
gressiveness Of the St. Louis
~ Cardinals, but, for a team
with plenty of what the boys used to
call "the old moxie," let me recon-
mend the Detroit Tigers.
There is a club that has been hit
by about every variety of misfortune
that can occur in base ball, but still
carries on with unflagging courage.
The Tigers won't win the American
League pennant unless the New York
Yankees fall in their tracks, but had
they been able to keep their regular
lineup intact over the season they
would have given the Rupert rifles
plenty argument.
Recount the Tiger casualties and
you will get my idea Detroit lost
Mickey Cochrane, its manager and q
grand catcher, for the season and per-
haps forever so far as his active play
ing is concerned. Ray Hayworth the
veteran reserve catcher, went down
with fractured arm and more re-
Gently Cliff Bolton, another catcher,
was benched by broken finger.
Key Players Battered.
CCHOOLBOY ROWE, formerly one
of the best right-handers in the
majors, has been in and out with
sore arm all season and his future is
very questionable. Tommy Bridges.
one Of the great curve ball pitchers
in the league, never has been able to
attain his best form. Charley Geh-
ringer, the incompatible second base
man, played stretch OF games ham
dicapped by severe injury and Mar.
win Owen. the clever third baseman,
still is recuperating from a fractured
hand. Gerald Walker, one OF the
leagues leading batters. was forced
out with charleyhorse that pre-
vented participation in the all-star
game. I cannot recall any team in
recent years at least, so sorely stricken
with injuries to key players.
Detroit's bad luck this season Is In
striking contrast to its good fortune
in 1884, when Cochrane drove the
Tigers to their first pennant in rs
years. That season Detroit went
through the entire campaign without
a single regular missing a game be.
cause Of illness or injury. The team
was almost as fortunate when re-
peating in 1895. but then injuries
and illnesses began to pile up and
have continued with little abatement.
In two seasons Cochrane has become
base balls man Of misfortune.
Like Jennings Old Tisers.
A HALF dozen games behind the
Yankees. the Tigers lack the
power to block New York's charge on
another championship. But so long
as they have such hard bitten hombres
as Goose Goslin, Gehringer, Walker
and Greenberg left on the active
muster roll they will give any one a
battle, even the devastating Yankees.
This Detroit team is a direct throw
back to the old Tigers of Cobb's young
days, when Hughie Jennings led
pack that were actual jungle cats on
the playing field.
The Tigers won't win the cham.
pionship. but If their luck should
turn and they get Owen, Rowe and
Bridges back at work they should
finish second, of by themselves. No
one would have blamed Detroit had it
folded in the face Of so many in
juries. but instead, the club has
fought all the harder and deserves q
few cheers for a spirit that is not
often found in this modern era of
base ball.