Evening star., 1938-10-09
PEARSON |SHERO
AS YANKS TAKE
THIRD GAME, 81
Allows Five Hits and Fans
Cubs Big Guns When
Going Is Tough.
GORDON'S HOME RUN
SETS OFF STICK POWER
Gothamites Need Only Victory
Today to Capture Third
Straight Title.
BY FRANCIS E. STAN,
Star Staff Correspondent.

NEW YORK, Oct. 8.-Marcellus
Monte Pearson, dour. sallow-faced
pitcher from Oakland. Calf, idug the
world series grave for the Chicago
Cubs today as he pitched the New
York Yankees to a 5-to-2 victory and
left the American League pennant
winners only single game from their
third straight world championship.
Pearson poured it onto the hapless
National Leaguers at time when
the Cubs, reeling and staggering from
two defeats on their home grounds,
began to see a faint ray of hope in
the Yankee Stadium. For more than
four innings a big, raw-boned right
handler named Claiborne Henry Bryant
of Lynchburg, Va. not only held the
mighty Yanks runless but also hitless
. and visions of victory danced before
the battered Bruins.
But in the end it wa Bryant, not
Pearson, who folded and was driven
to cover. Pearson, off to a shaky
start, but also to pitch himself out of
trouble, finished with fine flourish
while Bryant was removed to watch
Relief Pitchers Jack Russell and Larry
French finish the game.
Small Crowd of 1926.
The game was attended by a sur
prisingly small crowd of 55,2S6, and
the rows and sections of empty pews
told mute story of disinterest and
Lack of hope on the part of National
League adherents. Tonight the Yam
KEGS not only are top-heavy favorites
to win the series, but to wind it up
tomorrow by winning four in row.
BY winning today the Yanks made it
23 victories in theil asst 26 World Series
games against the Cubs (twice), Giants
twice), Cardinals and Pirates.
The Yankees started their wild ram
page in the series in 1877, when they
ran roughshod over Pittsburgh in four
straight games. The following year
they won four in row from st. Louis
and in 1882 they won their 9th, 10th,
1lth and 18th straight games from the
same Chicago Cubs. In 1886 they de-
feated the Giants, four out of six, and
last year they licked the Giants again,
four games to one.
Allows Only Five Hits.
Only five hits did the quiet, mys-
terious Monte Pearson allow the Cubs
this afternoon and one of the Cubs
runs was unearned The Yankees,
baffied for more than half the game
by Bryant, finally turned loose some
of their home-run power to come from
behind, overcome 10 lead, and win
driving
Sharing starring honors with Pear
son was Joseph Lowell Gordon, the
rookie second baSeman who came to
New York this spring via the Oakland
and Newark farm" clubs. 1t was Cor
don's fifth-inning home run that
served as the spark to touch off the
Yankee batting power and Gordon S
three runs batted across the plate
that brought New York the winning
runs.
Pearson, lone wolf" of the Yankee
club, respected for his ability, but not
known intimately by any of his mates,
winner of series games in 1886 and
1887 and never beaten, got off to the
kind OF start that awoke the dispir-
tied National League rooters and
sliced the lop-sided odds on the
Yankees tC win four in row. But
Pearson stubbornly refused to crack
when the Cubs had him all set up for
beating. Bearing down with a fast
ball that fairly cracked and sputtered
and curve that broke" like bullet
ricocheting off brick wall, Pearson
pitched his way out of trouble by the
simple expedient of striking out the
men before him. During the first five
innings, when he almost always was
in serious trouble, Pearson famed
eight Cubs. Once he struck out four
in row-Carl Reynolds, Gabby Hart
nett, Rip Collins and Bill urges. His
strikeout total for the game was nine,
but it was noticeable that when he had
easy going he did not try for strike
outs.
Crowd in Uproar Twice.
Only twice during the game was
the stadium in any sort of an uproar
The first time was in the opening
inning, when Pearson loaded the bases
with one down, and the second was
in the Yankee eighth, when, after Bill
, Dickey had hit a home run, Outfielder
George Selkirk of the champions
Continued on Page Bio, Column 81