Evening star., 1938-10-11
ALL-T|ME RATING
OF D|CKEY IS HIGH
Tardy in Arriving, but, Like
Hartnett, He Ranks With
Best of Catchers,
special Dispatch to The Star,

special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, Oct. 1.-THE Yanks.
Cubs series brought together two Of
the greatest catchers ever to crouch
behind a plate. Both Bill Dickey and
Gabby Hartnett have met the test Of
time-and passed 1t with lot to spare.
Dickey has been in the big show
for nine years and Hartnett for II.
They have withstood the steady pound
ing and the wear and tear that
catcher must take. They have sur
vived injuries that threatened to wind
up their careers. And here they are,
rolling along briskly, giving off no
signs of slowing up and being the un-
disputed leaders in their arduous field.
For the first two or three years that
he was with the Yankees Dickey
wasn't rated as a top-flight catcher.
The experts granted that he could
hit, and when he was at the plate.
was big asset to even such a slug
ging crew as the Yanks But they
said his receiving left something to.
be desired. Now there isn't a
smoother receiver in the game. and
his handling of the Yankee pitchers
over the last four or five campaigns
has played big part in the steady
pace held by the veterans and the
advancement of the youngsters.
In Dickeys Favor.
The controversy over the relative
greatness of the current Yankees and
the Yankees of 1927 high-spots the
value of Dickey :
Those who hold that the Yankees
of decade ago-with Ruth, Combs,
Meusel, younger Gehrig, Lazzeri
Dugan. Pennock, Hoyt and the rest
Of that bunch-could have beaten this
team. admit very freely that those
Yankees didn't have a catcher to
compare with Dickey. Those who
believe that this years team is the
greatest Of the two concede that the
comparison is close most of the way
along the line, but insist that the
great superiority Of Dickey back Of tine
plate gives the 1888 Yankees a clear
edge.
All won't agree with that. but most
observers recognize that Bill is en-
titled to a ranking with the grea test
catchers of all times-going back to
Mike Kelly. Buck Ewing and Lou
Criger and coming up through Roger
Bresnahan. Johnny Killing. Jimmy
Archer and Mickey Cochrane to
Hartnett.
Bill lacks the speed of foot Of some
of the others-notably of Cochrane,.
probably the fastest of the lot He
caught too many games in the minor
leagues when he was too young and
those games took a lot of the spring
out OF his legs. But in catching,
throwing and hitting. he is, right up
there with the best OF them.
A Burden Lightly. Borne.
Hartnett started slowly in his CLIMB.
to greatness as catcher. too. His
hitting and his noisy aggressiveness
were Of more value to the Cubs than
his actual catching over q span of
three or four years.
But, naturally. experience wore the
rough edges off his catching and for
a number of years now he has been
and by a wide margin-the best
catcher in the National League
The added burden of managing the
Cubs hasn't lessened his effectiveness
as a player in the least. He still gets
great joy out of humping his mitt.
and yelling back of the plate. He
still is the Cub hitter that enemy
pitchers fear most. And ne still does
everything in a big way. 1t was mis-
job to get the Cubs into the World
Series-and he blasted them into it
with that home run OFF Mace Brown of
the Pirates in the second game Of
the final scramble for the pennant---
with two out in the ninth inning, two
strikes on him and darkness falling
fast. ...
Copyright. 1881