Evening star., 1938-09-04
FAIR RANKS DRAW
HEAVILY IN SPORT
Moody, Berg, Ware, Marble,
Jacobs and MiIey Win
Favor of Fan Mass.
BY GRANTLAND RICE,

Special Correspondent of The Star.
NE WYORK, Sept. 3.-Did it ever
occur to you," writes fairly innocent
noncombatant that in golf and ten
mis- the women have moved up with the
men as drawing cards? I'd even say
they had passed the men.
Suppose, for example. there were
two Forest Hills Stadia side by side.
In one you had Don Bulge, Bob Riggs
and others battling for the male title.
In the other you had Helen Wills, Helen
the leaders Which competition would
draw the bigger crowd and the larger
gate? There's no argument. The
women would-by something to spare.
It's pity Mrs Moody had to retire.
She still would be the main card
What about golf?" he continues.
Suppose there were women's golf
championship played next to the male
test at Oakmont in September
Johnny Goodman, Charley Yates,
Johnny Fischer, etc, on the one side
Patty Berg, Marion Miley, Glenna Col
lette Ware, ETC., on the other-it would
be close to a toss-up. The men play
far better tennis and the men play far
better golf. But the women put up a
more interesting show for the specta-
tors"
Which is all the greater pity that
Helen Wills Moody won't be at Forest
Hills.
Bulge Too Far Ahead.
Golf has had no outstanding anna
teur stars since Bob Jones and Lawson
Little retired. Jones was the top.
Little would have drawn tremendous
crowds after winning four straight
United States and Great Britain cham
pionships, with a run of 81 consecutive
victories. But golf still has big field
of high-class talent
1t is just the other way in tennis
Bulge outclasses the field too far.
There isn't an amateur around able to
give him anything like an even scrap
as far as one can see ahead
1t was different when he had Fred
Perry and Won Cramm around. Riggs
is good. but he isn't a Bulge. Quist,
Golf and tennis are entirely diff
ferent," Ellsworth Vines told me- In
an lS-hole golf match, you use up from
70 to rs strokes. In a tennis match
you use up over 500 strokes through a
hard match. The better player has
much better chance to prove his place
in tennis. There are 200 amateur
golfers in this country who might be
a match for Goodman or Yates in an
18-hole round. There is no amateur
who would be match for Bulge with
nve sets to bank on, if needed"
Great Chance for Yates.
If Charley Yates could add the
United States open to his British title,
the singing Georgian from Atlanta
would be the biggest amateur card the
game has known since Jones and Little
left the bunkered field
Sam Sneed and Ralph Guldahl have
added new blaze to the pro game,
with Snead now in the lead. Guldahl
took a big jump when he repeated at
Denver, but Snead has been bounding
along like runaway rabbit ever since
Snead is the most attractive-looking
golfer from the spectators viewpoint
that the game has known since Jones
and Hagen.
suoosf ueIeH 'HpooW SUM ueIeH ana
and Alice Marble could still outdraW
them all. Suppose you had Mrs. Moody
and Miss Jacobs in one match Suppose
Mrs. Moody then stepped out against
Alice Marble? There would be two
capacity crowds. More than Forest
Hills could handle. 1 believe the two
Helens would be good for 10000 or
more, if there were room enough to
park that many human bodies in a
tennis stadium.
The two biggest individual drawing
cards in sport today are Joe Louis and
Helen Wills Moody-that is, with Mrs.
Moody playing either Helen Jacobs
or Alice Marble for national cham
pionship, which may never happen.
though. There are not many other
individual cards left.
Baseball Loses Color.
Who is the biggest individual attrac-
ton in baseball? Offhand, I couldn't
slip you name. Young Johnny Wander
Nicer had a running start after his
two no-hit miracles, but subsidized too
quickly. I thought Bob Feller and
Joe Di Maggie would be this season,
but neither has been smoking hot.
Don Bulge would be bigger card
with stouter pposition-Vines or
Perry. for example
In baseball, it has been largely
matter of teams-Yankees VS.. Cleve-
land Indians, for example-that lured
out the major crowds The big hitters
have been help, including Hank
Greenberg, Jimmy Foxx. Rudy York
and several others. But the individual
has been small part of the show.
Three-crown Armstrong still is a
big card. especially against Garcia or
Ambers. He will handle plenty in
the way of trade when he steps into
the pit against either of this pair.
Tony Galento will be another drawing
card when the two-tonner gets back
in shape. A Galento-B Baer mix-up
would do big business at reasonable
rates
'Copyrisht. 1888. by the North American