Evening star., 1938-07-05

Sam. as you know, was the back.
field hero of California's Rose Bowl
champions last fall. Citizen Cornelius
Mack took him right of the campus
to play left field for Philadelphia and
Samuel has repaid his venerable em-
ployer by hitting a number Of base.
balls out Of the park.
Citizen Mack manages to modify his
raptures somewhat, discussing Samuel.
He does not 60 along with Mr.. Nc
Carthy in describing the Californian
as the best college prospect he ever
saw. But then, Connie has his own
methods of handling young men and
he probably wishes to avoid giving
Sam the notion that he is Iris Speaker
which he isn't
Still q little clumsy in the field"
says Citizen Mack. shaking his wise
old noggin. But I've seen many worse
and he has natural speed enough to
become real good outfielder / like
the way he hits. Yes, he's a good boy"
Sam does not share the hitting
weakness of another great football
player, perhaps the greatest football
player Of them all. the eminent sac
and fox. James Thorpe Sam can hit
curves and fast balls alike. Thorpe
couldn't.
The Indian was good ball PLAYER
in most other respects. He was fast,
he f1elded capably. and when he cot
his bat on fast ball, which he did
pretty regularly, the explosion vas
terrific. John j. McGraw was feeling
good about the situation as he led his
Giants out Of Texas the spring he
signed Thorpe. The pitchers had not
been throwing many hooks down there
In training and Mr.. McCraw had
failed to detect James weakness Be-
sides, he knew that Thorpe would
draw the customers in.
It Was a Plot.
Pretty soon, however. the pitchers
OF the National League organized a
dirty conspiracy and began to toss
nothing but curve balls at the sac and
fox. Jim could not fathom a curve.
1t struck him that there was some
| thing more than little illegal about
bending baseball in midar, and
bending 1t away from the hitter, at
that. He stood on his constitutional
rights.
The season had not progressed very
far when McGraw asked James to turn
in his portfolio.
I'm sorry" he said, but you can't
hit"
What do you mean. I can't hit?"
demanded Mr.. Thorpe. Il almost bust
ed that fence down the other day"
Yes, but the fellow threw you
fast ball. said the manager. He
must have been asleep for the last Six
weeks, or maybe he don't read the pa.
pers Good-by"
Singing Sam Baugh had no better
luch when the Cardinals took him
South for a tryout this spring. Baueh
Is fair infelder. and you've heard
about his arm. but he can't hit either,
In fact, hitting seems to be the weak
ness Of all the football stars. Sam
Chapman, on his record to date, is
something else again.
Another collegian just up in fast
company. with the ivy still clinging to
his ears. is Eddie ingalls,, signed by the
Giants. Eddie is pitcher, and moth
ing less than a Harvard man to boot.
He is the first Harvard man in big
league baseball since Charley Devens
mystified the Yankees by leaving them
for chair in a bank
Charles was a really good pitcher.
The Yanks thought at first that he was
some kind of foreigner New England,
Groton and Harvard do strange things
to fellows tongue, and when Mr..
Devens addressed Mr. Joe Mccarthy as
"Jow," the Yankees figured him for an
Aleutian immigrant or a Portuguese
| farmland.
| But he could pitch. II Ingalls, can
pitch as well, William Terry has made
f!ne deal for himself.
| tcopyrisht, 1898, by the North American
! Newsps per Alliance. IncD