Evening star., 1939-05-31
.244,000 See Is
Games Played
In Majors
Giants 1926 Is Tops
As Dodgers Split; Cubs
Twice Blank Reds
BY BILL WHITE,
Associated Press Sports Writer,

If Memorial Day doubleheaders
proved nothing else they showed
that baseball deserves all the nice
things said about it in its centen-
nial year.
That it still rates the honor of be-
ing called the national pastime-in
spite of the inroads made by it's
little cousin, softball, and the other
games-was demonstrated pretty
clearly by yesterdays happenings.
A snug little group of 244,000 saw
the eight bargain bills, so it might
seem that those who have viewed
the administration in Washington,
the Yankees or the lively ball as
''the trouble with baseball" are talk
ing out of turn.
Doubleday Is HOnOred.
That's one side of the dayl's pic
ture. Up at CooperstoWn. N. Y,
they hung a portrait of Maj. Gen.
| Adner Doubleday, the games found
er, in the museum alongside trib-
utes to others of the games out
standing personalities.
And in New York's Polo Grounds
the 1926. who saw the Giant
Dodger feud witnessed another i'm
pressive ceremony when wreaths
were laid on commemorative
placques for a quartet of old time
Giant heroes-the great 'Muggsy"
McGraW, Eddie Grant, Christy
Mathewson and Ross Young.
So the quarter -million-glve or
take a few thousand-who saw the
games weren't out merely for the
sunshine. They were part of a great
American tradition. But let's see
what they saw.
Cubs Twice Blank Reds.
First thing. of course, is the double
shutout suffered by the rugged Reds
of Cincinnati. the National League
pace settlers. at the hands of the
Chicago Cubs. A couple of we'll
/ pitched gameS-by the veteran Larry
French and the young Vance Page
and the Redlegs were as meek at
! stuffed owls That Cincinnati
. II lo6CuS, Nv otOl vi O-O anu Z-U,
/ coupled with the Cards and the
Pirates splitting their twin bill. left
the Reds just two games ahead of
the field
The Cards won the first. To. but
couldn't stop Pittsburgh's Johnny
Rizzo in the nightcap and he belted
III enough runS-nine to be exact-to
win three ball games. The Pirates
won this one, 1913
The Dodgers held onto fifth place
by winning the nightcap from the
Giants, 81, after being Inundated
no end by 5-4 score in the first
game. And before all those people!
That, incidentally was the biggest
Polo Grounds crowd since Septem-
Der l3, 1886, when $1,000 squeezed
in to see the Giants and the Cards
play.
The Bees and Phillies mauled each
other around in the other National
League offering, the Bees winning
No. by 81, but losing No by So.
Red Sox, Yanks Split.
The highlight of the American
League pldS WAS llle o. SnellaCklng
handed the Yankees by the Boston
Red SoX. A 7-run outburst, before
all the customers had been properly
seated, and the champs were busting
the resin off their pants. But the
YankS won the second. 17-9
The Browns and Indians won the
days marathon honors, going II in
nlngS to decision 1t was in favor
of the Indians by 80 and gave them
a clean sweep for the day They
won the first game by 7-2
Since Chicago won the first game
from the Tigers, 6-2, and then
dropped the nightcap, 8-3, all this
left the clubs exactly where they
were-way behind the Yanks.