Evening star., 1939-03-22
Fails 10 Match
Chain Systems
Of Rivals
Has Great OutfieId,
But Is Weak in All
Other Spots
BY GAYLE TALBOT,

aSoOCldbCu 1lCoo opO1 10 VlllC1s
LAKE CHARLES, La. March %.
Rocking placidly on the porch of
an ancient hotel here is that kindly
old gentleman of baseball, Connie
Mack, dreaming his dreams of other
years. before millionaires and
wealthy merchants took over the
game he loves and left him holding
the sack.
His eyes as keen and blue as ever
under their snowy brows, he tells you
he is building up another team, one
that in time may recapture the glory
of the old Philadelphia Athletics.
But it seems that he talks with just
a shade less assurance than year
ago. I think Connie realizes now
that he has wrecked one too many
teams, and that he'll never live to
wave his famous scorecard in an
other World Series.
Prospects Are Dismal.
Up in his 70s, Connie finds him.
self without a ball club and with no
real prospects of building another
pennant contender. He has built up
no farm system like most of his
rivals possess, and he no longer can
reach down and buy up a batch of
great players like he once did. Every
avenue has been closed to him, and
I guess he knows it.
Not, mind you, that he will admit
it for minute. Connie still insists
that the woods are full of fine young
players, only waiting to be found. In
fact, he says, there are more of them
than ever. But he's bound to be
aware by this time that the big
chains-the Yankees. the Cards, the
Giants and the others-have the
promising young stars of the country
lndexed right down to their choice of
movie stars.
Bought Club. Then Sold 1t.
Connie bought that last great team
he had. the one Pepper" Martin of
the Cardinals stampeded in the 1881
World Series. He paid big price for
such players as Bob Grove, Rube
Walberg, George Earnshaw, Max
Bishop, Jimmy Dykes, Mickey Coch-
rane and the others. Jimmy Foxx
was about the only member of that
team who was discovered and de-
veloped by Mr.. Mack.
When he was through with them
Connie sold them at even a greater
price. the Red Sox being his best Gus
toner. He won three champion
ships with them and made money
on the resale. The bulk of that
money must still be in the Athletics
treasury, so it's not as though Con-
ME couldn't afford to buy himself
another team. He's far from an OBJ
Ject OF charity. He simply can't
buy that sort of players any more.
They're all bespoken by one of his
more foresighted rivals.
Has Half Dozen Stars.
Rocking on the same veranda
with Connie and full of good, brac-
ing food are couple score of the
young men he is working with.
Among them are perhaps a half
dozen big league ball players. Bob
johnson, Wally Moses and Lou Fin
ney, for instance, form an outfeld
trio that several American League
teams would love to have, especially
Detroit. But outside of that the
team strictly is eighth place.
There's no hope for it's pitching
outside of Lynn Nelson and George
Caster. The catching is extremely
sketchy, if at all, and the infield lost
its guiding light when Bill Werber
was sold to Cincinnati last week.
Comics only important purchase
during the winter was Bill Lillard, a
shortstop for whom he shelled out a
reported 100000 to San Francisco.
He got all bat $4,000 of that back
on the Werber sale.