Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1939-04-06
Great Mound Artists
Traditional With
New York Club
Motty, First Of Modern
Crop, Is Rated Tops;
Schupp Holds Mark
BY GRANTLAND RICE,

special correspondent OF The Star.
NEW YORK, April 6.-Bill Terry
has announced that Harry Gumbert
would pitch the opening game of
the season for the Giants against
the Dodgers. Gumbert hasn't quite
distinguished himself as yet. For
the benefit of those to whom he is
nothing but name in the box score,
Harry is IS years old, is feet 3
inches tall, weighs 100 pounds, was
born in Elizabeth, Pa. and now
makes his home in Ellsworth, Pa.
He pitches and bats right-handed.
was purchased by the Giants from
Baltimore in 1885 and last year won
Is games and lost 49,
The reason Terry thinks-noW, at
any rate-that Gumbert will pitch
the opening game for the Giants is
that of all his dependable pitchers
he is free of suspicion so far as his
physical condition is concerned. Carl
Hubbell and Hal Schumacher have
yet to show signs of their once de-
pendable arms, and while Clyde
Castleman reports his back is sound
and strong again. Bill can't be quite
sure about him, Clyde having been a
problem child up to now.
Gumbert is young, strong, has a
good fast ball, likes to pitch often, is
getting better all the time and may
be the Giants outstanding pitcher
this year. Terry is looking around
for Hubbell's successor as kingpin
Of the staff and, as the Giants romp
under the sun at Baton Rouge, he
and Manuel Salvo, the big Pacific
Coast recruit, look better than any
OF the other hurlers.
In a Grand Tradition.
Gumbert may not know it-curi-
ously enough, young ball players
frequently do not know much about
their illustrious predecessors, as a
rule-but he is walking in grand
tradition. Down through the years
the Giants have had some of the
greatest pitchers that baseball ever
has known, beginning with Mickey
WEIGH and ending, so far at any
rate with Hubbell.
WEIGH, now gray-haired little
man whose eyes twinkle through
spectacles, pitched the first game
ever played by team called the
Giants. They called him Smiling
Mickey then and although fate al
ways hasn't been kind to him in
the years between. he never has
stopped smiling, for the gameness
that characterized him on the field
in the long ago has sustained him
in the tumult of life that he has
known since he took his last windup.
The hero of the Giants fans in
the COS was Amos Rusie, undoubted-
~ one of the greatest of all pitchers.
Those who saw Rusie pitch are
growing fewer with the passing
years. But tell them that Walter
johnson or Dizzy Dean or Bob Teller
could muster more speed than Rusie
and duck or you will be lost. I
arrived on the baseball scene too
late to see him, but I'll take the
word of his admirers for it. He
must have had plenty of swift, as
the pail players say.
Matty, the Old Master.
First of the so-called modern crop
was Christy Mathewson. Matty
pitched his last game % years ago
and has been dead for IA years,
but they still talk about him-even
those who never saw him-whenever
the great pitchers are mentioned.
can testify about him. I saw him
pitch many game and travelled
many mile with him.
Matty pitched in an era crowded
with great pitchers. His teammate,
Joe McGinnity, the Iron Man, was
one of them. So was Rube Marquard,
who trailed McGinnity by few
years. Swinging along with him,
too, were Jack Coombs. Eddie Plank,
Rube Waddell and Chief Bender of
the Athletics; johnson of the Sena-
tors; Mordecai Brown and Jack
Pfester Of the Cubs: Ed Walsh and
Addie Joss of the White Sox. and
Grover Cleveland Alexander of the
Phillies. The greatest of the lot?
There is room for argument. You
take your pick-but III take Matty.
Matty and John McGraW made
baseball tremendous thing in New
York. Matty was a young fellow
when McGraw reached New York
in 1902. BY 1904. he topped the
pitchers in the National League. In
1905. he pitched three shutouts in
the World Series with the Athletics.
For 10 years after that he was the
81. a.