Evening star., 1939-09-01
Team Struggle Seen for Football Championship Southern Conference
From the
Press Box
She Can Hit EN- Harder
Than q Man. Only Gag
By JOHN LARDNER.
Correspondent Of The Sta

Inon q man Only So9
BY JOHN LARDNER.
Special Correspondent Of The Star.
NEW YORK, Sept. (N.AN.Ao.-
Alice Marble, being uncommonly no
torious these days for her donlina-
ton of women's tennis, the maga-
zines are full OF Marble pictures and
Marble stories, and many of the
stories and captions tell you that
Alice 'raits harder than a man."
This Is a downright foolish assev-
Grafton. If the handsome lady in
question could hit the ball as hard
as a man, she would be winning
matches from men, whereas the
truth is that any man Of tournament
class is likely to beat her on any
given day-and to beat her at what
is said to be her own department.
slugging.
The Marble will beat the average
duffer among men, certainly. That's
because she knows tennis and has
mastered -ordination-and lack of
coordination is what makes the
average tennis player. man or
woman, duffer. But even the low
liest Sunday, player among males,
once he learns to hold his racket
correctly, will outslug this paladin
OF women sluggers.
Moody Got Greet Shock
When Outhit by Man
Helen Wills Moody was a hitter
In her day. perhaps harder hitter
than Alice Marble. About the time
she reached the crest they began
to tell young Helen she could whip
many good man on the courts,
and she had the folly to believe
them. Thus, it was a painful shock
to the lady when the first good male
player to open up against her beat
her with great ease, by the simple
process of hitting the ball too hard
It was bitter pill to swallow, but,
OF course, it doesn't have to be. For
Babe Didrickson, the matter of be-
ing outhit was stepping -stone to
romance. Love blossomed for the
Babe when she found a man who
was consistently longer off the tee
than herself.
Being a great natural athlete, the
Babe co-ordinated almost perfectly,
and this, plus the strength in her
arms and shoulders, gave her tre-
mendous distance on the golf course.
Coordination, of course, was the
chief thing. It's bo,lld to be, in
golf. Hercules could pluck a driver
from the bag and whale at the
ball with all his might, and it prob
ably would dribble to point yards
away, If he hit 1t at all.
Good Golf by Reel Stors
Didn't Impress Bobe
Romance did not bloom for the
Babe when she played golf with
Babe Ruth and Mysterious Mon
tague. These boys were pretty long
drivers, but her knowledge and rea-
son told Mile. Didrickson that they
were good because they were good
golfers-theg co-ordinated and they
made the clubhead do the work.
I remember the time the Babe
played with Ruth and Montague in
q charity match on Long Island.
Now and then they outdrove her,
but the Babe was not impressed.
That's a real swat, amt it,
Babe?" a spectator asked her, as
the highly Mysterious Montague
rode one 300 yards down the fair
way.
Just fair, just fair" said the Babe
eoldly. He oughta be able to get
distance. He keeps the left arm
etiff."
How about Ruth?" said the spec
tator.
Not bad" said Miss Didrickson,
shrugging her shoulders. Not bad.
He keeps his eye on the ball"
Bobe's Romance BIossomed
When Duffer Beat Her
Love crept into Miss Didrickson's
life the day she found rank duffer
who could outhit her. She knew
that meant something.
The fortunate man was George
zaharias, the wrassler. Though not
complete bum on the golf course,
Mr.. Zaharias was crude and unpol-
lshed. His eye was apt to leave the
ball, he rocked somewhat on. the
right leg and his club wobbled
noticeably at the top of the swing.
When. in the face of these circum-
stances, he outdrove her by some
thing like so yards, Miss Didrickson
felt faint.
On the next tee, the Babe pulled
herself together and hit one fiat
on the nose for a matter of 275
yards
Let's see you beat that one," she
muttered, tight-lipped.
The innocent wrassler approached
his ball, went into a staggering
sequence, rocked from side to side,
shifted his weight to the left leg,
took careful aim at a nearby tree,
and split the fairway with drive
OF $50 yards. Miss Didrickson was
licked.
This is my soul-mate," she said,
and so 1t developed.
Today the happy couple still roam
the golf course. Mr.. Zaharias out
driving Mrs. Zaharias to the COM
plete Joy and confusion of the lat
ter. This marriage undoubtedly
was constructed in Heaven, and the
moral is, If woman can't outhit
q man, what of it?
Osmanski Is Named Best
OF AlI-Star Gridders