Evening star., 1940-05-21
The
SPORTLIGHT
Nelson's Task Toughest
Faced by Champion
BY GRANTLAND RICE,


Special Correspondent Of The Star
Joe Louis has just one assaulter
to face In defending his title as
heavyweight champion. The name
is Arturo Godoy, the willowy weaver
or the bounding bouncer who baf-
f1ed Joe some time back.
Joe Mccarthy and Bill McKechnie,
defending their two baseball crowns,
each have seven opponents to beat
OF before accomplishing the desired
results.
But young fellow by the name
Of Byron Nelson, Open golf cham
pion Of the United States, has over
1,100 challengers looking for his
scalp. He will defend his title at
Cleveland early next month.
Nelson has the toughest of all
titles to defend. The big field will
be pruned heavily next week in the
countrywide qualifying tests when
something more than 80 per cent
will be rolled into the gravel ditch
and left by the wayside. But he
faces heavier odds than any other
champion now in sight.
Louis Burden Liehtest
In Defense Of Title
Joe Louis has the lightest burden
to carry in his championship de-
fense. The heavyweight puncher
has been deeply annoyed by his last
failure to belt Godoy out in a few
rounds and on this next occasion he
will start to work in an entirely
different frame of mind.
There is no debating the point
that even if baffled again, Louis will
be much more dangerous on this
next occasion. He is a fighter of
moods and is at his best only when
ne carries the thought of quick de-
struction in his brain or soul.
For all that, he still has a hardy
sector of elastic human flesh in his
road who would be even more diff
cult to handle quickly if he could
only pick up punch en- route to
the ring.
Louis will be at least 1-to-5 shot
on the winning side. which shows
the vast gap between his job and
Nelson's.
What about the odds confronting
Messrs. Mccarthy and McKechnie?
The Yanks no longer are the 7-20
favorites as outlined by Jack Doyle
when the season opened. And, at this
time, they are not even money
against the field. They have heavy
gap to close against the Red Sox.
who are no puff balls, and they also
must reckon with a first-class Cleve-
Land outfit. The Yankees also must
reckon with themselves and emerge
from the jitters they carried west.
Bill McKechnie is around Z to 5
IN the National League march. His
Reds have too much day-in-and-
day-out pitching, headed by Der
ringer, Walters and Thompson.
Brooklyn will be out there hustlinr
all the way. 1t is the best hustling
team in either league. The Giants
have shown greater strength than
they once promised, but the Cardi-
mails haven't been nearly as warm
and steamy as they looked to be
with all their pulverizing power.
Ihe Reds have better chance to
win than the Yankees have, and
they carry the more favorable odds.
Greet Field to combot
Nelson in Open
The odds against Byron Nelson.
the determined Texan, should be
around 10 to l. The odds against
him last summer at Philadelphia
were IA to l.
There are too many good men in
this big field who have a chance to
arrive in front, with their share of
the winning breaks. This always is
big factor in golf where too MANY
happy or unhappy events can take
place.
The safest bet is Texas against the
held-Texas, with Nelson, Demaret,
Hogan, Guldahl, Metz, Mangrum and
Cooper leading the charge uphill and
down.
But IN addition to his fellow
Texans, Nelson also has at least 10
other barricades to take by storm.
Picard, Snead, Thomson, Smith,
Runyan, Dutra and the others-not
overlooking Billy Burke-cant be
brushed aside with any feathery
wand. Few sporting events can set
up defending champion with such
odds as 10 to against his play.
Wherever he may finish, you can
always gamble that Nelson will be
out there swinging to the finish, as
he is q hard young man to discour-
age, even on his off days.
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