Evening star., 1940-12-10
Deals With Low Clubs
Give Champs Pick
OF College Stars
Eagles, SteeIers Foreeo
Rights; Capitol Pros
Get Lost Choice

SCt 6OSN SUVISC
Not content with pulling one
blitzkrieg in the form of their prece-
dent-shattering 1870 rout of the
Redskins two days ago, the cham
pion Chicago Bears were on their
way to pulling another which would
show up in the first round of the
annual selective college draft Of the
National Football League at the
Willard Hotel here today.
According to well-founded rumors,
the Bears will have first and second
picks in the draft as . result Of
year-old deals with the Philadel-
phia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Ordinarily, Philadelphia-whic fin
ished with the lowest percentage
of the 10 teams-would choose first
and Pittsburgh, with the next low
est percentage, would choose second.
The Redskins, whose final .818 figure
was tops, will have last pick.
A rule was enacted at the OPEN
Ing session Of The National League
owners yesterday which would pre-
vent any future skimming of the
cream Of the college stars by a
championship team through deals
with cellar occupant. But whether
that law would be made retroactive
was something for the Executive
Committee to decide this morning
before the draft began.
Nurnor-CNool, Y1J1
clined to state who his choices
would be, but expressed the opin-
ion that both Tommy Harmon of
Michigan and jarrin' John KIM
brough Of Texas A. and M. would
make valuable additions to any
team.
New Steeler Owner Welcomed.
A 26-year- -old Yale graduate who
inherited $6,000.00O from his father
! 10 years ago Is the newest owner
OF a National League franchise.
He Is Alexis Thompson of New
York, heir to the Midland Steel Co.
fortunes, who bought the Pitts
burgh Steelers from Art Rooney
Yesterday for reported sum OF
! $165, 900.
Thompson. who operates a drug
manufacturing concern from Radio
City in New York. represented the
East-West Sporting Club, of which
ne Is president, and which is COM
posed OF outstanding Eastern sports
| men. The newsstand youngest
team owner was welcomed into the
league with open arms by the other
owners, who declared Thompson's s
admittance into their company as
valuable as was Jock Sutherland's S
appointment as coach of the Brook
lyn Dodgers last year.
Rooney, who will move to Phila-
delphla as partner OF Bert Bell
reserved his claim to only 10 of his
OLD players. whom he will make into
Eagles. Walt Kiesling, ponderous
coach Of the Steelers, also will 20
to Philadelphia. leaving the coach.
ing berth at Pittsburgh wide open.
| 1t is rumored that Earle CGreasy)
Neale. backfleld coach at Yale. will
be offered the Pittsburgh Job by
Thompson
Eagles to Soar. Bell Claims.
Far from discouraged over a sea-
son in which the Eagles eQualed
the lowest record any team has made
since the league was split into East
ern and Western divisions in 1882.
Bell positively glows about his teams
chances for 194l.
"We didn't have a bad club at
the beginning of this year." Bell
/ pointed out. but when you take a
look at the suicide schedule we
faced for the first three weeks of
the campaign, you can understand
the difficultieS we encountered. At
that, the Packers. Rams and Giants
beat us by only one touchdown
apiece. but those three successive
defeats got the boys down and from
then on, 1t was no use.
incidentally, I'd like to correct an
erroneous impression that has been
going around about selling all my
draft rights. I've never sold a
player or rights to any one simply
AOI SdSll. 0uG Ollly WiiCli SOulO SOe
something I deemed better in re-
turn. I don't need money: I can
get all the money I need in Phila-
delphia. My one aim is to give Phil
adelphia fans a winning professional
team and that's all I'm interested
in But without winning. the Eagles
have been money-makers every
year"
Detroit Post Still Open.
One other coaching job in the
league is open. That's at Detroit
where Potsy Clark resigned after
returning in 1910 to the town where
he started his pro coaching career.
Owner Fred Mandel has given no
indication who Clark's successor
might be, although he is known to
have considered Mel Helm, the
! Giants great center.
Dan Topping, who runs the
Dodgers, hasn't forgotten his inten-
ton of introducing a league rule
| forcing games to be played on days
scheduled unless conditions abso-
lutely are impossible. Topping's the
gent who beefed when the Eagles
postponed a regularly scheduled
game with the Steelers and re-
scheduled it just two days before
-. A.