Evening star., 1941-07-03
BY LEWIS F. ATCHISON.

With only Orange Disc TO be dis
posed of Sunday, 1t seems as though
Miller Furniture will be in another
Sunday sandlot league pennant
playoff this year, and already Spon-
sor Johnny Miller is beginning to
chew his nails with worry.
Don't tell me it's happening to
us again." he moaned when the
news was broken. Don't tell me
they're gonna dangle that flag in
front of us and then snatch it away
again. We haven't done anything
to deserve this. 1t isn't right. 1t
isn't constitutional. Well hire 4
lawyer. Wen hire two lawyers"
After muscling into three pannant
series in five years and blowing the
duke each time, Miller seems to
have just cause for apprehension
as his delegates approach the jinxed
circle He can't figure it out
Neither can his athletes. Neither
can their opponents, the league
president or the gent who thought
up the law of averages. On form,
the Millers figured to win at least
once and didn't. Their form was
good, too, and still they lost.
One Title Eludes Team.
If the team doesn't win this year
Miller is going to have the law of
averages repealed. It's archaic and
rusty, to his way of thinking. After
all, in the IS years since his dad,
William E. Miller, organized the
team it has won every other city
championship at least once, but
can't get its eager paws on the
Sunday unlimited gonfalon. It's one
for S. S. Van Dine.
But, on second thought" says
Johnny, this may be the teams
year. A lot of things have hap
pened to us. First, the store over
in Southeast burned down. Next,
the trotter Kerr Scott my father
was grooming for the Hambletonian
next month pulled up lame, and him
the second choice in the betting.
So maybe something will 60 wrong
in the baseball playoff and we'll win.
Something will have to go wrong
for us to win, I'm afraid"
Kerr Scott, for the benefit of hoss
fans who may have gotten mixed up
in this by mistake, was 30-1 in
the Hambletonian winter books but
currently is quoted at 81 on the
open market. Mr.. Miller won't know
for another 20 days whether he'll
be able to start in the trotters' big
stake.
Miller, of course. has more than
mere suspicion that this may be
the team to break the jinx. After
all, his team handed Heurich Brew
ers their only setback in the Ma
tional Capital circuit, and all it
has to do is repeat its first-half
performance and there won't be
any play-of.
Back in '36 Miller whipped Heu-
rich in a hectic seven-game, over
time series for the Industrial
League pennant, and Johnny figures
the boys can do it again. That was
supposed to be flve-game set, but
they played three extra inning ties
before Miller chalked up the de-
Gliding game and won the series, 81
Funny thing about that" Miller
recalled. Carl Wahler won the last
game-the only game he finished
all season. Shut EN- out, 10, with
four hits"
The team had a good mound staf1
that year with Lefty Porter, Lefty
Stevens, George Wood and Wahler
on the firing line. 1t had some
other good boys. too; but all have
drifted away. Only Eddie Cinotti
third baseman on the current nine
and Ray Clark, reserve first base
man, are left. but still going strong
All His Fingers Crossed.
Some of the others were Waverly
Wheeler, now the Cleveland Indians
property and farmed out to Grand
Rapids; Harry Bassin, owned by the
Yankees and at Binghamton
Horse Reigelman, Carey Maupin
Tom Nolan, Bernie Sugrue and
Knocky Thomas. Thomas is with
Little Tavern now.
Danny Dansberger, Bill Simonds,
Joe Sullivan, Jimmy Durkin rated