Evening star., 1942-12-03
No Trades Loom
As sMajoi5''End
heirGabfest
Mats Fear They Won't
Get 70 Night Games;
Can't Find Gardener
BY BURTON HAWKINS,
Star STAFF Correspondent.

DN bO AVN nh"
Star STAFF Correspondent.
CHICAGO. Dec. 3-Only a few
hours separated this annual winter
meeting of the major leagues from
creating an unenViable record Tor
futilitv. AS the sessions dragged
into their final day, club owners
still were snubbing player trades or
deals of any description.
President Clark Griffith of the
Mats today was to learn if the Wash
ington baseball club will be granted
% night games next season. The
American League approved a plea
for % games, but in joint session
of the leagues. the National League
was expected to veto the idea, plac-
ing Washington's night game fate
up to Kenesaw Mountain Lands,
commissioner of baseball.
Priddy Rumor Discounted.
Unless Lands has changed his
mind within the past year. the Mats
will be restricted to 81 night games.
The same situation arose last year
and Lands blocked Griffith's hope.
Lands doesn't change his mind
frequently. so the guess was that the
Mats will play 81 games next season
the same number they played at
home last season.
Griffith claims there is nothing to
the rumor that Gerald Priddy.
Yankee inielder. is headed for the
Mats. 1t was felt Priddy would be
sold to the Mats in return for
Washington selling New York Out
fielder Roy Cullenbine last season,
but the Yankees inleld outlook
since has been altered.
Into the service have gone First
Baseman Buddy Hasset and Short
stop Phil Rizzuto. Third Baseman
Red Rolfe has taken a coaching job
at Yale and Frankie Crosetti will
be ineligible for the first 80 days of
the season as penalty for showing
Umpire Bill Summers in the World
Series.
The Yankees are bringing up a
promising young third baseman in
George Stirnweiss Of Newark. Priddy
is slated to play first, but if New
York locates more acceptable first
baseman it's likely Priddy will be
sold to Washington, where he'll
handle third base.
Talk About Haefner.
Joe Engel. guardian of the Mats
Chattanooga interests, has at
tempted to interest Griffith in Jim
Trexler, 35-year-old pitcher who
won l9 games and lost 7 with Little
Rock last season, but Griffith is
skeptical of Trexler's age and the
sl2,500 price tag.
The Mats also are chatting about
Milt Haefner. who won 18 games
and lost II with Minneapolis of the
American Association last season,
but thus far it hasn't gone beyond
the talking stage. Either Trexler
or Haefner, though, is likely to land
with the Mats.
Washlngtons pursuit of an out
helder also has collapsed. It has
reached the point, in fact, that the
Mats are considering Frank DEM
aree. released for incompetence by
the Boston Braves. Demaree has
been haunting the hotel lobby here
attempting to hook on with a major
league team.
The meeting was likely to end
without a trade or sale being made
Tor the first time in the history Of
the winter chinfests. There was a.
possibility, of course, that there
would be a furry of action in the
flnal few hours. but club owners
declared no deals were likely.
Grlfhth, Manager Ossie Bluege
and Secretary Edward B. Eynon, ir.
were TO entrain for Washington to-
Gay, leaving Scout Joe Cambria and
GAVIN Griffith to attend the minor
league meetings tomorrow and
Saturday.
Baseball to Be Selected.
CHICAGO, Dec. 3 lP).-The PhiIa.
oelphla story has been dumped back
INTO President Gerry Nugent's lap.
much to his dismay. The National
League doctors, after welding their
stethescopes over the faint Phils for
tne last Few weeks, apparently have
decided there's a spark of life left in
the franchise, but they haven't the
energy to try to fan it into a red
hot ball club. That is, not during
the war years.
Iooays joint meeting of the major
leagues with Commissioner K, M.
Landls was to be held at the hotel
where Lands lives. The Judge re-
Gently had minor operation.
There Ford Frick, the National
League president, was expected to
seek out an uncarpeted section of
floor to bounce his two baseball
center samples, one of gum rubber
which makes up the innards of a
golfball, the other a cork creation
coated with that mysterious bulata.
Yesterday, in a press review of the
bounce characteristics of the two
samples, Frick dropped the cork
bulata job. 1t hoped well enough
to be useful in game of jacks. But
the golf-center item skipped blythelv
to the ceiling, exacting "ohs" and
abs" Of delight out of those writer's
from baseball cities still possessing
slugging outfielders.
The choice of 1943 baseball CON-
structlon-employing one of those
two centers-was to be agreed upon
by the two leagues after this demon
stration.
Turner Outpoints Ramirez