The Waterbury Democrat., 1942-06-24
MAD RUSSIAN MAY BECOME
 GREAT HITTER
ReCOvers Confidence and Tinling-DOdgers 8 Up
 -Yanks, DiMag Click
BY PAUL sCHEFEELs

I
 New York; June 24.-(UP) = A colorful baseball player is variously defined in the major leaguges as an eccentric, fence-busting hitter, a sensational fielder or one having various other attributes calculated to draw fans to the box-office.
 Such 8 player is Lou Novikoff, the freshman flop who this season has turned into the super sopho- more.
 Novikoff, who rose from a soft ball pitcher to become the minors top slugger, made baseball history by becoming one of the biggest busts Of all time last season when he tried to play left field for the Chicago Cubs. But just as his trail through the minors and his one jouSt with the majors was marked with sensa- tionalisn, so is his current come- back.
 Lou has been lambasting the ball so regularly during the past few weeks that iC appears he has once again found the timing that helped him become the leading batter in every minor league he's played in. Conceivably, he might now become one of the games greatest hitters. \, Novikoff's naivete and oral or iginality has made him theh most popular player on the Cubs at Wrigley field, but 1t was his bat that brought him fame in the TI1ree-I league, Texas league, Pacific Coast league and American Association. He made record almost without without compare in the minors, yet he failed in 1941. Novikoff batted only 2.41 in 62 games before being sent to Milwaukee, where he again found the range and wound up leading the league With .370.
 Started Slowly
 Novikoff himself believes his re- cent renaissance is due to return of confidence. But whatever the reason, he's belting the ball with the aplomb of 8 reguglar. He started off slowly again this year and only his popularity with Wrigley field fans kept manager Jimmy Wilson from benching him for good, but he hit his real stricc during the past three weeks.
 Tn 51 games, Lou has been up 174 times officially. He's scored IS rurns, and collected 48 hits, including six doublheS, two triples and three hom- CTS. He has driven in g rurns and stolen two bases. His batting aver age now is .276, mark far from the league lead, but 1t represents an in- crease of .O71 points over the last three weeks, and .033 points over the past seven games.
 Novikoff clouted a homer and sim gle yesterday to lead the Cubs to an 8-4 win over the Philadelphia Phile, a triumph that carried Chi cago into fifth place. Shut out for the first six innings, the Phils al- most tied the score in the seventh with four runs, but the Cubs clinch- ed 1t with three unearned runs off Tommmy Hughes in the ninth. Phil Cavarretta belted two doubles and a single for Chicago.
 26 for Medwick
 Brooklyn increased its National league lead to eight games by ham, mering out 8 6-2 triumph over the Pittsburgh Pirates in a twilight game at Ebbets field that drew 15,- 049 fans.
 The loss dropped Pittsburgh to sixth place. The Dodgers made nine hits good for two big innings, SCOT ing two in the first and four in the fifth. Joe Medwick doubled to knock in two runs and sent his streak of safe hitting to 26 consecu- i've games. Larry French doled out five hits over the last seven inl1- ings, after replacing Whit Wyatt, to win his sixth straight without a defeat.
 The New York Giants climbed to within two games of third by blanking Cincinnati, TO. Bill Lohr- man pitched a four-hitter to gain his third in a row over the Reds.
 The Boston Red Sox clouted three homers to defeat the Detroit Tigers, 6-2, as Oscar Judd held the Ben- gals to eight hits for his sixth vic-- tory. Ted Williams, Jim Tabor and Judd hit home runs off Dizzy Trout. It was Williams 16th.
 An early base hit barrage, which included three four baggerS, gained Cleveland 7-5 triumph over the Philadelphia Athletics. Oris Hockett, Les Fleming and Ken Keltner hit the homers off Bob Harris. Jim Bagby started for the Tribe and notched his eighth victory although he was removed for Joe Heving in the eighth.
 The New York Yankees won their second victory in seven starts, de- feating the Browns, 6-5, in night game played before a crowd of 15,- 75l at St. Louis. The Yankees pum- meled Al Hollingsworth for IA hits but scored the winning run on a queer play. A double and single put two men on with none out. Alley Donald fouled to Frank Hayes and Rizzuto was caught off first by his quick throw to second baseman Don Gutteridge. Buddy Rosar, who had doubled, beat the throw home for the winning run.
 YESTERDAYS STAR--Outfield- Cubs who hit his third homer and CT Lou Novikoff of the Chicago a single to lead his mates to an 8-4