Evening star., 1942-03-11
Cellar Yawninq
Again as Draft
Hits Macks
Club Appeared Headed
For Top Division Until
Army Grabbed Nine
BY ROBERT MYERS.


ANAHEIN. Calf, March 1l.-The
pity of it all is that MI. Connie
Mack we'll might have had a first
division club for the first time since
1888.
II is lamentable 10 report, then
that the general feeling around the
Philadelphia Athletics camp is that
the honorable AS will make a de-
tcrmined fight to stay out of tho
American League cellar for the third
consecutive year.
Mr.. Mack lost nine men via Uncle
Sans draft. At least three of them
Slugging Sam Chapman, Benny
Mccoy and Al Brancato, were fig
ured upon heavily in the Philadel-
phia plans this year. A fourth. Don
Richmond, might have become A
sensation, and that comes straight
from Mr.. Mack himself.
On the good side of the ledger
the venerable, lovable Mr.. Mack has
a fine array of rookie pitchers.
If We can just keep them around
for year I believe We'll have real
club IL l943, and some of these bic
boys might come through this
season
Have ga Classification.
As matters stand. all Of these
young fellows have a 3-A seIective
service classification. so they may
be on deck for the 1943 campaign.
The Athletics have a good catcher
in Frank Hayes. He'll be even better
i a knee crera'lCu doc 'ho '~1rs
eEncl &c.
!la OLLflC.o "'Itu SEQ tcun.on
DE Miles and Mihe hr@eVlcu. rates
better tnan aveTaga-or does it?
Miles hit .3l2 last year, johnson a
disappointing 275 and Kreevich had
his second bad year in row with
ihe Chicago White Sex, batting .132
Hes sill : marvellous defensive
player, one CI the best, and if ue re-
gainS his batting fCrm the speedy
fyhaWk could prove a big difference
for the Athletics out-of of-the-cellar
crusade.
But Sam Chapman, who hit 1923
slammed 25 home runs and Datted
in 105 runs. cannot be replaced.
In reserve behind these three are
Eddie Collins, jr.; Elmer Valo and
a 6-foot rookie named Felix MaCkie-
Wicz, who is being tried out at first
Mr.. Mack likes this eX-Purdue Uni
versity boy, up from Wilmington
Del, after one year in pro ball.
Dick Siebert will be back at first,
and Crash Davis will replace Mccoy
at second. Pete Suder probably Will
handle short and Louis Blair, a
former New York Yankee prospect,
will 90 at third if an injured knee
holds up. He was with Newark in
l94l.
Fourteen Pitchers on Hand.
There are IA pitchers in camp
Ten. maybe eleven, will stay on. The
REGULARS include Jack Knott, Herman
Besse. Luman Harris, Les McCrabb,
Phil Marchildon and Bill Beckman
1t isn't the most impressive hurting
corps in the loop.
Two rockies merit marked atten-
ton. One is Fred Caligiuri. who
won 16 and lost I with Wilmington
He joined the AS late last year
beating Cleveland and Boston and
lost to St. Louis and Washington.
The other is Russell Christopher a
righthander who duplicated Cali
giuri's pitching. but did it with New
ark in far faster league, the In
ternatiOnal
Rookie Roger Wolf. from VIII
Transport, may stick, and Tai Aber-
nathy. a free agent from North
Carolina S Elon College is another
prospect. Jack Hallett, obtained in
a trade from the White SoX. should
lend added experience to the staff
and might have a good year
That is the 1912 Athletics-the
club that might have been.