Evening star., 1943-09-26
Victim Of Hard Luck
For II Years, Spud
Gains Slab Peak
BY JUDSON BAILEY,
Associated Press Sports Writer

BY JUDSON BAILEY,
Associated Press Sports Writer
NEW YORK, Sept. 25.-The out
standing pitcher in the major
leagues this year is former foot
ball star whose baseball destiny for
long time seemed to be hard work
and hard luck.
Spurgeon Chandler, named for a
Baptist preacher in the little
Georgia community where he was
born "a years ago this month, has
been in professional baseball dozen
seasons and now, with Red Rufing
and Lefty Gomez gone, he is the
dean of the New York Yankees
pitching staff.
"Spud" has won 20 games and
lost four and is leading the majors
in low earned run average. He was
being counted upon to hurl maybe
three games for the Yankees in the
World Series with the st. Louis
Cardinals in October.
All of this is as novel as it is nice
for Chandler. Never had he won
more than 16 games in a season,
even In the minors, and although
with five other Yankee pennant
winners, he has started only two
World Series games and lost both.
Too Ambitious on Bases.
In 1941, he started the second
game against the Brooklyn Dodgers,
yielded only one hit in four innings.
Then in the Yankees half of the
fourth he reached base on a force
out, racing hard to beat double
play, and moment later he tried to
go from first to third on a single
and was tagged out sliding.
This arduous base running ended
Chambers pitching spell. In the
| fifth frame he walked two men and
two runs scored. He was taken out
in the sixth and the Dodgers won
the game, 80, their only victory of
the series.
Last year Chandler started the
third game against the st. Louis
Cardinals Over a stretch of eight
innings he gave just three scattered
hits and one walk.
But the one base on balls cost him
a run in the third inning, an infield
hit, sacrifice and an infield out
pushing the runner around. Chan
dler was removed for a pinch batter
in the eighth and the Yankees lost,
20.
This is fair sample of Chambers
baseball luck practically ever since
he left the University of Georgia's
campus in 1882 to start up the lad
der of the Yankee farm system.
Grid Star Against Yale.
| For a long time it seemed he would
be remembered in Yankee Stadium
mostly, if not entirely. for his foot
ball feats. His debut in New York's
mammoth stadium was made on the
gridiron in 1929 against New York
| University and he came back the
next two years to give spectacular
| performances in ball carrying,
passing and punting.
During his three seasons, Georgia
beat Yale three times and DR.. Nal
Stevens, then coaching the Ellis,
called Chandler next to Catfish
Smith, the greatest annoyer ever in
Yale Bowl"
Bigtime baseball, however, turned
out to be tougher to crack than the
Yale line. After casting his lot with
the Yankees, Spud began seeing the
country without making too much of
an impression on it. In five years
he shuttled to clubs in Springfield,
Mass; Binghamton and Syracuse, N.
Y; Minneapolis, Oakland, Calf;
Portland, Greg, and Newark, N. j.
With only one of these clubs was
he able to win more than 10 games.
He was hurt part of the time and in
1888, the year after his graduation
to the Yankees, he had to have an
operation for the removal of bone
chips in his pitching elbow In the
spring of 1889 he stepped into a
hole in the running track at the
University of Georgia and broke a
bone in his ankle.
Clary Blocked No-hitter.
Even though he at last has become
big winner, Chandler still is dogged
by the specter of perverse luck-as in
his first start this season. The
Washington Mats made only one hit,
but it was double by Ellis Clary,
first man up in the first inning.
Many reasons might be given for
Chambers current success. He has
arrived at maturity as pitcher
He has a wide assortment of pitches
and the knowledge of when to use
which. But most of all, he has the
determination of bulldog.
In the spring he said he would
like to lead the American League in
everything-a pretty sizable ambition
for fellow who never had been
able to lead even his own club be-
fore. But he meant it and he has
come near doing it.
When the ball clubs were restricted
to Northern training, Chandler had
the advantage of living in the South.
He worked himself into fine con-
dition at st. Petersburg, Fla, and
was able to get off to good start
this season. He won four in row
before taking his first loss.
Chandler himself is noncommittal
about the turn in his fortunes.
Il guess my control is better" he
says by way of detailed summation
Spud, you can gather, is not one of
| the noisier Yankees.
Serious About Pitching.
When 1t is his turn to pitch he is
all business. During hot spell in
st. Louis this summer he drank lit
tie water and nothing else for "a
hours before a game so that he
would not waste his energy in
perspiration while pitching. He won
it without breaking a sweat until
the late innings.
He likes to talk football, when
he is out of earshot of Manager Joe
Mccarthy; he shoots golf in the 80s
when the Yanks have day off, and
his pretty wife, a Georgia girl, says
he is excellent at minding their
2-year-old son.
But his chief attention, aside from
his pitching, goes to his hitting. He
is proud of his .275 batting average
and the fact that ne is the only