Imperial Valley press., 1944-01-02

SiOnal ana dllldUeul-WnO SNdppeQ'
bats and balls for rifles and gre
nadeS, the performances were excel
lent on the whole
Horse racing, professional foot
ball and boxing led the march to
the box office; hockey and base
ball drew we'll and even pro wres-
Ting looked over the ring apron
at tempting picture of prosperity
and staged a come back Most
other sports held their own or lost
very little.
Baseball was restricted to spring
training in the red flannel coun-
try and the odds were that it would
Mt get past Memorial Day. But it
finished the season in what, so far
as the pennant races were con-
cerned. was carbon copy of 1912.
The New York Yankees copped the
American league flag while the
ST. Louis Cardinals repeated in the
National league. But the Cardinal
speedboys. couldn't repeat in the
world series as the Yanks took the
CldSSlC, lOul SdlllCo w INV
There were two outstanding
dramatic episodes in the series. The
first came when Mort Cooper,
speedball ace of the Cardinal pitch
ing staff, and his battery-mate
brother, Walker Cooper, faced the
Bombers in the second game-a
few hours after the sudden death
of their father Manager Billy
Southworth put it squarely up to
them and they agreel to play be
cause that's the way Pop would
have wanted it," Mort blew them
down, 4 to 3, to even the series at
one-all.
Then, with the Yanks in front,
three games to one, old Bill Dickey
ratified a homer off the roof of the
right field pavilion at Sportsman'o
Park to win the series for the
Yankees.
When the diamond dust had
cleared, Spurgeon (Spud Chand-
Ter was voted the most valuable
American league player with an
earned run average of l.64-the
lowest in "a years. Stan MuSial,
the slugging Cardinal outfielder,
drew senior circuit honorS with the
majors top batting mark, .357. Luke
Appling of the Chicago White Sox
was high man in the American
league with 1927 clubbing mark.
The American league won the an
nual All-Star game at Philadelphia
by to score.
The case of william tCOmman-
do Cox featured the indoor base
ball season. Cox purchased the
Phillies shortly before the season
opened and had them up in the
first division for a while. Then, as
the season closed, rumorS circulat-
ed that Cox had gambled on base
ball games played. by the Phillies
Commissioner K, M. Lands inveS-
tigated and on Nov. % announced
that Cox had been barred from
baseball for life. Cox resigned from
office, sold his stock and then
applied to Lands for a hearing
After a scven-hour open meeting
Dec. 4 Lands upheld his ruling.
LEATHER PUSHERS POPULAR
The year in boxing was amaz-
ing because of the fact that a pro.
moter who could corral two pre-
liminary boys could pack the house
No sport was hit harder from the
manpower angle with all the cham
pions in the first four top weight
divisions, and one of the lighter
titles frozen for the duration.
There was tragedy in the fight
game too, for Lii Henry Armstrong
one-time triple crown champion
attempted a come back. The comic
relief was the comeback attempt OF
TWo-Ton Tony Galento. Tony did
MT do SO we'll either. The thrill
came when Barney Ross, one-time
lightweight and welterweight cham
pion, returned from Guadalcanal
as a Marine hero.
In hockey, stretching through
from 1912, the Detroit Red Wings
emerged on top by winning the
Stanley Cup playoffs.
Basketball was ruled by the Cow
boys of Wyoming University who
came out of the Rockies to carry
off mythical national honors. Wyo-
ming copped NCAA honors, and
then beat st. Johns, National Tour
nament champion, in a Red Cross
playoff. Cape Girardeau, Mo.
Teachers took the National Inter-
collegiate championship
Tennis had one bright week in
the sports sun with the National
Amateur championships at Forest
Hills. 1t. Joe Hunt took the mems
crown by defeating Coast Guards
man Jack Kramer in an all-Navy
final while Pauline Betz of Los
Angeles retained the women's title
by stopping Louise Brough for the
second straight year.
A Swede with speed. gaunt Gun
der Hagg, provided the most STIR
ring summer attraction. Hagg, wh1
had created new world mile record
of 4:04.6 in l942, came to the United
States for a transcontinental run
ming tour. In eight starts, Hagg
never was beaten, setting three
American marks. These were the
mile. which he dropped to 4:05.3;
the 1,500-meters and the two-mile.
He pulled Bill Hulse to 4:06 clock
ing, fastest ever recorded by an