Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1945-12-26
|Screwy World Series
Is Placed Second in
Poll Of Writers
BY JOE REICHLER,


NEW YORK, Dec. 26.-The back
ward punt play that wound up with
the kicker scoring the touchdown
that gave U. G. l.. AS Rose Bowl
hopes a terrific booting has been
voted the No. sports oddity of l945
Thirty-one of the 80 sports writers
who participated in the annual AS
ISOLATED Press poll to uncover the
whacky events of the year, agreed
that the manner in which Califor-
MIA scored its go upset over U. C
L. A. even overshadowed the weird
occurrences Of the World Series.
In that now famous football game
of last November "a, California had
the ball on it's own 33-yard line
when Left End Jack Lerono
dropped back to punt. The slippery
ball slithered off the side of his
foot and went in reverse. Ed WEIGH
Lerond's teammate, went back te
scoop up the ball on the 15-yarc
line and then toted the leather dowr
to U. c. L. AS 40-yard line. Just
as he was about to be tackled he
lateralled to Lerond, who rompeo
the rest Of the way for the games
sole tally.
Diamond Classic Screwy.
Such were the shenanigans at the
October diamond classic that one
scribe voted the series in general
the top oddity of them all. Anc
there were plenty of other votes cast
on various incidents of the series tt
back him up. For instance there
was Chuck Hostetler's fall between
third and home that helped the
Tigers lost the sixth game; the
Alphonse and CASTOR act of the
Tiger outfielders throughout the
series and the freak hop of the bal
that bounded over Hank Greenberg's
head to break up the sixth game
That play got double vote, some
for the ball, and some for the official
scorers who reversed themselves
hours after the game and declared
the play was hit and not an error
In line with the series-since Hank
Borowy had big part in 1.-THE
scribes agreed that Larry MacPhail's
sale of the slender hurler, who won
the pennant for the Chicago Cubs
was ranking oddly.
Football came up with plenty OF
other singular events. There was
the dog that wandered on the field
during the Indiana Illinois football
game and cost the Hoosiers a touch
down. The referee blew the whistle
just as Indiana began scoring play
Luckily. Indiana won, 60, anyway
Baugh's Pass Cited.
Then there was Sammy Baugh's
pass which hit the goal post for an
automatic safety and which event.
ually proved the difference in the
Observation-Disclosures pro football
championship tilt; Middle Tony
Minisi's tackle of Notre Danes Phil
Colella which started a controversy
raging until the motion pictures
later proved that Colella's legs were
across the goal line, but the ball
wasn't, and West Virginia being
penalized 1872 yards yet able to roll
up 40 victory over DreXel.
| Racing came up with triple dead
heat at Caliente and a four horse
race at Jamaica wound up with the
first two nags in a dead heat for
first and the other two gallopers
Ideadlocked for third.
1 In the realm of hunting and fish,
ing Ben Toomey of the Waterville
IMe) Sentinel wrote:
This past summer an ardent an
gler hied to nearby Messalonskee
Lake after pickerel. He was bait
casting in a weedy region. He
zoomed strike. A heavy tug. Lo
and behold, no pickerel, but the
(hauD contained a wizened fox and
the fox had a duck in his mouth.
S'elp me, it's true"