The Wilmington morning star. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1909-1990, 1945-08-02
BY WEsTBROOK PEGLER

BY WESTBkOOk PEGLER
Copyright, 1915, by King Features Syndicate.)
NEW YORK-In some recent blurts of per-
turbation about the decline of baseball among
our sprouts and the failure of the soulless
corporations of the major leagues to do any
thing about it, I detect a sad and desperate
admission that the game, itself, is outnoded.
I am as unhappy about this as Bill Corum,
the sportswriter, and Babe Ruth, who recently
Joined him in a rather confused complaint
against evolution but. as one who has seen the
rise and fall of the street car, the family
picnic, the monograph and typography, I lay
no blame and accept change
Baseball is a game that requires coinci-
dence of convenience. interest and facilities
that is seldom possible these days. You must
have at least dozen boys for even pickup
game and at least five for one-old-cat, which
latter is only a tantalizing ersatz devised by
the kids of two generations ago to feed their
appetite for baseball with weak imitation.
For a real game at least 10 hands are
required to do the playing and one to umpire
and actually there should be pinch hitter or
reserve player or two of them on each side.
That means that this many kids must be able
to bring themselves together at an appointed
time and place and most of us remember that
our teams usually showed up shorthanded be-
cause the catcher's mother needed him to hang
OUT the WASH OF CQe llISt UdoS IldIl HdQ W
get dressed up in his Sunday suit and go
across town to visit his grandmother. And
often the contests were unevenly decided be-
cause someone absolutely had to be home for
supper at six, just at the start OF the
eighth inning, and so walked off, possibly TAX
ing with him the best glove, mitt or bat on his
side or, worst Of all, the ball.
When was writing sports, it took me
long time to admit to myself that tennis was
a stout game because when I was little it was
played exclusively by the somewhat well-to-do
and in white pants at that, and because they
would sing out that '1ove' which seemed IN
appropriate, not to say effemnate.
NV respect for tennis was grudging con-
cession to the magnificent playing of Bill Til
den, whom 1 came to recognize one OF the
greatest athletes that the world has ever seen,
after had watched him play more than two
hours in that oven at Forest Hills and even
bring along great opponents to the match point
in championship play, apparently by deliberate
intention, and then bat their ears off.
1t was about this time, too, or just after
the other war, that golf moved to the other
side of the tracks or the kids from the wrong
side crossed over and invaded the golf courses.
In Britain members of the lower classes
had played proficiently and held the big cham
but they were still regarded as social
interiors and classed among the help. But
when our Gene SaraZen won in Chicago he
brought to our golf character and personallt
which could not be low-rated by wealth and
his manners, when he was on his manners,
were as good as those of any gentleman on
the roster of the club membership because
the boy was gentleman himself
Not many of the members were really gentle
men, though, and when men tried to impose
on Gene who were merely well-to-do Doors
he never pulled fore-lock in the manner of
the British pro but stood them down in scenes
which sometimes made the paying members
fear that the lower orders were getting out of
hand.
We were becoming acquainted with two
games here in which the convenience of only
two players had to coincide. Two could play
tennis and if it came to that, boy or man
could golf alone could get impressive about
here by pointing out that by the device OF
the handicap, which gave terrible dub
chance against star, we infected our thinking
with the idea, since exploited by the New
Deal, that superior men should be penalized
so that those of inferior ability or without
the gumption to strive for excellence might
enjoy equal rewards and privileges. But then
you might call me a Fascist and 1 don't want
to argue that today.
don't see what the major league magnates
could do about revivng baseball among the
yOuHS VI why lIley SIlOu1u w yCIliIlS, except
as selfish, commercial project. They didn't
have to do anything to interest Bill Corum
or the Babe or me in baseball when we were
very young.
In our town we didn't even have a Glass
team and the town ballclub was supported by
hat collection taken about the seventh inning.
This money paid for the uniforms, or suits.
as they were called, and bought few balls
and paid the expenses of the club from the
next town, meaning, I suppose a key of beer
and the hire OF the local eXpressman's truck
and team to bring them over and back
1t was customary in those unorganized rela-
tons to guarantee the visiting club from two
to five dollars man and believe the horne
club got about the same out of kitty raised
by the local merchants, to which the saloon
keepers were the best contributors as, indeed,
they were to most worthy civic movements.
from which, naturally, I exclude the WCTU.
Ihlrty live years ago, our sports pages, even
IN big cities, carried as a regular feature a
column OF challenges by clubs which rated
themselves by age and, as matter of pride,
OFTEN specified that they would accept games
only with 'uniformed teams. We also printed
hundreds OF results on Mondays, some of which
l am afraid were falsifed by the amateur
press representatives of teams which had not
won but lost Often the games wound up in
fights and every boy learned early that it was
up to him to guard his own glove and keep
a sharp eve on his bat as the game drew To q
close.
Frankly, baseball, love it though you NAV
is a complex game requiring more organiza zion
and enthusiasm than boys today are willing