The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1945-04-26
SOUTHWORTH
SEEKS PENNANT
FOR DEAD SON
BY CARL LUNDQCTST
UNITED Press Staff Correspondent

(UnAUeu kresS StaIK correspondent
New York, April 26.-UP)-Tne
pant that Billy Southworth of
The st. Louis Cardinals wants TO wn
most Of all may be the hardest
to attain.
He seeks 1915 flag as a memoria,
to his 26-year Old son, Major Billy
Southworth, Jr., himself a ball plaJ-
er, who died when a suuerfortreSS
he was plotting plunged into the
waters Of New Yorks Flushing bay
last winter.
Ironically, the same army thet
took his son, has lien now on the
services Of three key players, Catch
er Walker Cooper ana outfielders
Stan Musial and Danny Litwl.iier,
without whom he probably would
not have won the 1914 pennant.
The round-face little Cardinal
pilot wants it that way. He knows
the Army needed all those your 2
men including his son, who dis
tingutshed himself in heroic mis-
sionS over Germany before coming
home to die in an accident off
peaceful shores.
But there is no escaping the fact
that there is trouble ahead ior
the Red Birds, whose chief contend
ers for the flag, the Chicago Cuos
and Pittsburgh Pirates. didn't sui
:er comparable losses in manpower.
key" Man
Cooper, latest to leave, is con-
sidered by many the key to the
CARDINALS success in winning three
straight pennants.
A check Of Cooper's 1914 record
reveals his supporters aren't too
lar off In their conclusions. Ii.
the 88 games he caught last season,
he handled the winner pitcher IS
times and the loser in only Is games
Tor ZIG average that was "a
points higher than the team .682
The number two catch
er, Ken ODea, was reliable but |
couldn't measure up to Cooper. He
handled Sc games and his pitchers
won AZ and lost "a for a .638 mark. |
Moreover the Cards have no third
catcher OF proven ability to step
IN the breach when O'Dea moves
up and that is where they may &C.
into most trouble.
The rangy younger brother of
pitcher Morton Cooper has held up
his end In batting too. His 1914 ay-
eTage OF .3l7 was third on the club
and was fifth in runs batted in with
-, high figure considering he ap-
peared In only 112 games, many
merely as pinch hitter.
Cooper, who said he had PLAYED
MS last game for the duration.
leaves for induction Monday with
the best 1915 average of Cardinal
hitters, $3.50 mark that is fifth in
The league.
Big Three
Southworth has only one man
Ieft, Johnny Hopp, who hit above
500 last season and he too is slated
70 go into the service soon. Cooper.
LitWhiler and Musial hit 40 of the
100 homerS the Cards made In lead
ing the league and collectively they |
drove In nearly a third of the 785
'uns the Red Birds made last year
With a total OF 248.
The rest of the seasoned players
nay hold the Cards together for
ust one more season, even though
aopp and several teammates bear
ags for delivery to the armed forces
'hortly. But is bound to be a strug-
,le from start to finish.
In the only Mapor League game
played yesterday, the Cubs moved
full game ahead Of the third place
Cards by beating the Reds at Gin
'innati, 4 to 0. Claude PASCAL, So
,ear-old right handler, started the
Cubs to victory with homer in
he third and singled in another
'un In the seventh while holding the
Reds to five hits.