Evening star., 1946-07-22
Majors Top Runners
ToSp|it $1,000 Purse;
Mats TrampIe Tribe

George Case, league leading base
p, stealer, and Gil Coan, the Mats
speed specialist, will be matched in
a l00-yard race at Griffith Stadium
on August 81 preceding night game
with the Cleveland Indians, it was
announced today by President Clark
Griffith of the Washington Baseball
club. Each will receive $500, regard
less of the outome.
Acclaimed generally as the fastest
player in baseball history when
sprinting to five successive major
league stealing championships
from 1889 to 1943, Case for the last
two seasons relinquished that crown
to the Yankees Snuffy Stirnweis,
but has stolen II bases this year to
snatch the lead again. Should Case
regain his title this season, he will
tie Ty Cobbs American League rec
ord of winning the championship
six times
The only American Lacquer ever
TO win more than three consecutive
base stealing titles, Case said he
would begin training Immediately
for the event. He never has been
defeated IN race and in 1943 cir
cled the bases at Griffith Stadium in
l3.5 seconds to eclipse the previously
accepted mark of 1873 seconds estab-
lished by Hans Lobert.
Veeck Posts Half Of Purse.
Case. who attempted 50 steals in
1912 ana was thrown out only six
times to better the best average ever
compiled by Cobb, will meet a
worthy challenger in Coan, the
Southern Associations base stealing
champion last season, who also never
has lost race.
Bill Veeck, Cleveland president.
agreed to put up half of the $1,000
purse, with Griffith supplying the
other $500. Veeck reached yesterday
at Clevelands Lakeside Hospital
where he recently submitted to a
leg operation, was requested to guar
antee only one-third of the prize
money, but promptly volunteered a
$500 contribution
Coan, who recently supplanted
the injured Joe Grace in left field
for the Mats. already has astonished
local fans with his speed and well
coined the opportunity to challenge
Case.
Haefner HurIs Eighth Win.
Meanwhile the Mats were to en-
bark on Western jaunt today, fol-
lowing 81 and rs victories over
Cleveland in a double header yes
terday at Griffith Stadium. A
crowd of 1914 swelled the Mats
home attendance to 700,863
Mickey Haefner won his eighth
game IN the opener, limiting the In
dians to five hits. Mickey gave up
an unearned run in the third in
ming when Charley Gassaway walked
and scored as Buddy Lewis fumbled
Jack Conway's double to right.
The Mats nicked Gassaway for a
run in the second when Stan Spence
walked and came around on singles
by Gil Torres and AL Evans, then
produced the winning run in the
eighth off Bob Lemon when Spence
drilled double to right after Gerry
Priddy and Mickey Vernon had
singled.
Washington spurted into a 81
lead in the second game, but the
Indians clustered four runs off
Early Wynn in their seventh to lock
the score. With one out in the
Washington seventh. Joe Krakaus-
kas walked Lewis and pitched
single to Priddy.
Hit Of FelIer Decides.
Out of the bullpen for the first
time this season came Bob Feller to
attempt rescue, but after tanning
Vernon, Spence clipped him for a
single to right, scoring Lewis. Priddy
scored a moment later when Ray
Mack bobbled Pinch-hitter George
Binks' grounder
Griffith announced that Eddie
Yost. recently released from the
Navy, will join the Mats tomorrow
at Detroit. A 19-year- old infielder,
Yost played seven games with the
Mats in 1914, but figures in Manager
Ossie Bluege's present plans only
as replacement.
Pitcher Vernon Curtis, a failure
in relief roles with the Mats this
season, was to join the Buffalo club
of the International League today at
Newark, while Coach Bert Shepard
is heading for CHATTANOOGA, Shep-
ard, who lost his right leg below the
knee when shot down over Germany.
requested that he be sent to the
minors and be given a chance to
nitrI roo,,lorl