Evening star., 1947-04-13
Clubs Expected
.
To Return 10
|PreWar Form
Season to Mark First
Appearance Of Negro
On Big-Leugue Team
By GoyIe Talbot

u
history, from which will date the
entrance OF the American Negro
into the big leagues and the In
auguration OF pension plan to pro-
tect oyer-age players, will be writ
ten In the 1947 campaign opening
here tomorrow.
AS customary, the Capitals inaug-
ural will be tomorrow's only contest.
The remaining IA clubs In the two
ma ior leagues will stand by impa-
tiently to open general hostilitieS
Tuesday. For q number Of reasons,
the coming campaign promises to be
one Of the most colorful and interest,"
ing on record.
After months Of conjecture, Jackie
Robinson, . swift Negro infielder who
led the International League In bat
ting last year, has been signed to q
Brooklyn contract and Is expected
to appear In the Dodger lineup
against the Boston Braves at Brook
lyn Tuesday.
Never before, since the modern
National and American Leagues were
organized, has q Negro appeared In
q big league uniform.
Pension Fund for Players.
II Robinson can stick in the big
show for i've years he will become
eligible, under the new pension plan,
to draw $50 monthly on retirement.
The pension fund, to which players
and clubs subscribe, provides for In
creased payments depending On
length Of service after the fifth year.
The nations experts almost una11-
imously have picked the st. Louis
Cardinals and the Boston Red Sox
to repeat their triumphs OF last
year and to stage renewal OF their
dramatic World Series struggle.
If anything, the World Champion
Cards are more compact and con-
fident outfit than last year, and the
Red Sox have taken on added pitch
ing strength. It would appear that
only serious injuries to key players
or unexpected lapses In form could
deprive either club Of another
pennant.
Brooklyn, generally picked TO I'M
ish second to the Cardinals, s,lf-
fered serious last-hour blow when
its scrappy manager, Leo Durocher,
received q one-year suspension from
Commissioner Happy Chandler. It
remains to be seen whether anoth-
er pilot, unfamiliar with the Dodg-
ers' strange assortment Of age and
extreme youth, can duplicate the
Durocher magic of '46. f.
Tigers Poorly Conditioned.
Disturbing reports have been
heard recently about the Detroit
Tigers, who finished second to the
Red Sox last season and who figured
to give Joe Cronin's club its most
serious competition again. Detroit
observers say the team has come
back north poorly conditioned and
that 80 far no Tiger has shown any
symptoms Of taking up the hitting
slack created by the departure Of
Hank Greenberg, home run slug
ger who went to the Pittsburgh
Pirates In q sensational winter deal.
Two clubs In the American and
three In the National start out
with new managers. Muddy Ruel
left softs job as Chambers assist
ant to straw-boss the rebuilding Of
the st. Louis Browns, and Bucky
Harris, once famous as the hoy
manager" reluctantly got back In
uniform to pilot the Yankees.
In the National, Billy Herman
has succeeded Frankie Frisch at
the Pittsburgh helm and will add
his still potent bat to . slugging
array which includes Greenberg
and Ralph Kiner, who led the
league In home runs last year.
Johnny Neun, former Yankee coach,
has taken over the unenviable job
Of trying to boost Cincinnati out
Of the second division.
Durocher's successor ut Brooklyn
IS yet to be named.
The general expectation Is that
the big leagues will return this year
to their prewar class.