Evening star., 1951-06-05
Ion the Air
| It's Different
When Girls
Play Boil
BY Harry Macarthur

By Harry Macarthur
Girls baseball will never take
the place Of baseball or Of some
other feminine pastimes (the Rol-
Ter Derby. for instance), but it
will bear watching. This guess is
prompted by first contact with
the organized version of the sport
on WMALs-TV Saturday night
while awaiting WNBW's showing
Of "Tawny Pipit."
This distaf diamond frolic
ought to be just the thing for
fans deprived at the moment of
watching the Brooklyn Dodgers
or the Washington Senators, two
teams which in the past have
demonstrated an ability to fill
the base (if not the bases) with
runners. The girls didn't do that
while this observer was paying
attention, but they did give the
game a certain fair.
The diamond the girls use is
foreshortened-60 feet instead of
so from base to base-in defer
ence, no doubt, to the team at
bat rather than the one in the
field. The base-running style of
most of the gals is more likely to-
remind you of Jake Early than of
Gil Coan. The poor. confined in
fielders display a fascinating.
tendency to throw to right field,
however.
There was one moment Satur-
day when the sturdy catcher for
one team came up to bat, took a
1usty swing and belted out wob-
bly, Texas Lacquer over third
base. Left fielder, short stop and
third baseman Cor third basegirD
converged on the ball, which drop
ped safely between them. Some
body finally retrieved it and took
aim for second base, to hold the
runner on first.
Her aim was better than her
hefty peg. which sailed out to-
ward the right field bleachers.
Tommy Heinrich on his best day
couldn't have pulled it in. The
runner took OF in a furry of COM
motion, much like taunted rassle
villain pursuing Mr.. America. By
the time the ball was back in the
vicinity Of the ball field. she
had crossed the plate and was
gasping on the. bench. Funniest
looking home run you ever saw.
Pictorially, the TV boys in Chi
cago are no match for the ace
crew which televiSes Mats games
for WTTG. There is something
Bob Wolff and Arch Mcdonald
might learn. though, from that
ABC-TV announcer out there.
When each girl came up to bat
he offered us a brief biography
and description of her and told
us the name of her favorite ball
player. Turn about is only fair
play, so Mr.. Mcdonald could say,
for instance, ''ThiS boys name is
Pancio Hernandez; his age is
unknown; he played sandlot base
ball for IT years in Cuba before
coming to the Mats; he bats
left-handed and throws with his
right foot: his hobby is cistiiling
his own rum; his favorite ball
player is Conchita Gonzales VI
Corona-Corona, catcher for the
Havana Cane Cutters" I
A thing like that would hven
up q ball game on TV. vi
Still Fine: "Tawny Pipit." when
it turned up on "Safeway Thea
ter" (WNBW - Saturday. 10:30.
PM, proved worth waiting for
tand worth deserting the girls
ball game for). A couple of spots
now are marred by rain" on the
film. but this can't detract from
the rare and witty charm still
displayed by this tale of village
disrupted by a pair Of nesting
rare birds. If you see it listed
anywhere on the TV schedule
watch it. The odds are 8 to II
that 1t will be better than any
thing else on at the time.
Girl With Problem: If the panel
on This Is Show Business"
(WTOP-TV-Sunday. 1880 p.m9
would like to ponder a serious
problem, the candidate is avail
able and she'd like a good answer.
The usual problems treated by
this deliberative body are some
thing less than that in reality. as |
has been noted before. The posers
run from Shall I change my
act?" (asked by a comedian who
hasn't changed it in 20 years and
does not expect to change it in
the next 20) to Shall I take the
nasty $4,500-a-week, even if it
means I have to go live by swim
ming pool in Hollywood all next
winter?"
Singer Ruth Wallis has a real
problem, though, and she'd like
the "This Is Show Business" or
any other experts to give her an
answer. Miss Wallis is doing all
right, of course. Right now she is
SINGING at the Sazerac Ponrn of |