Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-08-05
WIN, LOSE OR
NNAV By FRANCIS STANN
A Most Remarkable FeIIo
I'M ONE WAY TH1S is red William.

IN ONE WAY THIS is Ted Williams greatest season.
Up to now anyway He will be SO years old August 80
and ball player Of that age no business batting
S09 Even Theodore much admitted it a couple Of
springs ago in Florida
One day in the Red sox clubhouse in Sarasota sports
writer asked Williams he thought he could hit as well
as ever You crazy?" Ted retored Its even harder to
get up in the mornings"
Williams doesn't very fast these days nor is his
arm as rihe-ike as it used to be- Too Ted claims he
doesn't have all of his old power although his 80 home
runs SO far reute his testimony But everything con-
oereo Ted easily remains the most exciting Of ball players
One wonders how many home runs Williams would
have stroked had he been Yankee all during his career
Fenway Park in Boston is murder for the lefthanded
power hitter geographical monstroSity with prohibve
barriers to center and right field he been Yankee
since his rookie of 1889 would have played some
thing like 1000 in the big stadium with the easy
to-reach seats in right
OF COURSE, THERE STILL is Mickey Mantle to con-
slider but to date Williams has taken the play away from
the Oklahoma Kid Consider if you please that Theodore
Is IA years Older than Mantle who his peak and who
has the obvious advantage of being both switchhiter
and the feeteSt afoot in the majors Mickey gets
leg hits that Williams never did
Some call Mantle the new Ruth or at least the best
ball player OF his day, but they might water down the
superlatves for while anyway if 39-year-old beats
him out for the batting and home championships
1t is revealing to note how Of the other greats
mostly Hall Of Famers Jared at the age of 49, The books
snow that Eddie Collins also notably successful in
1926-hiS seth year He managed PLAYED second base
and batted 344 in lO6 games for the White Sox This
isn't bad but it still isn't the average Williams is carrying
Cap Arson? He did pretty well, too. in his 39th year
he managed played first base and bated 81 in 1879 games
Tor the Cubs Cap was still around when he was 49, too
and he hit 1902 in III games during his final season.
THE AGELESS TY COBB was managing and pIav
ing in 70 games for the Tigers at &c. batting 339 That
was good, but in 1925 when he was a mere 49, he was
better He was managing, playing the outfield even
pitching once for the Tigers, and his mark 1878.
no Taiof
however hitting only 258 for the Indians Iris Speaker?
He wore Washington uniform when he was 80 this was
in 1920 and he played both the oufeld and first base
In 14l games he bated 1927 but either Tristan was too
expensive or too dependable for the late Clark Griffith
AT any rate he released to the Athletics and finished
his career in 1923, hitting 267.
All yes the Babe himself! He turned 80 in 1884 still
Yankee but with time running out He was only 288
hitter and the next was with the Boston Braves
as Inflated he AS outfelder and assistant man
ager," the Babe merely .lSl hitting has BEEN
Honus Wagner, rated the best OF all shortstops be-
came 80 in 1913 He hit even 300 pretty good by
todays standards but Wagner had hit much better for
l6 previous seasons. once he wound up with 3s1.
NO SERMON SUCH AS THIS one should be terminated
without reference to our own Sam Rice, who unlike
Collins, Arson, Cobb Lajoe, Speaker, Ruth and Wagner
not to mention dubious selections like Joe Tinker and
Rabbit Maranvie is not in the Hall Of Fame He belongs
you know, but Franklin p Adams forgot to write poem
using his name and Rice didn't 90 for bread catches
Otherwise he could do everything on ball field
In Is OF his first Is seasons he we'll 300 He could
run after ALL Sam tagged Man War after the great
horSe and Clyde Milan the Senators al-time best
base-seaer Rice wasn't far behind He could field and
he had arm.
When Rice was SO, he $40 hitter for 100 games
in 1881 Like Cobb he considerably better at 49,
batting SAG IN l47 games Still, when Sam was al he
batted 294 for WaShingonS last pennant wnninp club
Rice, who'd never played for any club except the
Senators, finished his at AZ with Cleveland When
he baed 293 he turned in his war club and decided
TO raise chickens in Maryland.
This guy they're keeping out Of CooperstownH