The Courier News from Blytheville, Arkansas • Page 9

THURSDAY, APRIL 115, 1954 BLYTHEVILLE (ARK.) COUKTER NEWS PAGE Grid Stars Have It Tough in Baseball Football Muscles Just Won't Do on Diamond By HARRY GRAYSON NEA Sports Editor NEW YORK (NEA) The Red Sox and Yankees are i pair of football stars as first basemen Harry Aggtais and Bill Skowron. might be said that Agganis. Boston one-man team, and Skowron, a busting back at Purdue, have two strikes on them. It's big-Wy wmsttal when a young man stuck out in college football reaches tfce majors. It's remarkable when he makes good, extraordinary when he is a headliner.

who have excelled at both games can be counted on the fingers, with two or three to spare. Down through toe years, you don't have to go much further than Christy Mathewson, Frank Frisch, Mickey Cochrane, Charley Gelbert. Alvin "Dark, Ted Kluszewski and Jackie Robinson. There have been a comparative handful of others who played big league ball, but they didn't stand out. Baseball scouts advise prospects to treat football like a plague, pay them, ki the form of a scholarship aad otherwise, to steer clear of it.

The games definitely are incompatible. Football is perhaps the principal reason for the scarcity of first-class ballplayer. Footgall is the big game to college, so the top athlete either forgets baseball or is so badly up that he no longer can play it enough FOOTBALL DEMANDS sturdy mueetes. baseball, they must be aod supple. Football linemen better weight men and wrestlers.

TSaat's why the mighty few players who have got anywhere aH fci baseball were backs, or in the case of the Reds and Indiana's Etuszewski, an end. The football player develops foot- baH shoulders which prohibit his getting a-round on a pitch. Jack CoHey had a cup of coffee or two on the majors, and the longtime Fordham coach is first to tell budding ballplayers to avoid the body contact of football. Jim TSiorpe was a sucker for a curve. Greasy Neale played in a Series, but was more dis- as football player and coach.

Coach Dressen, one of the first quarterbacks, had a limited r-ua at tfekd base. Charley Berry has been a better umjNce than he was a catcher and hitter. Football fits a fellow for um- it seems, having also turned out Hubbard and Hank Soar. The innpire doesnt' have to do so superlatively and swat a (terming ball. PLAYED football, but not like he performed at first base and smacked the ball.

Ernie Never-s pitched like a Stanford Sam Chapman had to limit himself to one good season. Ernie lEoy left something in Texas foofcba-M. George Stirnweiss stopped thriving after the war. able to put an Inside pitch where they want it have no d-ilftcHfty with Jackie Jensen. The Yankees also passed Bill Renna along.

Pitcher Charley Caldwell quietly decided that he was better cat out for a coaching career. So did Jesse Hill. Eric Tipton was handicapped by the time he put in practicing and playing football. Sammy Baug-h fished for a surve lifce a caster. Charley Trippi gave up bftsebaH after a brief whirl in the Southern Association.

Joe Tepsic gave everybody in Brooklyn a pain in the Ace Parker, never hu-rt in football, college or professional, broke his leg every time he turned around in baseball. Vic Janowicz occupies considerable space on the Pirates' bench. Perhaps Harry Agganis and Bill Skowron can bridge the wide gap between the two games. LOS ANGELES of the $35,000 Tournament of Champions said today that all of the 20 eligible golf stars, including Champion Sam Snead, will be on hand for the Nevada event next week. Tournament Chairman WiLbur Clark, over whose Desert Inn Country Club course the tournament is played, said Snead confirmed in a long distance telephone conversation that he will compete at Las Vegas for the second straight year.

Lone absentee from the ranks of DELIVERY SERVICE Phone 4507 Hoira: 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. with Delivery to 7 p.m. WOODS DRUG STORE 221 West Main St. Complete Maintenance Hedge trimming, Bedding, Mulching, Pruning, Spraying, Fertilizing.

Coll 8822 BlytMe Nursery Pebble Pilot Has the Pitchers Ht Just Can't Decide Which Ones He Should Keep By MERCER BAILE Associated Press Sports Writer There was a baseball manager; Bill Norman was his name. His pitchers w.fjre so talented, he used but one a game. With 13 hurlers on his staff, poor Bill was sorely tried. His problem, stated simply, was how to keep them occupied. Norman, skipper of the Little Rock Travelers, has a problem the other seven Southern Association managers would like.

In four of the Travs' five straight victories, the starting pitcher has gone aH tee way. Who to Keep? The poser is which pitchers to keep, which to let go, or how to keep them all earning their pay. "It's happy dilemma, anyway," Norman said after John Weiss tamed Mobile 7-5 on nine scattered hits last night. 'Trh not going to lose any sleep over it. It's for sure that I can't look at all the fellows I really want to see.

will work itself out." Weiss, a righthander, finished strong in his second victory of the season. He fanned three of the last four men he faced. But Mobile got to him for two home Ray Shearer and Fred Folkes. That makes six for the Bears in two nights. Pels Win Again New Orleans' Ed Wolfe shutout Memphis 4-0 on five hits in the league's only other tight pitching performance by a starter.

Lee Cristante was nicked for nine hits by Chattanooga but six double plays by the hustling Atlanta infield enabled him to blank the Lookouts 6-0. Birmingham and Nashville used a total of 11 pitchers before the Barons finally won a slugging contest 12-11. For the second straight night, the Barons climbed a notch in the standings. They moved up to sixth. Nashville is still seeking its first victory of the season and is in eighth place.

The teams continue tonight in the same locations: Chattanooga at Atlanta, Mobile at Little Rock, Nashville at Birmingham and New Orleans at Memphis. Camp Chaffee Ousted GREAT LAKES. drews Air Force Base, Washington, D. the all-Air Force champion, and the Great Lakes Blue- jackets, Navy titlist, will meet tonight for the world-wide interser- vice basketball crown. They advanced to the finals last night in the start of the four-team interservice tournament.

Andres defeated the Quantico Marines of Virginia 81-77 and Qreat Lakes downed the all-Army champion, Camp Chaffee, 90-84. Quantico and Chaffee Will meet in tonight's first game for third place honors. players who have won. a major tournament since April 1953 is Ben Hogan. Hoge.n again did not include the Tournament of Champions on his limited schedule of competition for 1954.

tune in! KLCN-FM with HARRY CARAY BROUGHT TO YOU BY ANHEUSER-BUSCH, INC IT. NIWARK LOS ANOCUI Budweisee I A I I ROBERTSON DISTRIBUTING CO. YAWN The sprms training season since he becnme manager had to flinching and finally to hope that all Dodgers' Old Folks Looking Great By BULL ROEDER NEA Special Correspondent NEW Dodgers got home in wonderful for a club that's supposed to be on the brink of senility. Walt Alston must be pleasantly surprised. He heard so much talk about old age he no doubt expected to see the hitters swinging canes and the outfielders sporting bifocals in place of sunglasses.

Jackie Robinson did trip over his beard once or twice. Roy Campanella sat out the fast numbers to favor a creaky paw, but they were ready to go opening day. The rest of the squad seems as spry as springtime. Campanella hurt his hand sliding and was kept out of exhibition games lest he aggravate the soreness. Meanwhile he made sure to break a sweat every day so his weight wouldn't go up.

He reported at a feathery 193. stayed down there all spring, was determined to open that light. Probably feels he didn't steal enough bases last year. Robinson is still being elaborately cautious about his left knee. He refused to slide in exhibitions.

The surprising thing was that it hardly ever cost him a base. Even with his self-imposed ground rules, Jackie was still about the niftiest baserunner in the business. It's taken for granted he'll still be one of the best hitters, too. Due Castelloni, Brooks Fight Tonight CLEVELAND of the nation's top boxers, Rocky Castellani and Nate Brooks, meet a pair of lesser opponents tonight before a home town crowd. Neither is expected to have much trouble.

Castellani, second ranking middleweight in the eyes of the National Boxing Association and ranked third by Ring Magazine, meets Pedro Gonzales of Pittsburgh. Brooks, who recently won the North American bantamweight title in New York City, goes against Mickey Mars, a fellow Clevelander, in a second 10-rounder. The bouts will not be televised. to missing so many games early in training his progress at the plate was retarded, but he gained rapidly. He showed on the way north that his timing had come around to the point where he can meet almost every pitch squarely.

If he keeps that, up he'll be getting good distance soon. Pee Wee Reese believes he is in better shape than he's been in for three or four springs. He. too, stayed light during the winter. That helped, and Pee Wee was very much assured when he found that his arm was strong.

He was afraid, after an injury last season, that his throwing might be permanently weakened. Billy Cox looked sluggish for a while, but now seems as agile as ever. One play was enough to end any worrying about Cox. One of the sub catchers, trying to pick a man off third, threw ankle low and about six feet to the foul side of the base, Cox was over there so fast he didn't even have to dive for the ball. It was the runner who dove back, after making a break for the plate.

Carl FuriHo, 32, and Gil Hodges, just turned 30, have" been behaving as they usually do. Furillo is hitting hard and throwing people out from the next fairway. Hodges is not hitting much and also not fretting about it, as befits a gent who WE BUY USED FURNITURE Wade Furn. Co. PIGS WITH APPEAL! Ole Hickory Inn 707 W.

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All Vehicles Fully Insured While In Our Care. WILSON AUTO SERVICE Ash A Second Andy Moses, Phone 2611 to be in a slump for half of every season but. always seems to come through with 100 runs batted in. That leaves Duke Snider and Junior Gillium. and maybe Alston ought to kfep an eye on these two.

They look all right, but they're still in the 20's. Better tell 'em to play nice and don't make to much noise. Lots of old folks around here trying to get some rest. Amoros'B A MadeBumsTakeGood Look Before Shipping Him Oat By BILL ROEDER NEA Special Correspondent NEW YORK (NEA) The Dodgers picked a peculiar way of rtvealing that Sandy Amoros has made the team. Buzzy Bavasi, asked why he hadn't put in a bid for Enos Slaughter, stated his reasons and then casually added that he'd rather have Amoros anyway.

Congratulations, teed. You're in. All National League clubs had to waive on Slaughter before the Yankees could deal for him. but Bniv- asi said he wasr certain the Curds would have withdrawn waivers had the Dodgers shown interest. "We couldn't have got him." he sadi.

only that, but we really weren't interested. Slaughter would not be a regular with us, and we're not a club that can afford to sit $30,000 guys on the bench." It was then that Bavasi made the remark that seemed to suggest that he, rather than Walt Alston, will decide who's going to stay with the Dodgers, "Personally." the vice-president said. "I wouldn't take Slaughter ahead of Amoros, would you?" AMOROS IS THE Cuban rookie Fights Lost Night MIAMI BEACH. KU- gore, Miami, outpointed Jake Lamotta, 16714, New York, 10. who hit .405 in spring training.

But his outfielding proved as uncertain as his English, and day after day Alston made biting references to the so nor's wobbly arm and jittery judgment. Jt assumed from these comments and oUiers, even more to the point, that Amoros would be going back to the mhjors if the manager hud anything to say about it. Alston kept; plugging Don Thompson. Dick Williams and George Shtiba for the job of understudying Jnckie Robinson. But when Bnvusi says he prefers Amoros to Slaughter, he doesn't have to add that he prefers Amoros to Thompson.

Williams or Shuba. So no matter how Alston may feel. Sandy seems to be getting the nod. IT MAY BE that this is Biivasi'S thinking: If Billy Cox doesn't stand up. Robinson would move to third base.

And Robinson himself may not stand up. Either way, there's a fair chance that a substitute left fielder will get plenty of work. Thus Amoros wouldn't be wasting a year on the bench. No doubt Alston would r-ather have Sandy do his learning in the minors. He could always be recalled if he's needed.

That rounds more sensible, but there it one objection to it. and perhaps what bothers Bavasi. Like all front office men, dreuds the thought of lifting a star player from a farm club in mid- season. Be At Walls Hospital Thursday, April 22 for Appointment Call 4406 AT MIDNIGHT Your Telephone Number Will CHANGE! At midnight tomorrow, April 16, all telephone numbers in Blytheville will be changed to modern name prefix, five- figure numbers. Starting then, it will be necessary to dial ALL FIVE FIGURES of the new numbers to get local calls through.

All Blytheville numbers will have the name prefix "POplar" and the figures "2" or "3" placed in front of them. Numbers in North Blytheville, Missouri will have "OSborne 3" added in front For example, the number 2981 will become POplar 2-2981. Or 3981 will become POplar 3-3981 (If this number belonged to someone in North Blytheville it would become OSborne 3-3981). This new numbering system is part of the program that's bringing you better telephone service through operator long distance dialing. It also provides for future growth in local service.

With the change tomorrow at midnight, your friends both here and out of town will need to know your new number. Why not let them know what it is? Remember, starting at midnight tomorrow, April 16: 1. Check your NEW directory for the correct number. 2. Dial ALL FIVE FIGURES OF THE NEW NUMBERS.

Vernon Wanv Manager SOUTHWESTERN BELL-ARKANSAS.