The Month in sports: soup to nuts

Media

Part of The American Chamber of Commerce Journal

Title: The Month in sports: soup to nuts
Creator: Alcott, Carroll D.
Language: English
Year: 1928
Rights
Fulltext: 12 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL February, 1928 The Month in Sports: Soup to Nuts By Carroll D. Alcott There are tricks in almost every trade that the layman never knows about. He may get some sort of inkling of their existence but his knowledge of their char acter is usually vague. In sports it is the little tricks that the grandstands and the gallery seldom notice that win games. Knute Rockne, Notre Dame’s famous football coach, starts his second string men in almost every big game he plays, not because he partic ularly wants to give the second stringers a chance, but because of the psychological effect it has on the opposition. The fresh second string team, starting, of course, against a fresh team, puts up a good fight for a time. Knute jerks them when they start losing their punch and in goes the first team. It is not hard to imagine the effect on the team in the field when Rockne’s first line men leave the sidelines after finding the second string tough opposition. During the years when Nebraska and Notre Dame were on peaceful terms, the Huskers were the only aggregation not fazed by Knute’s strategy and they broke even in victories with the powerful Hoosier eleven. Red Grange, Illinois’ galloping ghost and now a professional football star, was made by news paper headlines. Before the start of the Ne braska-Illinois game five years ago, Grange was an unknown in the football world. By the time the Sunday papers had reached the street, Grange was the most feared half-back in the Big Ten. Grange made tmee sensational runs against the Huskers thanks to brilliant interfer ence, and the Chicago Tribune announced the victory with a 72 point streamline Grange Sprints to Fame. Every other paper in the middle west carried similar toplines on the event. The same day the writer witnessed a game between two small universities in South Dakota and watched a quarterback named Welch per form, against the toughest kind of opposition, in a manner that compared with what Grange had done. He made two long runs, netting one touchdown off the kickoff and then went Grange one better with a sensational display of forward passing to a younger brother who was co-starring with him. Both schools played good football and the fact that they were small had nothing to do with Welch’s work. The opposition was tough. Welch and his brother received a few lines in the local papers and only a few inches outside of the city for their running and passing. In a different setting, a big school for example, Welch would have been a big star, a Friedman, a Grange or a Kipke. On the same day that Illinois scored its sensational victory over Nebraska and gave its Grange to the world, Nick Kutsch, playing with a small Catholic school, ran rough-shod over a school of the same size. The story was reported in only one newspaper. Two years later this same Kutsch, playing with Iowa University, demoralized Grange and the rest of the Illini. He beat Grange at the running game and went him one better by booting two 40 yard field goals at 45 degree angles. The reports of Grange’s big day at Nebraska were electrifying. Michigan took the field against the Illini. Watch Grange! was the word passed around the Wolverine squad room. Michigan watched Grange but failed to take notice of Britton and the rest of the Illini inter ference. It was a great victory for Grange and the press came in for a big share of the glory. There is a certain golfer in the Philippines who has the bad habit of sneezing about once or twice during an 18 hole match. He sneezes at most critical moments, when an opponent is half through with his swing or on the greens. There is another who plays the municipal links who compliments an opponent when the latter is starting his swing. In his case compli menting the opposition wins his matches. A Chicago pro fessional won a $5,000 side bet on a tournament match in the southeast three years ago by crawling up in the branches of a tree, at the edge of the 18th green. He was one up on his opponent who was on the green in three, with only a two-foot putt to make. The Chica goan had taken four to get on and his lie was 15 feet from the cup. He missed the hole by inches and then took to the branch es of the tree unnoticed. The match was excit ing and the gallery was too busy watching the play to take any notice of what the Chi cagoan was doing. Just as his oppo nent was ready to start his shot, the man in the tree lost his balance, screamed and fell a distance of six or seven feet to the ground. His opponent drove the ball several feet off the green. It would have taken a mashie or niblick to get back on. It was a scurvy trick but none the less effective. The so-called tricks of the trade were overdone in the Philippine Baseball League last month, and the completion of the January and start Mrs. E. J. Nell, Winner cf the Women’s Golf Tournament A Super Food! Thousands of people are tcr-day reaching health by a new and pleasant route. “BEAR BRAND NATURAL MILK has now come to be recognized not only Super Food, “super” because whilst doing ordinary food, it at the same time corrects and balances the shortcomings of other foods! Bear Brand brings to your table the pure product—sterilized —of the world’s most famous herd of cows—fed on the verdant valleys of Emmenthal, Switzerland I of the February schedules saw the development of a nasty situation. Cavite has threatened to quit the league, all because a baserunner fooled a pitcher. Larry Doyle was ejected from a game because he emanated displeasure over an umpire’s decision. Bernales, Meralco shortstop, won a game when, as a batsman, he rushed in front of the plate and announced in a loud voice that the pitcher had just delivered a balk. It looked like interference, but the um pire and the league ruled otherwise. Bernales’ action was so rotten it reeked, and he should have been ejected and suspended. A week previous, he chose a spot between third and second base to start a fight after interfering with a shortstop’s efforts to field a ball, proving that there are a lot of tricks that could be left out. Last month in the Manila sport world pro duced one outstanding achievement. Com mander Charles Slayton, executive officer on the U. S. S. Richmond, magician and golfer, took only nine putts on the last nine holes of Fort McKinley’s course, thereby establishing what is considered as a world’s record. The writer has searched all reference books and records that he has on hand but has failed to find where the nine consecutive putt mark has been touched. Several have made 14 putts on 18 holes but they were not consecutive and there were no nine in a row. There are two or three instances of men taking 11 putts on nine holes. Three years ago the writer witnessed Walter Hagen take only seven putts on as many greens. That feat furnished the sport scribes with good copy for several weeks. Certainly Com mander Slayton’s achievement is worthy of record. The commander’s achievement was made on Sunday, January 29, while playing in a four some with Captain John C. Whitaker, of Manila, a McKinley officer, and a junior naval officer. The first round produced little more than ordi nary golf. The second was a thrill from the start. Slayton had but one easy putt on the round. That was on the 18th green. He made an excellent approach and dropped the ball within 15 inches of the pin. Ordinarily, the putt would have been conceded him, but not under those circumstances. He sank it after a full five minutes of walking around in a circle. It was a harder job to sink his 15 inch shot than any of the 15 to 20 yards putts he had made on the other greens. The achievement is all the more remarkable because of the fact that Commander Slayton did not make any exceptional approaches. His driving was good on eight tees. He dubbed one shot. After making four straight putts, all tough shots, the other members of the foursome cen. as a drink but as a the work of an IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL February, 1928 THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL 13 Three McKinley Stars: Jacob, CF; Le Loup, P; Escamos, C.—Leaders in their positions and high in the batting list. tered their interest around the commander’s put ting. After he had sunk the fifth and sixth putts, their part in the golf match was practically forgotten. His seventh putt was sensational. It was over 20 yards. The excitement was at a high pitch on the eighth. The commander was visibly nervous and anticipated a break in his putting powers. He got by the eighth, and the ninth, as previously stated, was easy. “I wouldn’t take a $100 for the thrill of witnessing Slayton’s performance”, Captain Whitaker stated after the match was over. “It was worth all of that.” Gun-Running In China: Its Principles By Robert J. Casey* Business vs. Sentiment Mukden, Manchuria, Nov. 7.—There is good money in filibustering if you can sell your product. And whatever the advantages of peace times, they furnish a very poor market for second-hand rifles. The question of peace is, of course, an academic discussion. China is pretty old now and get ting older every day, but not within the memory of the oldest inhabitant has there been any of this thing called peace that threatens so much peiil to the arms market. However, it is sometimes necessary to provide new markets for one’s wares. It is a principle of gun-running, if gun-running may be said to have any principles, that when one army is completely equipped one must provide a new army that is not equipped. And through a strict adherence to this simple rule of the trade I. Namahashi, the eminent Japanese gun runner, has made quite a nice thing out of his business. Not once has Mr. Namahashi allowed senti ment to creep into his transactions with the factional chiefs of this fair land. And he has had plenty of cause to be thank ful for his sturdy reluctance to let friendship, if any, inter fere with the marking of his price tags. Consider, for instance, the case of Chee Yuankai. Chee Yuan-kai was a lieutenant of Chang Tso-lin and, as such, was widely respected. In point of fame he was almost as great as the dic tator he served. In fact, one of the few differ ences between him and his commander-in-chief was that the loot all went to Peking instead of to G. H. Q. This, of course, did not seem fair, and he mentioned the situation to I. Namahashi. “I am just as good a general as Chang Tso-lin and I am sure that I would make just as good a dictator. I know seventy-five new and un tried methods of levying taxes Just as Good and I could get rich very as Chang speedily if I were allowed to put them into practice. But I certainly would be a fool to tell what I know to this Chang. He would merely give me another medal or a silly citation and I should Other events in Manila golf last month wer e many. Mrs. E. J. Nell defeated Mrs. E. F. Butler in the finals of the Women’s Open Golf Championship Tournament, winning the title left vacant several months ago by Mrs. Merrill. P. B. Santos won the Yamato Trophy at the Wack Wack Golf Club after some heavy compe tition. The Manila Golf Club team made a successful invasion of foreign shores, visiting Hongkong and returning home with a scalp. The Caloocan stars, headed by J. R. H. Mason, defeated the Shanghai team in the 1928 interport matches after losing their first match to the Hongkong aggregation. This month should produce some spectacular golf at Caloocan, with the annual open cham pionship of the Philippines on. Several new faces are on the entry list, while Larry Montes, the muny links caddy who created a stir last year, gets his second crack at the title. In the boxing world, nothing of great im portance happened in January. A sailor named Joe King made his appearance as a main event boy and kayoed Plamus of Corregidor in the short space of 45 seconds, and then lost to Harry Wills in a fight that went the limit of 12 rounds. The other contests of the month were only mediocre. The evening of February 4, Pete Sarmiento lost to Little Moro in the sixth round of a sched uled 12 round encounter. Sarmiento actually won the fight by a kayo. The blow, called a foul by the referee, was in reality a solar plexus punch well above the waistline. A body puncher of Sarmiento’s type is out of luck in the Phildie possessed of only a couple of million yen.” “I am sure you would be the most able dicta tor China hai ever seen,” replied Mr. Nama hashi. “And I can supply you with enough arms to equip a pair of divisions at $50,000 Mex.per thousand, and some of our grade B am munition—plenty good enough for the fighting of a Chinese war—at $10 the thousand lounds, * * * And I shall require $500,000 Mex. cash in advance.” “I can hear the country calling for me,” mur mured Gen. Chee. “The time is ripe for a new savior of China to rise up and get his cut.” So Chet Yuan-kai took the field. And what happened is now history. The maps of the world have been changed before now because a strategist was just a little too good He Takes for his job. the Field Chee Yuan’s attack on the right wing was so unexpected that his opponents had no time for preparation—a per formance so much at a variance with the local etiquette as to seem incredible. His fresh divi sions swung into action so energetically and fired off their rifles so continuously that the enemy had only one maneuver left. The foe leaped out of the trenches and ran and several hundred men were fearfully injured by getting trodden under foot. The result, of course, was what might have been expected. Gen. Chee’s troops, led on by this simple strategy, got spread all over north China. Their line of communication was broken Mindoro Sugar Company San Jost, Mindoro, P. I. WELCH - FAIRCHILD, LTD SUGAR FACTORS AND EXPORTERS MANILA, P. I. Cable Address: VVEHALD, Manila Standard Codes Agents Hawaiian-Philippine Company Operating Sugar Central Silay, Occ. Negros, P. I. Manila’s Babe Ruth, Luke Gage, Cavite CF, has no local rival at the bat. ippines. Every time he lands in an opponent’s mid-section and the latter gets hurt, the crowd yells foul. In these islands a boxer is not con sidered unless he throws his leath er at long range. The remainder of the fights this month hold nothing much for the fans. Jimmy Hill, the worst fighter in the is lands, is slated to fight Irineo Flores, while Louis Logan squares off with Ceferino Garcia. The latter en counter may prove interest ing. Baseball was featured by the rise of the Eagles from last posi tion in batting averages to the top spot. The All-American nine came out of its slump to hammer every pitcher in the league. They won the majority of their games by attenuation and the general himself found that he was open to attack at any moment. Under the circumstances there was only one thing to do. Gen. Chee also ran. He got back to Mukden undetected and was congratulating himself on the narrowness of his escape when two of Gen. Chang’s secret service operatives arrived to question him. “A revolution?” he repeated. "Yes, I have just heard of it. I know what happened. This 1‘ . villain Namahashi has been tampering with ” some of my stupid lieutenants Oh, Another and I am just at this moment Revolution! going out to kill him and prove my undying loyalty to our tupan, Gen. Chang.” “It might be a good policy to do that at once, or else shoot yourself,” admitted one of the detectives. So Gen. Chee picked up one of Mr. Namahashi’s bargain rifks and set out to wipe out his disgrace, ii any, by killing his cor rupter. He met Namahashi out in front of the rail road station and he fired a complete clip at him from a range of 100 feet. Mr. Namahashi looked pained, walked into the station and took a train for Antung. “No use talking, you can’t mix anything but business with business,” Mr. Namahashi ob served to the Japanese guard as the train pulled out. “Just think of what might have happened if I hadn’t cut the corners a little and sold him paper bullets.” *While Captain Robert J. Casey is on his Far Eastern trip, the Journal will frequently reprint his articles from the Chirayo Dail;, Km. His war diary TheCannoncers llate Ilairy Ears, is his latest book.—ED. Eat New York Agents: Welch, Fairchild & Co., Inc. 135 Front Street San Francisco Agents: Welch & Co., 215 Market Street IN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS PLEASE MENTION THE AMERICAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE JOURNAL