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Show THERE were vague rumors under the gunny skies of St. Petersburg back in March that something was just a little shy In the camp of the Cardinals so far as any flaming team spirit was concerned. These rumors have carried along into the starting season. Maybe they are true maybe they are not. But If they are true the Cardinals are going ll,iIH)l. . i to hear no gonfalon-ic gonfalon-ic flapping in the next flurry of autumn au-tumn winds. For team spirit happens to be a vital part of any ball club, no matter how strong their individual play. This brings up the point as to what Grantland tc,ams in baseball ,tice history, looking back 30 years, belong be-long around the top where the matter mat-ter of team spirit Is concerned? Here are just a few that I can recommend rec-ommend from rather close contact: 1905 McGraw's Giants with Matty, Mat-ty, McGinnity, Bresnahan, Devlin, Dahlen, Donlin. 1906 The Chicago White Sox with Fielder Jones, Donohue, Isbell, Walsh, Altrock. 1907 Frank Chance's Cubs with Chance, Evers, Tinker, Sheckard, Stcinfcldt, Kling. 1914 The Boston Braves of George Stallings with Evers, Mar-anville, Mar-anville, Rudolph, Tyler, James, Gowdy. 1934 St. Louis Cardinals with Frlsch, Pepper Martin, Medwick, Dean, Dclancey, Collins, Durocher the old Gas House Gang. 1036-1939 The N. Y. Yankees, of whom Joe McCarthy demands team spirit, even when he has to get rid of a great pitcher and a star outfielder. The Two Leaders My selections from 35 years of baseball would place two teams on top in this respect the White Sox of 1906 and the Boston Braves of 1914. Neither was anything like a great ball club. The Sox then were known as the Hitless Wonders. Their team batting average was around .223. They floundered most of the year, and then under the crabby leadership leader-ship of Fielder Jones and the almost raving upheaval of Jiggs Donohue at first they came along to win 19 straight, bag the pennant from much better teams, and then whip Frank Chance's Cubs who had won 116 games that season and were supposed sup-posed to be invincible. That record of 116 victories still stands. But even such fighters as Chance, Tinker, Evers and others had nothing to match the whirlwind whirl-wind assault of the keyed-up Sox. I recall asking Hughey Fullerton one of the best of the baseball siges, about Isbell Is-bell at second. "Here's a funny angle," Hughey said. "Isbell can't a hit a lick, he " can't run, he has Johnny Evers a bad arm, and he Is only a fair Infielder. But he Is one of the greatest ball players I ever saw." Isbell had brains and spirit to a high degree. The Sox were that brand or breed of team players. In 1908 Ed Walsh worked in 66 ball games, won 40 and saved 12 others. It takes spirit, plus an arm, to carry this load. About the Braves of 1914 George Stallings' Braves were much along the order of the 1906 White Sox. They were no great bail club. They were around last place in early July. They were supposed to be the league flop. And then the vital spark arrived. ar-rived. They began overhauling one team after another with Rudolph, Tyler Ty-ler and James working In order. Rudolph, Tyler and James Rudolph Ru-dolph Tyler and James day after day, week after week, month after month. In addition, there was Hank Gowdy Gow-dy back of the bat, and there were Johnny Evers and Rabbit Maran-ville Maran-ville working at second and short two "disembodied spirits" two diminutive chunks of nerve, brains and courage. They won the pennant. They had to face Connie Mack's brilliant team that had won three pennants a team that had Bender and Plank in the box, and Mclnnis, Collins, Barry and Baker for an infield, one of the great teams of all time. But the Braves beat them four straight. Tlie 1940 Pennant Chasers Neither may bag a pennant this teason but you won't stumble over any keener spirit than Brooklyn and Pittsburgh will show this summer. Leo Durocher and Frank Frisch will handle that part of the job. Both demand hustlers, still carrying along the flame of the Gas House delegation. The Brooklyn Dodgers demonstrated demon-strated their hustle and spark by winning the first nine games of the season. Included in this march were (our shutouts and a no-hit game. |