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Show PRECISELY 22 ears ago the Gray Eagle led Cleveland to her last pennant her only pennant in some 50 years and more. The Gray Eagle is better known as Tris Speaker one of the great outfielders, one of the great ball players of all baseball time. The Gray Eagle was the flying hawk who prevented pre-vented Ty Cobb from leading the American league 13 consecutive seasons. This Mill Iwnll'V'WI! ""'. makes Tris half- , . . eagle and half- Tris bpeaker hawk especially ball hawk. "I'd like to tell you something about this kid Lou Boudreau." Tris said. "Not a bad manager," we suggested. sug-gested. "Not a bad manager," the Eagle almost screamed. "If he has the chance to keep going I'm talking about the war now he'll be one of the best that baseball ever knew. "Here's a 24-year-old kid who is smart, game, crafty, forceful, respected re-spected and admired by every man on his club and a corking ball player play-er on the side. "But the war is far more important impor-tant than Boudreau or baseball. No one knows what will happen a little later on. I'm just trying to tell you what Boudreau might have been in normal times." 7oit; It Happened "When Alva Bradley, president of the Cleveland club, was looking around for a new manager," Speaker Speak-er continued, "he asked me about three or four possibilities. They were all good men. "But I asked Alva, 'Why go away from your own club?' " 'Who would that be?" Mr. Bradley asked. " 'A kid named Boudreau,' I said. 'How can you find a better man?' ' 'Lou's only 24,' Bradley said. " 'If he were 21 I'd still like him. In a year or two he'll be one of the best in baseball. Take him and give him a chance.' "At that time we were not at war. I figured then that Boudreau would need a year or two, or maybe three, to pick up the answers. He's picked them up, with the material he had. "Lou took over a club that wasn't so hot last season even with Bob Feller winning 25 games. Lou didn't have Feller around this spring. Feller has a much bigger job to look after. Cleveland, minus mi-nus Bob Feller, looked to be one of the major flops. Feller meant Cleveland. Bob Lou Boudreau ai gameS in 1939, 27 games in 1940, and 25 games in 1941. When you lose a guy who can win 76 games for you in three years, you've lost more than your shirtl Boudreau s Job "When Boudreau took his Cleve land club south this spring, he understood un-derstood what Feller's absence meant. He knew the psychological effect. 'I don't think,' he told his squad, 'this is a one-man club. Let's prove It.' "I don't know where Cleveland will finish this season. Everyone who knows baseball also knows that . the Yankees have most of the good ball players. How can you beat a club that has Joe Gordon, Bill Dickey, Dick-ey, Joe DiMaggio, Charlie Keller, and such pitchers as Bonham, Ruffing, Ruff-ing, Russo, Chandler, Breuer, Donald Don-ald and a few more. "But in this first year, with Feller Fel-ler missing, the Indians are still up there giving the Yankees a battle. "And don't forget there are hardly any members of this Cleveland squad who could even make the Yankee team." About the Eagle We turned the pages back to 1908, only 34 years ago, when Tris was playing with Little Rock. That was our first meeting. The Gray Eagle was a great ball player then. Time has taken nothing from him. He has been beyond all question the greatest fielding outfielder in the game's history and I can give you Jimmy McAleer, Fred Clarke, Jimmy Jim-my Shec-kard (Ring Lardner's pick), Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, Joe Jackson, and several others. And normally Tris was better than a .350 hitter. Beyond this, the Gray Eagle from Hubbard City, Texas, has had more brains than most of the triba. Speaker has had the personality that belongs only to a few around the top rung. He is now in his fifties, fif-ties, all gray and partly bald, but still more ready and willing to get in any form of war work where he might be useful. At present he is on a draft board in Cleveland "where." he tells you. "we are p'ay-ing p'ay-ing no favorites." Aid lie's not jus' saying that. |