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Show fMV7ZMl I VTHAT was the best bait game ever pitched, when you consider con-sider the combined quality of pitching pitch-ing on both sides? This query came up recently when we were wishing good luck to such war-zone travelers as Carl Hubbell. Mel Ott, Ducky Medwick, Dixie Walker, Paul Wa-ner Wa-ner and Paul Derringer. None of them went back far enouch to offer i jj s a any complete check on the intricate situation. sit-uation. The only candidate for the honor present was Carl Hubbell. one of the great pitchers pitch-ers of all time who Innocently became involved in the argument. As 1 figure tt, there were three Carl Hubbell u h games that belong be-long In one compact and select group. The first took place in 1908 when Addle Joss of Cleveland beat Ed Walsh of the Chicago Chi-cago White Sox 1 to 0. In this game lean and lanky Joss, a great pitcher badly overlooked, pitched one of the few perfect games In baseball. Not a White Sox reached first base. Against this flawless exhibition Ed Walsh struck out 15 Cleveland hit-ters hit-ters and allowed only two hits. And in those now forgotten days Cleveland Cleve-land had a mighty slugging team headed by Nap Lajoie. No-Hit Game This was a pitching thriller that none who saw it will ever forget. I was talking about this game recently re-cently with Charley Hughes of the Detroit Athletic club who also covered the big-arm contest. "That game Is my pick," Charley Char-ley said. "Except for one wild throw, neither team would have scored against Joss and Walsh before be-fore nightfall. There is no greater thrill thn to see a perfect game pitched no one to reach first especially espe-cially when the other pitcher is allowing al-lowing only two hits and fanning 15 men." The next all-star double pitching pitch-ing entry we recall was the meeting meet-ing between Fred Toney of Cincinnati Cincin-nati and big Vaughn of the Cubs on May 2, 1917. In that game these two pitchers turned in a double exhibition ex-hibition that has never been equalled. At the end of nine innings in-nings neither had allowed a hit. A double no-hit game In one afternoon after-noon was something for the record. rec-ord. No-hit nine inning games are rare enough and when you get two pitchers offering the same fare on a single occasion, yon get close to the limit. "What about the game," Mel asked, that Carl Hubbell pitched against the hard-hitting Cardinals July 2. 1933?" Hurling 18 Innings Hubbell promptly blushed. I'll tell you about it," Ott said. Carl beat the Cardinals one to nothing after 18 innings. Tex Carle-ton Carle-ton worked the first 15 innings for the Cardinals and Jess Haines the last 3. They also pitched great ball. You have to, allowing only one run in 18 innings. 'But that isn't all of it. If you pitched perfect ball through 18 Innings, In-nings, only 54 men would come to bat. Well, as I recall It, only 57 men came to bat against Carl that day. Maybe only 56. Now it's great to pitch 9 fine innings. But think what it means to pitch 18 great innings." "How about it, Carl?" I asked. Carl changed the subject slightly. slight-ly. "The best game I ever pitched was against the Dodgers," he said. "That was Memorial day, 1840. They got one hit, but that day I had most of my stuff working." "Better than your 18 inning game and your no-hitter?" I asked. "I think so," he said. "But that 18 inning thing was a long afternoon.", after-noon.", "Here's a funny angle," Mel Ott said again. "Later on we beat Dizzy Diz-zy Dean and the Cardinals one to nothing in the second game that same day 27 runless inn'ngs for the Cardinals." Anyway, we have offered you three of the greatest pitching contests con-tests of all time, slipping on back a mere matter of 38 years. There they stand on their own records The Joss-Walsh gem of 1908. The Toney-Vaughn Jewel of 1917. The Hubbell-Carleton-IIaines masterpiece mas-terpiece of 1933, 18 innings. It would be interesting to get a vote from those who follow baseball as to which was the top masterpiece master-piece of the three. All Around Fighters How many know that in addition to football ability this navy team has set a new record in the way of fighting or boxing talent? Here they are Capt. Ben Chase, guard, was the regimental heavyweight heavy-weight champion in 1943 and the runner-up in 1944. Leo Bramlett, crack end, is heavyweight champion of the academy. Clyde Scott, from Arkansas, won the middleweight championship of the Plebe summer tournament. |