Show nV r r- r ri i f I h ih I 1 f Tepee epee Ii Iu i L i f Topics u L By TOMMIE PORTER PORTE t The sun the robins and the little green buds are hertt herthe her her- IK tt 15 aiding l t the h e coming 0 of f spring so even at t the h e peak of the basketball season our thoughts drift to the day when a dad blue umpire will bellow Play Bawl and the baseball base base- 7 14 b ball season will bloom agai again So 50 we sit in our little office awaiting those diamond jays days s 's and wondering why since professional profession l baseball is isSO isso SO 0 popular in Utah a rebirth and rejuvenation of sandlot and d school baseball would not be just the thing The very popularity o of Pioneer league games should make r. r 4 amateur prep and junior baseball more attractive to toI I coaches players and fans than at any time in the last two 7 Youth usually emulates its heroes and the advent of pro ro to baseball he here e should have hav been een the signal ignal for inc increased eased on Utah's Utah s sandlots But instead with the exception of the the jie semipro Industrial league the American Legion juniors md nd the high school group the nonprofessional diamond sport hit the skids Certainly this is not the fault of oC the Pioneer league for Cor managers of that thai circuit are always on the watch for 1 new talent and would be glad to see sandlot activity in increased increased increased in- in creased in order that such talent might be made available Perhaps the lack of fan interest brought on the disappearIng disappear disappear- I Ing jig a apt act t on the sandlots as the majority of baseball followers did lid desert the amateurs and for the new pro loop I This fas l lack ck of interest together with mounting expenses almost certainly proved one of the largest factors so far as amateurs were ere concerned and put a sharp kink in the program of the I But baseball is still baseball and the Salt SaIt Lake Bees I or Ogden Reds are not at home all the time so nonprofessional t ional baseball should be revived to prevent Utah's diamonds diamonds diamonds dia- dia monds from going to seed in stagnation I Many baseball enthusiasts still recall the thrills of those hose days when East and Vest West high school stars at least one ne of whom is now a major leaguer engaged in rousing duels when the Second South Sluggers clashed dashed with the East ast Side and the Flashy Nine met the Baby Giants in The Telegrams Telegram's Kids Kid l league ague when Drapers Draper's Redbirds battled Rio Grande or Walkers Walker's played Eastern Hatters in the old amateur circuit Why let those thrills dip ilip ip into the limbo of the past forever The hope to revive their sport by introducing ing ng ing many new young performers this season the high j schools are making a real effort to promote interest in b baseball Is it too much to hope then that amateur and kid sid baseball will be rebuilt in Utah this year to give us again gain a general around all-around presentation of our national sport sport port |