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Show WITH the Boston Braves of 1947 making threatening pennant I gestures for the first time since i 1914. a somewhat inside story of the i old Stallings outfit might be worth I telling. . In 1914, the Braves, under the .,,., niirPlP Man. George Stall- ! ings, were 15 games j off the pace, as late : as July 4, and tbey were still last on July 18. Then the miracle of baseball's base-ball's miracles took place, as they went .... ... .kIm 11. , tlt'T- uis iu in tr " nant and beat the southwurth Athletics 4 straight. 1 But part of the story of the Braves of 1914 goes back to the sprmg-training sprmg-training program of that year in the South to a pair of great com- ' petitors, possibly the greatest that I ever wore spiked shoes. Their names were Maranville and Evers, i the Rabbit and the Crab. Heading north that year, I stopped off for a few days at the Braves , camp In March. The main idea ; was to call on a few old friends, such as Hank Gowdy, Johnny Evers and Rabbit Maranville. Intending to spend only a day or so, I hung around longer, for it was the most interesting camp I had run across. In an exhibition game that afternoon, after-noon, Evers and Maranville collided i at second base, each trying to cover the bag. Both seemed to be badly jolted, but neither gave any sign of being hurt. I noticed Maranville, a few minutes min-utes later, looking for some lost object ob-ject around second base. "What were you looking for?" I asked the Rabbit in the dugout later. "Two of my teeth," he said, "where my mouth collided with Johnny's head. He's got a tough head." A short while later, Evers was hit on the arm with a fast ball. He gave no sign of being hurt, as he ; grinned and started for first base. They Could Take It Another member of the Braves was hit, and he also showed no sign of any trouble, although he carried a lump above his elbow. Here, outside of the genial Hank Gowdy, was a rather snarling, tough group, without too much ability. The team had Dick Rudolph, George Tyler and Bill James pitching, pitch-ing, but they had never looked like Johnson, Alexander and Mathew-son, Mathew-son, or Feller, Newhouse, Shea and Blackwell. As far as one could see here was a ball club that might finish sixth or seventh or even eighth. The squad, that week, had shown no power at all. Only some pretty fair pitching. That night, Maranville told me what was taking place. "I lost two teeth," he said, "and I never blinked. Two men were hit, and they never rubbed their arms. We've made a rule on this club that nobody can show he has been hurt, not even if he gets a concussion, not even if he gets his block knocked off. Don't think losing los-ing two teeth was any fun. It hurt. But I never let anyone know it. I i like that brand of baseball. Don't ever let 'em know you've been hurt." The Victory Drive I lost considerable interest in this Maranville philosophy when the BrtVM were last on July 4, 15 games away from the first place. "What about it now?" I said to the Rabbit, about that time. "Just warming up," he said. "Just wanning up. Watch us in the stretch." It was from late July on that the Braves, headed by the driving force of George Stallings, a great manager, man-ager, a fighter from every known angle, plus Rudolph, Tyler and James, went to work. Stallings told me later he lost four pairs of trousers sliding up and down the bench. "I was full of bench splinters," he said. Dick Rudolph was one of the best, and one of the smartest pitchers in baseball history. Tyler and James came to his help. Day after day you got this refrain "Rudolph, Tyler Ty-ler and James." They caught the Giants In the stretch, picked up 15 games on one of McGraw's good teams, and then wrecked the Athletics in four straight In the world series. And aU the Athletics had was Bender and Plank and Bush, Collins, Col-lins, Mclnnis, Baker, Barry and what looked to be one of the great teams of all time a team that had won four pennants in Ave years It wasn't even a contest. Southworth's Team Now the Braves of 1947, just 33 years later, under the able direction direc-tion of Billy Southworth, another great manager, are among the teams to beat. These Braves are ' much bett ball club than the Braves of 1914. But, whether or not they can show the same amount of iron In their systems as this miracle squad offered against a for-lorn for-lorn hope, is another guess It isn't often that any team has ' Manville and an Ever, on th. same squad, two blazing spots of I |