Show makes cham by JOHN D GRANT RAWN and alone will not make sports champions without good eyesight it Is impossible to gain eminence in any of the sports that are most popular with the public today the ability to see a fast ball quickly and accurately has made babe ruth the home run king and helen wills the tennis queen declares david associate of the national society for the prevention of blindness the american public loves to create heroes tor itself in the different fields of sport and babe ruth Is one of the most popular of these national idols it Is possible that some of our read era who never glance at the sporting columns may not enow about this ruth person BO we will enlighten them briefly babe ruth started out as a pitcher and he was an tlona lly good one it was not long before his ability as a batter became noticeable and it was decided that he was too valuable in that capacity to repose on the bench a large part of the time eo they made an outfielder of him he immediately started in the business of manufacturing home runs he turned them out with such per regularity that the sporting writers began to take notice and dig into their records they had to throw them away because the babe made new ones and continued to do so until temporary incapacity curtailed his output what has enabled babe ruth to achieve his reputation on the diamond some people will say that it Is his powerful swing of the bat made possible by great strength in his arms this Is true but equally important Is the good eyesight which Is essential when a fast ball Is coming toward the man at the bat it Is not only the sturdy arms of helen wills but it Is also her steady eye that make her queen of the tennis court bill jack dempsey bobby jones and the other topnotch ers in the field of sport owe their reputations and success largely to the fact that they are blessed with healthy eyes as well as strong bodies good Is also important to the thousands of sport fans who go to watch their favorites perform one cannot truly enjoy any athletic game whether in playing or watching unless one has clear vision without such good eyesight that a strategic situation may be seen acau bately and understood at a moments glance one cannot acquire skill in any sport host professional athletes real ize this and therefore take every precaution to keep their eyes in good condition sometimes it Is necessary for the athlete to wear glasses but this does not mean that his days of usefulness on the field are past it Is interesting to note that a few of the best known ball players in the major leagues find it necessary to wear glasses lee meadows an outstanding pitcher in the national league for several years wore glasses in the pitchers box another pitcher who wears them Is vie sorrell of the detroit tigers who Is one of this years sensations others are To porcher and macfayden glasses are worn on the baseball field also by chick outfielder of the st louis cardinals and by mark koenig shortstop of the detroit team in the american league who Is rather well known in new york city where he was shortstop for the yankees for several years and koenig are the first fielders in baseball to wear glasses while playing glasses are worn in other sports also in tennis for instance watson washburn who was for several years a member of the united states dails cup team has worn glasses on the tennis court for a long time and in golf wlllie mcfarlane former na open champion and now a professional fess ional in county new york usually wears glasses while playing in colleges and high school throughout the united states athletic directors are specially careful about the eyesight of members of the various school teams incidentally boys and girls of high school age seem to be most susceptible to accidents that involve eye injuries perhaps this Is so because they are very active at that age the national society for the pre of blindness in a survey of eye accidents found a strange variety of hazards in athletics in the home and especially in industry there was a record of a painful injury when in wrestling one boys finger found its way into one of his opponents eyes also there was the incident of one basketball player who apparently con aused the eyes of another player with the basket at which he was supposed to be aiming one university student was so confident of his own abilities that be took off his mask while fencing and had one eye put out by his opponents foll in many sports there are chances of injuring the eyes with a ball golf ball tennis ball baseball base bill handball basketball football and ethers but in golf aside from the danger of being struck by the ball inquisitive persona occasionally suffer eye injuries la cutting open discarded golf balls the knife may slip and strike the eye or the rubber may cause the ball to rebound and hit the eye in any event this curiosity aa to the contents of a golf ball has a certain element of danger among the games of boyhood important causes of eye accidents are the realistic cowboy indian and rack ateer games which make necessary the actuel use of air rifles blank pistols or bows and arrows the old fashioned sling shot has not gone out of existence either apparently there are many parents who do not realize the obvious mistake in trusting ahll dran with such dangerous toys and weapons as these in case of an accident to the eyes it Is well to know exactly what to do there are three cardinal principles of first aid after eye injuries the first of these Is cleanliness next prompt rest for the eye and third medical care directed by a competent physician preferably an oculist these principles apply even if the injury is slight and they are imperative with serious eye injuries |