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A ANL ONLY NL Y a few years a ago go almost the theentire entire country started pullmg pulling pullmgfor pullingfor pullingfor for the Brooklyn Dodgers The TheDodgers TheDodgers TheDodgers Dodgers were the people 2 s choice or orcherce orcherce cherce But this season as a lone lonebystander lonebystander lonebystander bystander or spectator I m pulling pullingfor pullingfor pullingfor for Connie Mack s Athletics WhIch WhIchmeans Whichmeans Whichmeans means Connie MackWith Mack MackWith With the respect in which Connie Connietack ConnieMack ConnieMach \tack tack Mack ! \ is held In this country wIth withall withall aU all the publicity be he bebas hehas hehas bas has drawn I still stilldoubt stillos stilldoubt os doubt that the Unit Unit- United United United - - ed States quite qnltc apprcciates apprccates ap- ap appredates - - - ! predates prcciates prccates ( what Connie Con Connie 7 , nie nee nietack Mack \tack tack ! \ has meant meantto meantto meantto to the Integrity to tothe tothe 1the the cleanness to theall theall the iall 1 all out sportsman sportsmanship sportsmanship 3 a askip ship skip of baseball baseballvirtues baseballvirtues baseballvirtues virtues which should shouldbelong shouldbelong ' belong to all games gamesI I don t bell beheve believe eve thewe themajority the we wemajority majority of the peo Connie Iack Mack Mackpie Blackpie IackpIe pIe know or understand understand under understand stand the great Job lob 300 Connie has hasdone hasdone hasdone done through more than 60 years in inpromotmg inpromoting inpromoting promotmg promoting these ideals which are arefar arefar aretar far above the nine IllI1e pennants and the themany themany themany many World Series Senes his ms teams have havewon havewon havewon won There have been many smart smartmanagers smartmanagers smartmanagers managers and many smart owners ownersBut ownersBut ownersBut But no one else who could match matchwhat matchwhat matchwhat what Connie Conine Mack has contributedto contributed to baseball and to sport In general generalas as pIa placer player } er manager and owner-or owner or ownerorone ownerorone owner - - orone one who could say with Victor HugoThe HugoThe Hugo HugoThe The snows ol of winter may be on onmy onmy onmy my head but the sunshine sunshme of eter eternal eternal eternal nal spring sprmg Is in m my heart ' Forty rorty r orty Years AgoComing Ago AgoComing Coming Coromg up from trom the south I first firstmet firstmet firstmet met Connie in the World Series Senes of o 1905 That was the year when whenChristy whenChristy whenChristy Christy Mathewson wrecked the theAthletics theAthletics theAthletics Athletics with three successive shut shutouts shutouts shutcuts outs Connie Mack was then well wellover wellover wellover over 40 years old He was supposed supposedto to be past hI his " , prime pnme over four dec decades decades decades ades ago But after that 1905 Senes Series SeriesI SenesI I found that Mr Mack had no alibi alibiof alibiof alibiof of any sort to offer He had only onlypraIse onlypraise onlypraise praIse for the great pitching pltchmg of ofMatty ofMatty ofMatty Matty who held his hard hItting hIttingteam hittingteam hittingteam team to 13 singles in 3 gamesWhat gamesWhat games gamesWhat What a pitcher Connie Conrne Conine said then thenWhat thenWhat thenWhat gamesI I What a pitcher He had nothingto nothmgto nothmg nothing to say about the absence of ms his msI msgreat hisgreat hisgreat great pitcher Rube Waddell , , who whohad whohad whohad I had been injured before the senes series senesand seriesand seriesand and couldn t even throw a ball . . . It may be the younger genera generation generation I generaI tIon doesn t know so much about Mr MrMack MrMack MrMack MrMackWell Mack MackWell I IWell Well at the age of 82 or 83 or orwhatever orwhatever . whatever it Is ( who bothers about about'I aboutthe aboutthe ' the years anyway anoway ) ) Connie Is a lean leantall leantall leantall 'I I 'Ithe tall gray haired fellow as straight straightas as a south Georgia pine The last lasttime lasttime lasttime time I saw him was the 1944 World WorldSenes WorldSeries WorldSeries Senes Series in St Lows-between Lows between Louts-between Louts Louis - - between the Car CardlDals Cardinals Cardinals dlDals dinals and Browns-when Browns when Browns - - when he looked lookedto lookedto lookedto to be the keenest of all the flock flockthat flockthat Cockhat that ( follows any World Series showWe show showWe We talked taI1.ed taI1ed tailed . of the days when he dug dugup dugup dugup up the greatest bunch of left hand handers handera handers ers era that ever worked tor for any ball ballclub ballclub ballclub club Connie was always partial to tosouthpaws tosouthpaws tosouthpaws southpaws - Rube Waddell Herb HerbPennock HerbPennock HerbPennock Pennock ( rated by Bill Hanna as asthe asthe asthe the greatest of them all all ) ) EddIe EddIePlank EddiePlank EddiePlank Plank ( the Gettysburg Guide Gulde ) and andLefty andLefty andLefty Lefty Grove-certamly Grove certamly Grove-certainly certainly Grove - - certainly one of the thebest thebest thebest thebestIt best bestIt It was also Connie Conroe Mack who dug dugup dugup dugup up one of the great infields of base baseballeven baseballeven baseball ball-even ball even - even if you have forgotten theIr theIrnamesStuffy theirnamesStuffy theirnames names-Stuffy names Stuffy - Stuffy Mclnnis McInrns McInnis Eddie Col Col1ms Collens Colhns 1ms lens Jack Barry and Home Run RunFrank RunFrank RunFrank Frank Baker Kindly name me a agrea agreater agreater grea greater ter infield7 mfield infield infield7A ' A Great Sportsman SportsmanIn In these last 40 years I have never neverseen neverseen neverseen seen or met Connie Mack when he hewasn hewasn hewasn wasn t kind and considerate of all allconcerned allconcerned allconcerned concerned - ballplayers baseball baseballwrIters baseballwriters baseballwriters wrIters and the public : at large He Hemerely Hemerely Hemerely merely happened to be a great greatsportsman greatsportsman greatsportsman sportsman And we can use a lot more great sportsmen than we wehave wehave wehave have today He has nothing to cover coverupnothing coverupnothing coverup up-nothing up nothing - nothing to explain explam For 60 years yearshe yearshe yearshe he has stood four square against agarnst all allthe allthe allthe the winds wrnds that blow in 1n sport and andmany andmany andmany many of these are adverse wmdsThere windsThere winds wmds windsThere There was never any dead pan pan'about panabout ' about Connie ConDle lie De He had a qualntsense qu\lnt qu lnt qualnt qulntsen quiuitsense ' \ sen sense ! > e of humor The tough breaks breaksnever breaksnever breaksnever never boll bot botlered ! ered himIt himit him himIt It all belongs in the game he heused heused heused used to say lou Iou You get gct the good ones onesand onesand onesand and you get the bad ones It all allaveragcs allaverages allaverages , ' ' averagcs averages up Some t me ago I was kidding Ty TyCobh TyCobb TyCobb Cobh Cobb as to whether he or Babe Ruth Ruthwas Ruthwas Ruthwas was the greatest ballplayerWhy ballplayerWhy ballplayer ballplayerWhy Why pick on Ruth or me Cobb Cobbs.ild Cobbsaid Cobbsaid s.ild sild said . Why not turn to ConnIe ConnIei ConnieMack ConnieMack7 i Mack ' Mr Mack has done more for forbaseball forbaseball forbaseball baseball and sportsmanship sportsmanslup in gen genera general genera era eral 1 ! than any two men mcn that ever everl1ved everlived everlived l1ved lived He is the ablest man and the thesquarest thesquarest thesquarest squarest shooter I ve ye ever known- known knownand knownand known knownand - - and 60 working worklng years couldn t knock knockurn knockhun knockhim urn hun ! downThat downThat down downThat That s one of the reasons I m pull pulling pulling pullIng ing for Connie Conrne Mack and his Ath Athletlcs Athletics Athletics letlcs letics through 1945Country 1945 1945Country Country of 0/ 0 0Youth / Youth YouthThis YouthThis This Tlus is a young country and it itshould itshould itshould should be the country of youth They Theyare Theyare Theyare are the ones who should take chargenot chargenot charge chargenot -not not - not the older men who rarely hear heara a shot fil filed flied ed in angerWhat angerWhat anger angerWhat What we need is a sporting sportmg pro program program program gram for these 10 000 000 or 12 000 000000 000 war servicemen which army armyand armyand armyand and navy are now arranging to take takeup takeup takeup up the physical and mental slack slackTe'1n1s slackTennis slackTennis Te'1n1s Te1n1s Tennis ' golf baseball end tlnd and basket basketball basketball basketball ball will well do more to rehab1l1tate rehabilitate rehabilitate'these rehabilitatethese ' these battle weary heroes than any any- anything any- any anything anything - - thing else elseI I |