Show t rt r- r I S Speaking n of 01 Sports Snorts r Baseball Color Most Powerful Drawing Card By ROBERT McSHANE 1 Pr THOUGH HOUGH baseball officials are is prone to boast that the game efficiently organized professional and businesslike still it is beyond their earthly powers to subdue those unconquerable souls who by their odd antics add vivid color to Americas America's Americas America's Amer Amer- ica's own game Baseball color isn't confined to the I players One of the best known known figures of the diamond world today Is Bill BUI Klem the Old Arbitrator Klem is the dean of all major league umpires with more than 30 years continuous service In big league clr cir cults He has called em cm for no noless noless noless less than 17 11 World series He Is a aman aman aman man of supreme confidence self and once declared that he had never made an incorrect decision Nary UNary a n one one Bill demanded questioners Nary a one he replied stoutly The famed Klein Klem line is the thereal thereal thereal real Maginot line of the Old Arbitrators Arbitrators Arbitrator's Arbitrators Arbitrator's Arbi Arbi- defenses against outraged ball players When an argument n x v i BILL KLEM KLEl with a player reaches the white hot stage and threatens actual hostilities ties Bill Klem makes his line With his right foot he draws a real or imaginary line on the ground between between be be- tween himself and the player Then he backs away There is not one player in the major leagues who has ever dared to cross that line Nobody Nobody Nobody No No- body is quite sure what would happen hap pen but Klem implies It would be something pretty dire Case Baseball ball color Is clearly definable delis delis- able in the case of oC Klem whose mannerisms mannerisms mannerisms man man- are arc mostly unconscious the accumulated personality of 30 odd years in the game In the thc case of Joe Engel the color is about as subtle and unconscious as a five five- alarm fire Joe Engel is the whoop- whoop up cm manager of or the Chattanooga Lookouts of oC the Southern tion Engels Engel's idea is that baseball is just not baseball unless the grandstands grandstands grand grand- stands and bleachers are arc full rull of thundering shrieking fans ans Baseball Circus Engel fills the stands by using everything except warrant officers and summonses Among other things he has staged elephant parades across the diamond hired brass bands and handed out free lunches to get spectators for the Lookouts He regards his system as fundamentally sound because a large percentage of those who answer answer an an- his attendance campaigns keep i coming corning back The riches rags angle adds color col or to almost any ball player Joe DiMaggio iMaggio of ot the New York Yankees is 15 high in the gallery of young men who walked in the footsteps of Ruth and aud Tris Speaker The slugging Yank star is not yet a rich man but out hes he's well on his way His present present pres pres- ent salary is a year Joe DiMaggio is the son of a San Francisco Francisco Fran Fran- cisco fisherman Because he was fast last on his feet and because he be learned to wallop the ball balf with one oneat of at the easiest smoothest batting swings in baseball he fairly sky rocketed to baseball glory His holdout fiasco of last year brought him additional fame tame though of a different sort At least he was an individualist The They Kee Keep Fighting More often than not the colorful player Is the aggressive pugnacious pugna dons cious Individual who puts his heart in his work and makes everybody on his side of oC the thc field keep up with him Gabby Hartnett Is that kind of a player So Is Lippy Leo Du Du- rocher Gabby is a good hitter and a gre great t catcher In addition to that ho Isa Is Is' Isa a noisy Jovial fire-eater fire always ou on h ht toes and willing willin to put everything everything every every- thing be has Into each game Durocher has been In Iii n the big leagues steadily since 1928 His batting average approximates only Yet hes he's been on top for Cor more than 10 years because of his ability to make malce himself himself- important He talked scrapped and played with unlimited un tin- limited pep pcp lIe He made himself valuable valuable value able because he made himself colorfuL col col- o rt A colorful player isn't necessarily a crackpot The players who really tickle tide the fans fans' are arc those who refuse to be regimented And that doesn't imply even mild in in- sanity Who's the Best est T TODA TODAY'S ODAY'S YS Y'S ring addicts can be segregated into three groups Those who believe Heavyweight Champion Joe Louis to be a good goad fighter those who think him a great fighter and those who believe him to be the greatest fighter of all time Several of the nations nation's outstanding ing boxing authorities are enthusE enthusiastic enough about the Brown Drown Bomber Comber to regard him Wm not only as today's best fighter but as the king of oC them all all past and present Those same sports authorities will find many to disagree with with them And the dissenters are bold enough to say that Louis Isn't even the greatest fighter in the ring today They back that statement up with cold convincing logic Henry Armstrong Is their choice Henrys Henry's recent knockout victory over Davey Day at Madison Square Garden was his bis sixth successful defense defense de de- rense of his welterweight title In la the 10 months that have passed since he be took the toga from Barney Ross It was the forty fifth consecutive victory in his featherweight lightweight lightweight light light- weight and welterweight division I campaign Armstrong won all three titles In Inthe tl the e course of a year relinquishing one voluntarily Day was his thirty thirty- ninth knockout in the string of fights That record stacks up very favorably favorably favor favor- ably with the one hung up by Louis In one way it is even more sive than the heavyweights heavyweight's string of victories Armstrong h has s gone out of his own weight class to account account ac ac- ac count for Cor many of his wins When he ic conquered all aU contenders in the featherweight field he abdicated moving into the lightweight circles where he removed the pound crown from the brow of Lou Am Am- bers jers Hammering Henry captured his lis third crown in the heavier welterweight welterweight wel wel- division Ills DIs natural fighting weight Is between between be be- tween and pounds When he defends his welterweight ht title bis his opponent fe is allowed to pack pounds which means that Henry gives jives away from Crom 12 to 14 all all import Important tant ant pounds The busiest fighter in the ring today to to- day Henry is one big barrage of at fists from the minute he be steps into the ring until he has knocked out his opponent or has beard heard the final bell Usually his opposition isn't bothered a great deal for the first few rounds But his constant clouting wears them down until victory is within sight And once he has bas it sighted he doesn't let it get away King Ingo of Golfers T TWO A WO years ago when he was playing at Detroit's Oakland Hills ls Ralph Guldahl demonstrated the same relentless driving force that carried him to victory in the recent Masters' Masters golf tournament on the Augusta Ga National course While playing the Detroit course Guldahl was at the top of oC his swing when he noticed a newspaper pho photographer pho in direct line with the ball The cameraman was leaning far ar over o the ropes Barely pausing Ralph stated slated in even tones If you want to get your face knocked off Its It's all right with me He lie followed oil owed through with a ter ler- rifle rIne p poke ke as the photographer r Jerked back his camera and escaped escaped escaped es es- in the nick o of tim time Guldahl is a mechanically precise pre cise cis cautious player He seems nerveless in action merely going r w Ir A r u f w v 1 RALPH GULDAHL through the motions But every time he steps up to the tee he leaves little doubt that he is the super super- golfer goUer of today Especially when the class of the field he be dominates is considered He has won the Western Open for the past three years a and d the National Open the post past two years In winning the Masters' Masters Guldahl called his shot Before the tournament tournament ment Dent began he announced that he would win it His successive rounds were 70 69 for or a total of the lowest score by three strokes in inthe Inthe Inthe the year six-year history of the most exclusive exclusive exclusive ex ex- tournament of the game Though he doesn't like to gamble his boldness in the Masters' Masters was startling On one long hole where a water hazard in front of the green calls caUs for a n terrific second shot to reach the flag he banged one five feet from the flag sinking his putt for or an eagle cagle three He played it the hard way with the same aplomb as he would have playing it safe saCe From the moment Guldahl steps up to the first fUst tee the thought never occurs to him that he isn't the worlds world's best golfer goUer Which he very well may be His opponents and contemporaries ries conceded that he is the toughest tough cst est of ot tournament players always at his best when the going is rocky and cool as ice under fire m Western Newspaper r Union |