Show 0 O I IJ J CE tJ I ISOME S SOME COME earnest and able compiler of facts and figures h has s estimated there are over 30 million citizens young and old male and nd female who directly or are arc onY or on I Y Indirectly interested v- v t in baseball I II I I believe these 3 x figures are on the the- t short side We have 22 million high I. I school kids for a starter and most of oft j t these follow fallow baseY baseball base base- Y ball in hi one way base I or another The ran range e eis J is from rom 8 to 80 Grantland RIce years and this includes includes includes in in- those who play at the game see the games follow the box scores and the standings standings standings stand stand- ings in the daily newspapers or hear games over the radio My estimate would be 40 million including the fanatics and the only mildly inter inter- ested This is only a guess But that many through newspaper and radio must follow a world series Many or most of the regulars have their favorite ball players They may dig back into the past or they may pick a few from rom the I modern library The leading favorite favor I ite in the games game's long history has been Babe Ruth I Proof here Is simple Babe has i f gone into such cities clUes as Philadelphia and Boston when they were trailing I and drawing less than a thousand at home games But when the Babe came to town they had to call police police police po po- po- po lice reserves to the scene Next to Ruth wed we'd have ha Ty Cobb and after Ty Cobb there would be bei Honus Hanus Wagner Among Amon those of more recent date there are four who belong belon amon among the rafters of the roof Pepper Martin Dizzy Dean Carl Hubbell and Bob Feller And you cant can't leave out Hank Greenberg Greenber Pepper Martin one of at the greatest greatest greatest great great- est hustlers baseball ever knew was everybody's favorite wherever I he played You got the idea dea that he was willing and ready to break a aneck aneck aneck I neck or a leg to get where he was headed for and you were usually right The 1946 Favorites Who will carry most of the public public public pub pub- lic favor from city to city through 1946 In Boston the leading candidates candidates candi candi- dates at this spot are Ted Williams and Dave Ferriss Among the Yan Yan- Yankees Yankees Yankees kees you will find Bill Dickey Joe DiMaggio and Joe Gordon with Gordon with Phil Rizzuto close up willbe will willbe willbe be another Terry Moore and Marty Marion Marlon will lead the Cardinals Cardinals Cardinals Cardi Cardi- nals who have several other candi candi- dates Hank Greenberg and Al AI New- New houser will head the cast for the Tiger zoo For the Giants you'll find Mel Ott and Johnny Mize l in front when the season opens What about the Dodgers In this dizzy land of they change with startling rapidity from day to day Dixie Walker has been the civic civic civic ic nomination or the choice for some years Whether Dixie will retain the affections of the nations nation's most turbulent and tempestuous baseball crowds remains to be seen If It anything happens to Dixie or if it happens to be untrue what they say about Dixie an early nomination is Peewee Reese The Cleveland situation is simple The Indians Indian's contribution to the favorite fa fa- fa class will be one Robert Feller Feller Fel Fel- ler Ier who will lure out the multitudes in fancy numbers at each start What about the Cubs Andy will be one of them and so will Phil Cavarretta and Hank flank Borowy The able veteran Stan Hack will also get some votes At times it is hard to tell just what qualities are needed to make some ball player the crowds crowd's fa fa- Hustle Is always one of the main points The populace likes to see the athlete giving all aU he has run Home-run hitters always have a strong call So do strike-out strike pitch pitch- ers Good people who are arc there In Inthe inthe inthe the clutch or pinch also harvest their share of fanville's affection The Time All Best Who have been my ten favorite ball bal players It doesn't matter much but here they go Babe Ruth Ty Cobb Joe Jackson Tris Speaker Hans Wagner Dizzy Dean Pepper Martin Rube Waddell Christy Mathewson Pete Alexan Alexan- der Plus Walter Johnson Old Barneys Barneys Barneys Bar Bar- pitching motion and the ball ban you ou couldn't follow were still something something some some- thing to look at Carl Hubbell also belongs In this group So does Bill Dickey Ten isn't enough As an artist Hal lIal Chase has no equal Just what favorite crop the thc new season will give us Is in the so- so called laps of the gods There is time enough later on to take this up Bow and Arrow Records Every record improves in sport and archery has made a big advance since the days of the Sioux and the Apaches the Iroquois and I Ithe the Mohicans l Their range was rarely beyond yards But in 1941 Curtis Hill of Dayton Ohio set a anew anew I new Dew mark at yards 6 inches a a new record for what wha is known as free flight night shooting Hills Hill's record record rec ord for tor the regular flight night shooting according to Frank book bookIs Is yards one foot |