Show IN FN POUNDING down georgia turl 1 again with ona bone tyrus raymond co cobb bb tho the discussion cams came up regarding the best winning year ot of years of an athletes career freddie Cor corcoran corm tournament ameni manager ot of the P G A and a master ot of statistical lore had just discovered that vie tha winning average agenor age for professional golt golf stood at 28 years or in that immediate i neighborhood bobby jones winning ing span ran from 21 11 to 28 but it wei was at 28 that he had grantland nice bice his ahls greatest and final season gene had his best years from 20 to 31 so that his average stood at 26 weve had 20 ye year arold ar old winners in balmet and corcoran said and others in their high thirties also tied led for the title at 38 Vardon was close to 60 50 when lie he won his bis last start but bul find that 28 Is i close to p peak eak form for baseball my two best years cobb said were 1011 1911 and 1912 when I 1 was 28 20 and 27 years old the records proved this in 1911 cobb batted scored runs and stole 83 bases in 1912 cobb batted and stole cl 61 bases in 1915 cobb stole 96 bases which is more th than anthe the entire cast of two ball clubs will steal today when I 1 was around 20 11 ty said 1 I had the experience exper lenca that comes froni from eight years of play I 1 started nt at I 1 also had the spring oi 01 youth at that ago age the eyes and legs lega are still young the reflexes work perfectly As I 1 got a few years older I 1 noticed that while I 1 could run about as fast as ever I 1 start as fast and the start is a big part of speed in those two big years cobb piled up lip hits and starting speed was a big factor intal in this total there have been a lot of bell ball players ty added who got better as they grew older but the average winning year Is still around 26 walter johnson had many great years but his best season was in 1913 when as I 1 dimly diffily recoil recal lit it walter won 36 30 games games and had an earned run average of think of thail and he won those 36 30 games with a weak hitting club that rarely got him many runs in 1913 johnson was juat 26 years old I 1 had to hit against him then and I 1 know what he had no one before bufore or since has ever had such terrific speed you knew aw a fast ball was coming but that help a lot it was wag too fast it S so there yd yo have ty cobrand Cob cobb band and walter johnson with the ago age of 26 pointing to their twin peaks bob feller now 22 should be a 40 game winner at 26 20 if the same average holds up cobb is now moving on to his fils fifty fifth birthday the georgia peach deac is still in fine physical shape the main sign of passing v years cars la is thinning kair hair just a trifle gray but ho he can still hunt from dun to darkness and 60 take you around j some fairway at a hectic pace jack dempsey dempsay won the thi main maln title at the age of 24 so TV ty cobb did jinx jim jeffries jeffrees Jeff rles alm ilm corbeit was 26 when lie he stopped john L sullivan then fit fat and 35 genii gend tunney was 28 when he won from dempsey among fighters dempsey was at his best the year he beat bulard Tunney came along more slowly tunney retired before he came to what he might have been jess willard a freak was well over 30 when he whipped jackjohn jack johnson fitz was around 35 when nhen he ha stopped jim corbett corbeit but I 1 think find the average age of fighting gre greatness atness cl celoso osato to 20 or 27 years As ty cobb puts it this Is the meeting point of experience peri ence and youth the physical qualities have been retained and have also received an added hardness there Is more stamina to work with and just as much speed asi As I 1 recall it bill tilden was 26 when he won his first national tennis ch championship at forest hills and mopped up at wimbledon Wimble don TU til den can still play every stroke known to the game but the legs and the eyes are years away from their prime I 1 eyes important and dont forget bill said some time ago the eyes cant be overlooked they are more important than most camp followers understand there have been exceptions exception but it if you look back find that ag or 27 has been t the be golden ye year a r of competition especially where speed and stamina count willie hoppe beyond BO 50 Is still a marvel but willie haye have to use his legs lega where speed is nit needed and important |