| Show 0 R CE HAVE been reading rending la lately ly WE from something like a dozen spring training camps about the number ol ot amazing rookies that t. have come along This happens every spring sprung It has been going on for some 50 years It is only natural that It should be this way for the rookie Is usually young keen ambitious and f thinks only in terms of today The veteran veteran vet vet- eran has to think In terms of next summer summer sum sum- mer as he nurses r i c 4 Aff N 1 his waning arm and L J none too certain t a i n legs TY TYCOBB conn S Spring p r in gist is the h e rookies rookie's happy hunting huntIng huntIng hunt- hunt Ing ground It would be a wonderful wonder wonder- ful thing for the game If it they all could make good but as one veteran veteran veteran vet vet- eran manager told me lately lately All All AllI I can Ean an ask for is one or br maybe two That would be a big average So Tar far the Dodgers and the he Giants seem to have discovered the leading leading lead lead- ing fag rookie But if either cither team can start the new season with two rookies who are good enough to win a job away from some regular they will be two lucky ball clubs Now and then you hear about another another another an other Cobb or another Ruth Suppose Suppose Suppose Sup Sup- pose we check back on these two famous names Cobb report reported d to Augusta In the Sally league In hi 1904 where he batted batted batted bat bat- ted in 37 games I was working in Atlanta that year and I heard no great uproar about Cobb being another Wagner Tys Ty's best press agent was Ty Ty joined the Tigers in 1905 where he batted in 41 games that season season season sea sea- son and there was no overwhelming chorus about coming greatness He jumped to in and 1906 and from then on it was something else again again in 1909 in 1910 in 1911 and in 1912 Ruth Known as Pitcher In 1914 Babe Ruths Ruth's fame belonged belonged belonged be be- longed to pitching No one had anything anything anything any any- any any- thing to say about his hit hitting ing In 46 games with Baltimore and Providence Providence Providence Provi Provi- dence that 1914 season the Babe batted My record book shows that he hit rut one orie home run that year In his first five years as a pitcher with the Red Sox the Babe averaged averaged averaged aver aver- aged slightly over with no great home run record later Frank Frisch was no no terror when when he broke into Giant ranks right out of Fordham in 1919 In 54 games that season with the the Giants he hit only Not so hot for a rookie even one one just out of college But McGraw still had full faith In him and the Fordham Flash moved up to A year later hi in 1921 he was up to winding up as one of the great second basemen of all time Maybe not the greatest greatest but but up among the best Hank Greenberg batted only with Hartford in 1930 He moved up to with Beaumont In 1932 But he reached with Detroit In 1933 The greatest pitching r rookie okle that I recall was Grover Cleveland Alex Alex- ander Reporting from Syracuse to the lowly Phillies In hi 1911 Alex won 28 games his first year He was wasa a rookie you dream about Among the time all-time rookies I find that Chuck Klein of the Phillies Lou Gehrig of the Yankees and Jimmy Foxx of the Athletics were around the top top possibly possibly the best They began began began be be- gan tearing down fences shortly aCter after aft aCt after er arrival The year 1946 1916 had its full share of exceptional rookies Including in including including In- In Del Ennis of the Phillies Furillo Whitman and Edward of 01 the Dodgers The second year Is the big test Frank Frisch tells me the test for the hot rookie and the young fellow tellow moving up Good rookies often fold up after a good first year They take too much for granted Some slower starters can press them thema a mile In hi the second season Smarter Smart Smart- er fellows with more hustle II 11 This s new season may be packed with e exceptional rookies facing being GI I veterans veteran's who were not too hot last las year It will be an Interesting study to see how they come along The Top for 1947 A correspondent has asked us to forecast sports sport's top name of ot the year for 1947 19 What was was sports sport's top name for 1946 Joe 1946 Joe Louis Eddie Dyer Leo Durocher Bob Feller Stan Ted Williams Hank Greenberg Armed Assault Red Blaik Frank Leahy Jack Kramer Ben Hogan Eddie Arcaro Bob Wa- Wa Charlie D Davis vis and Blanchard Joe Cronin Suppose you try to pick a name from this list There was certainly no Babe abe Ruth around last season There was no noTy noTy noTy Ty Cobb There was no Jack Demp- Demp sey There was no Jim Thorpe no Knute Rockne no Bobby Jones and no Walter Hagen Dagen My vote for 1916 1946 would go to Stan the best around all baseball player player Glenn Glenn Davis the best around all-around football player player player-As- As Assault sault the best horse and Ben Hogan Hogan Ho Ho- gan the best golfer goIter It takes the high mark of ot competition competition competition com com- petition to make a top performer I and Davis Assault and Hogan Hogan Hogan Ho Ho- gan took the lead |
