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Show . . i ; Seeing E5ig League Baseball 7T By BILLY EVANS FZ T W V Sportswrtter, Big League Umpire and General Manager of the Cleveland Indians In the role of umpire, spectator or '."Viurts writer, I have looked at most of the Important sporting events of the last two decades. I have seen Walter Johnson, after 18 years with an "also ran" ball team, finally reach the world series, only to pitch his heart out in two futile attempts to win from the New York Giants before be-fore victory finally rewarded his efforts ef-forts in the climax of, possibly, the most thrill-packed world series game ever played. 1 have seen the great Christy Xlathewson at his best, and Hans Warner, Mordecal ("Three-Fingered") Brown, and the rest of the famous old-timers. I have seen Babe Ruth's murderous bat wreck scores of ball games with a thundering drive over some far-flung fence. I have gazed and marveled as "Ked" Grange, the great football star of the University Univer-sity of Illinois, came flashing down the midwest gridirons on those swift, snakyr breath-taking runs of his. I have seen the great Jack Dempsey demonstrate his right to the world's heavyweight championship with a swift, murderous jolt of his right forearm fore-arm that spelt oblivion for his luckless luck-less opponent. I have been asked, time and time again, to name the feat that gave me the greatest thrill of my career! It's I hard, almost impossible to do it, but I have tried to analyze the sport kaleidoscope kalei-doscope that stretches over my 20 years as an American league umpire, and a little later on I'm going to give the results of that analysis. Deciding on one's biggest thrill In sport is quite a job for anyone. Today To-day we see something that sends us home satisfied that life can offer nothing noth-ing greater. And tomorrow some new meteor of the gridiron, the diamond, the prize ring, race track, or some oilier oili-er phase of the world of sports relegates rele-gates the "supreme" thrill to the estate es-tate of dim reminiscence, where once it had stood out in sharp relief. It's hard, all right, and I would be a brave, or foolish, man to state positively pos-itively that "lted" Grange thrilled me more than Jim Thorpe did ; that Walter Wal-ter Johnson's pitching was nearer to perfection than Christy Mathewson's; that Bans Wagner's Infield play was greater than the greatest of Eddie Collins, or that Babe Ruth's wallops send more shivers racing up and down my spine than Jack Dempsey's did. But for me there is one supreme thrill connected with my career that does stand out. And it is not the thrill that comes from witnessing some great spectacle, but the emotion that floods one's being wheu the great opportunity knocks and success seems to be opening the door for you to enter. en-ter. I refer to that day early In the fall of 1905 wheu the memorable letter let-ter came from Ban Johnson, president of the American league, offering me a berth as one of his umpires. I was assigned to make my debut with Umpire Um-pire Jack Sheridan in New York. Jack Sheridan I say it without the slightest fear of contradiction was the greatest umpire baseball has ever known. He Is dead now, hut bis memory mem-ory will always live with me. Whatever What-ever success I may have attained as a major league umpire was due to the interest Sheridan took in me as a "cub." Sheridan started me right. They say one must be original to succeed. Ordinarily I agree with that axiom, but I have not adhered to It very strongly in my major league career. ca-reer. From the start, I have been an Imitator, more or less, of Jack Sheridan. Sheri-dan. ((c) by the Bell Syndicate. Inc |