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Show vJGM7LlWi -At . jPCE J l , ; : TN FOUNDING down Georgia turf again with one Tyrus Raymond Cobb, the discussion came up regarding re-garding the best winning year or years of an athlete's career. Freddie Corcoran, tournament manager of the P. G. A. and a mas- .... 'er of statistical ' 'ore, had just dis- (f s covered that the v g winning average ' 3v. age for professional golf stood at 28 , .-' years, or in that irn-t irn-t Vt- mediate neighbor- f,v i hood. .t '? Bobby Jones' wio- r ' . nlng span ran from 'V V rSi 21 to 28. But it was ji-.-jj at 13 that he had GranUand Rice hi Sreatest and final season. Gene Sarazen had his best years from 20 to 81, so that his average stood at 26. "We've had 20-year-old winners In Ouimet and Saraien," Corcoran " said, "and others In their high thirties. Saraien also tied for the title at SS. Vardon was close to 50 when he won his last start. But you'll find that 28 la close to peak form." For Baseball "My two best years," Cobb said, "were 1911 and 1912, when I was 26 and 27 years old." The records proved this. In 1911 Cobb batted .420, scored 147 runs and stole S3 bases. In 1913 Cobb batted .410 and stole 61 bases. In 1915 Cobb stole 96 bases, which Is more than the entire cast of two ball clubs will steai today. "When I was around 26," Ty said, "I had the experience that comes from eight years of play I started at 18 and I also had the spring of youth. At that age the eyes and legs are still young. The reflexes work perfectly. As I got a few years older I noticed that while I could run about as fast as ever, I couldn't start as fast And the start is a big part of speed." In those two big years Cobb piled cp 475 hits. And starting speed was a big factor in this total. "There have been a lot of ball players," Ty added, "who got better bet-ter as they grew older. But the average av-erage winning year is still around 26. Walter Johnson had many great years. But his best season was in 1913 when, as I dimly recall it, Walter Wal-ter won 36 games and had an earned run average of 1.09. Think of that! v And he won those 36 games with a weak-hitting club that rarely got him many runs. In 1913 Johnson was just 26 years old. I had to bit against him then and I know what he had. No one before or since has ever had such terrific speed. You knew a fast ball was coming, but that didn't help a lot It was too fast" So there you have Ty Cobb and Walter Johnson with the age of 26. . pointing to their twin peaks. . Bob Feller, now 22, should be a 40 game winner at 26, if the same average holds up. Cobb is now moving on to his fifty-fifth fifty-fifth birthday. The Georgia Peach is still in fine physi-cal physi-cal shape; the main . T. sign of passing " years is thinning jsrfl .-; . 4 hair, just a trifle si S gTay. But he can i j 0 fH still hunt from dawn s $ to darkness and j- y take you around '4 some fairway at a ' wsw- 3 hectic pace. v Jack Dempsey ' j won the main title i at the age of 24. So CobD did Jim Jeffries. Jim Corbett was 26 when he stopped John L. Sullivan, then fat and 35. Gene Tnnney was 28 when he won from Dempsey. Among Fighters Dempsey was at his best the year he beat Willard. Tunney came along ' . more slowly. Tunney retired before be-fore he came to what he might have been. Jess Willard, a freak, was well over 30 when he whipped Jack Johnson. John-son. Fitz was around 35 when he stopped Jim Corbett. Bat I think yoa'll find the average age of fighting greatness close to 26 or 27 years. As Ty Cobb puts it this is the meeting point of experience ex-perience and youth. The physical qualities have been retained and have also received an added hardness. hard-ness. There is more stamina to ' work with, and just as much speed. As I recall it. Bill Tilden was 26 when he won his first national tennis championship at Forest Hilln and mopped up at Wimbledon. Tilden Til-den can still play every stroke known to the game. But the legs and the eyes are years away from their prime. Eyes Important , - "And don't forget," Bill said some time ago, "the eyes can't be overlooked. over-looked. They are more important than most camp followers understand." under-stand." There have been exceptions, but if you look back you'll find that 26 or 27 has been the golden year of competition, especially where speed and stamina count. Willie Hoppe, beyond 50, is still a marvel, but Willie doesn't have to use his legs where speed is needed and that's important |