Show r RiCE H TIT IS name is Gordon Buck Less than two years ago he was just another young caddie at the Shorehaven Shorehaven Shorehaven Shore- Shore haven Golf club located at South Norwalk cut Not quite just Ujust another caddie for he showed such aa a alertness at beating locating locating beat beat- ing wild slices and wilder hooks driven driven en into wild landscapes landscapes land land- stapes that he soon drew the nickname of Gazer Gazer Buck His golf club soon Grantland Rice discovered that Gazer could follow the flight of the most erratic blows that ever careened careened careened ca ca- ca- ca from wood or iron Then war and the shadow of war came along So Gazer who was I Ithen then in high school decided to take takeI I a 1 shot at the air corps He lie tried and flunked his examination In place of quitting he took a four- four months workout with one of his school high-school teachers He lie worked day and night After Arter a long summers summer's effort he took the examination again and and this time he passed Gazer Buck wanted to be a pilot No one worked harder for the test tes ahead but ahead but they washed him out Here was another heavy jolt jolt an another other strong temptation to call it il off But Gazer Buck wasn't built that way way- Recalling the fact that he had been able to follow the incredible inaccuracies inaccuracies inaccuracies in in- accuracies of his club members and locate golf balls in places that even wild life shunned he decided to take a crack at navigation In other words the Gazer decided to be a stargazer where the celestial celestial celestial celes celes- rough and the high heavens offered offered offered of of- an even tougher job than golf could produce The Next Step First turned down by the air corps then washed out as a pilot Gazer Buck switched over to the navigators navigators' navigators navigators' navigators navigators' tors' tors school He gave this third shot everything he had His club members at Shorehaven Shorehaven Shorehaven Shore- Shore haven had lost track of the eager hustling sweaty and often dirty- dirty faced kid who had left them to help his country Somewhat to their surprise the Gazer suddenly arrived in New York from his training in Texas But he was no longer the scraggly little caddie they had known lie He was now Lieutenant Gordon Gazer Buck Bucl the chief navigator of a motored four-motored bomber on his Ws wa way to one of the major fronts The Gazer had on his new uni uni- form Corm He had the poise and coolness coolness coolness cool cool- ness of a veteran But he still had the same grin and in many ways he was still the same young caddie his club members had known from froma a short while ago Not so many remembered that the Gazer had discarded the hour eight-hour day the ten-hour ten day and the 12 hour day In the face of every discouragement discourage discourage- ment that could be thrown into the heart of a kid he had given the air force and his bis country a hour 16 day with no thought of pay to play out his part in winning the war He came out of Texas as one of the best young navigators the air force has yet known The Caddie Gazer of golf has now turned into the stargazer of a big bomber And this has all happened in less than two years And Lieutenant Lieutenant Lieu tenant Gordon Gazer Buck isn't the only caddie you'll hear from later on For most of these caddies have just about everything it takes il iJ you give them a chance They are great kids They were once the Hagens Chick Ben Hogans Byron Nelsons Nelsons Nel sons of a happier day S e e The Spice of 0 Life Some philosopher once said that variety is the spice of life This new 1943 baseball season will at least be loaded with variety and spice It begins as an unknown quantity and the unknown part will soon become become become be be- come more and more pronounced We continue to get more and more indignant letters asking why athletes athletes ath ath- letes able to play baseball are not strong enough or healthy enough to serve in the armed forces while so many clerks elevator boys bootblacks bootblacks bootblacks boot boot- blacks and whatnots are passed through This is a problem that belongs to the draft boards It is one of the great many things about which we know nothing But there should be beno beno beno no feeling of any sort against the ballplayers Their names ages their complete records are all in the hands or under under under un un- un- un der the eyes of the country's draft boards The ballplayers I know many of them leading stars are accepting accepting accepting ac ac- the army and navy laws laid down Most blost of them have families Wives and children They are waiting to tobe tobe tobe be told where they are needed most They are willing to do their part- part when they know what their part isSo is So dont don't blame the ballplayers Send your explosive comments to Washington and the draft boards And this will get you OU nowhere |