Show C R CE W E ARE letting Jetting the grass grassroots grassroots grassroots roots of baseball die Sam Breadon owner and president of the World Champion Cardinals remarked remarked remarked re re- marked to me re re- I HI am referring referring referring re re- ferring to the millions millions millions mil mil- h lions of kids f from tom 12 f to 16 years ears old who would like to play baseball but who get no help or en en- t r- r This is true even evenin evenin 4 in the big Southwest from the Ozarks y a to Texas the Texas the Cottonwood Cottonwood Cot- Cot 4 trail trail that Grantland Rice gave baseball such men as Tris Speaker Rogers Hornsby Hornsby Hornsby Horns- Horns by Dizzy and Paul Dean Carl Hubbell Hubbell Hubbell Hub- Hub bell Pepper Martin I could name a hundred others including Bill Dickey from Arkansas and Lonnie Warneke the tobacco chewing champion from Mt Ida Soft ball football and other sports have ha started replacing baseball baseball baseball base base- ball as a recreation for the young young- They like baseball and would rather play it if they only had the chance This will be the big job of any new commissioner we might name He must offer and work out outa a plan that will give youngsters all allover allover allover over the country this chance We have been hammering with what p punches pl we had left along these sa same same a lines receiving no support support support sup sup- port except from Pittsburgh and Detroit Detroit Detroit De De- troit and a few individuals like Jack Coombs the old Colby Carbine baseball coach at Duke Neglect Schoolboys Baseball year after year has gone to sleep in this important development de de- de- de and and this includes baseballs baseball's baseballs baseball's baseballs baseball's base base- balls ball's Big Three These three have run the game ably in other respects But they have all fallen down on building up and bringing baseball to the kids from the ages of 12 to 16 many many thousands of whom would rather play baseball than any other game but rarely get the chance Crowded cities lack cities lack of space space- lack of any help or cooperation on the part of baseball leaders these leaders these have all figured in the decay of the games game's so-called so grass roots They have either forgotten all about the kids or else they have been too shortsighted to face the major problem problem problem lem of the game The new commissioner must be one who can rebuild baseball for the kids kids and and that will be his most important important important im im- im- im job It will be a job no one in baseball has eveh even approached barring the few places I have men men- There are millions of kids who would like to play baseball who baseball who never have the chance And anyone anyone anyone any any- one with a half grain of intelligence knows that if a kid from 12 to 15 years old doesn't have the chance to play baseball he will never get anywhere in the game Football is different You Yon can take a husky young fellow around 18 or 19 who never saw a football and turn him into a great tackle or a great guard Especially if he is big and fast You cant can't do that with a baseball baseball baseball base base- ball player player player-or or a golfer The great baseball players come up as kids kids kids- who played the game The great golfers came up as caddies caddies Hagen Hagen Ouimet Nelson Hogan Chick Evans Goodman l Johnny Farrell Harry Cooper Must Start Early Baseball and golf are games you must learn in early youth Football can be bc picked up later on Golf has been given a big break Baseball I dont don't care whether the new commissioner commissioner commissioner com com- missioner is Jim Farley Edgar Hoover Hoover Hoover Hoo Hoo- ver or Ford Frick or Frick-or or some one else who has the respect of the ballplayers ballplay ballplay- ers and the spectators All I know knowis is that his first job will be to organize organize organize or or- a new youth movement for baseball which outside of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Pitts Pitts- burgh Detroit and in certain locations locations locations loca loca- where the American Legion has been an active sponsor has been almost completely overlooked al although although although al- al though the two big leagues have each contributed to this fund Certainly there has been no help from the two major leagues outside of this contribution and little help from any of the minors In many big cities it must be admitted there is little room left where the kids can play play except except along cobblestone streets or those haunted by automobiles But there is still space enough left in the United United Unit Unit- ed eel States to give boys from 12 to 16 a chance chalice to play baseball It is still a national crime that out of year old 18 year old old ear boys called to the draft over arc are turned back as physically unfit But it is a difficult matter to get anyone interested in this problem Army and navy say they are too busy bus trying to win a war to bother about the situation And this group is too young for sport promoters to use as money Besides only Larry MacPhail MacPhail MacPhail Mac- Mac Phail and Horace Stoneham seem to think that part of the duty of the new commissioner should be that of trying to rebuild the waning enthusiasm enthusiasm enthusiasm for the game in the high schools and the colleges and even they cant can't agree as to how that should be worked out I |