Show While Waller Walter Winchell Is Auay Artar I This Month MOl His Column Will Be Conducted by Guest Columnists Nightlife Murders l Baseball Sa Says s 's Babe Ruth RuthBy RuthBy By the die Run Home Run King Himself Propped up on a cot in a hospital for several weeks recently ing an operation for the removal of ofa ofa a cartilage from my right knee I spent a lot of time considering the future of baseball Lets Let's start with that nocturnal nuisance night baseball Its It's murdering murdering murdering mur mur- dering the sport with the help of the robbing cradle-robbing magnates who are arc killing the source and substance of the game by neglect of the kids without whom it cannot exist Night baseball is strictly a business business business busi busi- ness proposition proposition-an proposition proposition-an an offshoot of war conditions One or two games a week to give the defense workers a break is OK But now both major leagues are planning four and five a week That will spell the end of the sport The magnates wont won't give up the regular week-end week gravy of Satui day and Sunday daylight games That will mean a layoff Monday and four night contests To the players this will vill be a drastic dras tic and unhealthy way of life Eye trouble will develop Right now night games are compelling some players who never had to use glasses to wear em Babe Dahlgren is an example Irregular meals and sleep is another anther an an- other ther disadvantage An athlete cant can't get along without regular sleep and that will be impossible under a day and night schedule of games Danger of Catching Colds In fn n Night Games Imagine what will happen to the veterans pitchers in particular A pitcher perspires profusely during a aJ J game In the daytime usually with the sun shining there is less danger of catching cold I know what I am talking about I caught one pf the worst colds of my career in a night game merely acting as a coach when I wa was with Brooklyn What it is doing to those two inning pitchers can well be im im- im- im As s for the fans Its It's a mistake to think the men of the family are going going going go go- ing to attend four night games regularly regularly regu- regu each week Mothers wives and girl friends will soon stop that Much publicity already has been given give to the fact th that t night baseball will take the game away from young young- Kids are the backbone of the game Smart baseball officials have done everything possible in the past to promote the interest of these I t- t future audiences by admitting them Iree free to week-day week daylight games Bo Boys s 's as prospective big leaguers leaguers leaguers are not getting a square shake from organized baseball The major clubs show no interest interest interest inter inter- est in a boy until hes he's 16 and can get working papers Then if hes he's got the stuff they send him out to a Class D league where they squeeze what they can out of him as a hired hand i Softball and Baseball 4 J Just Dont Don't Mix J i y There seems to be a growing apathy apathy apathy apa- apa thy toward base baseball baIl The village f town and former hot neighborhood teams and rivalries are fading This l cannot be attributed to the war because because because be- be cause the boys who made up those 7 7 teams were usually under draft age I hate softball though I approve r any game that gets kids out in the J sun but hut softball has ruined many a J- J H potential big leaguer You cannot play softball and excel at baseball Progress is also pushing baseball aside Bit by bit we see the growth of cities and towns wipe out sandlots sandlots sand- sand lots Jots and semi-pro semi ballparks Even in small villages you will discover cor cornfields that once were baseball ll diamonds No efforts are made to save the diamonds Where are the kids going to turn to for aid The kids themselves tossed the answer answer answer an an- to me at one of my recent Saturday Saturday Saturday Sat Sat- morning radio broadcasts on the A. A G. G Spalding program Devise a plan whereby the big leagues would sponsor baseball schools throughout the country using retired star players players players play play- ers as instructors Boys start playing the game at eight years and until they become 16 get little or bad schooling in the sport So they acquire unbreakable habits in batting throwing sliding and and fielding unless they are natural natural- born players like the Otts Cobbs Collins Speakers etc With prote pro pro- te coaching the tho kids would be fit for league play anytime they needed 1 I played during the last war and can vouch for the fact that few of the players who saw ac ac- ac- ac the tive service ever reached top term tm again Some of the aces like Capt Hank flank Greenberg and BUI nUl Dickey who are along in iny y may never return to io the i Chaps like Joe DiMaggio gio gin b Feller Ted Williams and Terry Moore depending on the type and length of their service service service ice may take as long as three years or more to 0 o hit their former arr ap if i-f they ever hit it o L a |