Show L Minors Have Legitimate Squawks By GRANTLAND RICE WEST COAST is on the edge THE of revolt unless league big-league baseball does something about its status There are more sides to this argument than an octopus has fingernails The west coast thinks it should be the third big league One argument is that Los An An- Angeles Angeles Angeles geles is bigger than three cities now enjoying this called so-called hon hon- or San Francisco is no minor- minor league town But neither is Baltimore or Buffalo or Houston or other cities now rated in the I minor league row row After all there is only one Los Angeles and one San Francisco on the coast Another An An- Another Another other barrier is the theM size of most west M coast ball parks Most of them seat 1 from to 25 And no one can y build any or or even 1000 v c seat ball parks par k s now Grantland Rice The west coast has one deserved squawk They build up some young popular star and the big leagues j i either make them sell said star or else they draft him This is not so soI I pleasant for the west coast fan It ItI I isn't so pleasant for the American Association or the t h e International League or other strong leagues either But no one has worked out outa a substitute It isn't any too pleasant pleas nt for Montreal to have three or four popular stars hauled back to Brooklyn in mid mid season The main wonder is that with the draft plus television there is any minor-league minor baseball left One answer is that it is crum crum- crumbling crumbling crumbling bling rapidly and there will soon be little remaining Certainly Los Los' Angeles and San Francisco are far above many big league cities in population and sport interest How many league big-league cities could draw to a football game or to a race track on ona ona ona a single day On New Years Year's Day the Rose Bowl will play to and Santa Anita will entertain 60 or more I But the problem of a third major league is a heavy one one The problem of the draft is a heavy one But if a ayoung ayoung ayoung young star was never sold or drafted he would never reach the big league S S Same Old Problem Problem- Television offers the same tangle on the Pacific coast that it offers everywhere else It cost west coast college teams from to a game in the matter of attendance Only the top affairs had the time old crowds Television cut heavily in Pa Pa- Pacific Pacific Pacific coast baseball No one knows what the future has to offer All AU they know is that to to- to day television is a wrecking in in- institution institution institution for the smaller people in sport I It is crushing out their lives Minor i leagues and minor football games are being wiped wipe out I Army has played to capacity capacity- plus television this year Down in Texas and the Longhorns have filled the stadiums with tele tele- television television television vision thrown in Notre Dame crowds have held up despite tele tele- television television television I vision and a poor season s ason Michigan had its games televised last year and played to capacity capacity for six home games This year without television it is banned in the Big Nine the Wolverines total was but for the same number of games at home All of which proves nothing from a television standpoint for the ticket sales declined be because be be- because cause of Michigan's disappointing showing Figuring an crowd this week-end week at Ohio State the Wolverine total will reach spectators for nine games But these are only a few from the vast mass Why pay payout out good goodmoney goodmoney goodmoney money pretty good anyway for fora a smaller show shoal when they bring you a much bigger show for noth noth- nothing nothing nothing ing It might be said here that baseball will have its troubles at the winter meeting and there can be no answer that will please everybody Football also has its television problems This new instrument has suddenly stirred up more trouble than Noahs Noah's flood once brought to the world Everyday an endless number of new sets are being sold which only adds to the numbers of the stay at homes without any charge These free spectators dont don't help the sport financially S Case of Joe DiMaggio Ty Cobb came from Royston Georgia Babe Ruth from Balti Balti- Baltimore Baltimore Baltimore more Tris Speaker and Rogers Hornsby from the overwhelming state of Texas Here are four of baseballs baseball's greats But Joe and Dom DiMaggio report from San Francisco and San Fran Fran- Francisco Francisco Francisco cisco takes as much pride in these two stars stars especially especially Joe Joe Joe-as as any city could feel about a ballplayer In San Francisco they move Joe up with Cobb and Ruth They ask you around the Golden Gate how much how much longer Joe DiMaggio gio can carry carryon on Who can say More than a few of the sombre in in- inspectors inspectors inspectors were saying back in June last summer that Joe was reaching or had reached the end of the road But DiMaggio answered by hitting the rest of the way and playing in in ball games Joe DiMaggio was born Novem Novem- November November November ber 25 1914 He is 36 years old He broke in with San Francisco in 1932 18 years ago He reported to the Yankees in 1936 and since then has played in over 1600 ball games |