Show ER R PICE W VAHEN HEN this war is over and th expected boom in every torn forn ot of sport comes along there is tain to be a big need for mud stronger supervision than we hav today this includes baseball rac ing football boxing and basketball basket bal above most of the others for these are the major spectator and big mon money ey games this a matter va of today or next week or next month it is a matter of the big tangle and scramble that is coming after the war is over when there will be almost grantland rice countless problems to face and handle including the return home of millions of servicemen many of these hoping and expecting to make a living out ol of professional sport you can see what happened when three or four unknown basketball p players in a new york college almost almos totally unknown in a national way almost wrecked basketball you can figure what will happen ha p if the same thing occurs to t 0 baseball boxing racing and football foot bal on a bigger scale four big sports we can take them up in order baseball in my opinion baseball needs a ruling commissioner who will be given full authority to act who will be well known and respected around the country who can pick up where judge landis left off A commissioner without these qualifications without complete authority would be useless it will be too late in case some scandal breaks baseball cant look for any such supporting combination as judge landis and babe ruth to restore public confidence racing racing is a tougher problem to tackle due to the jealousies of competing states an and the tremendous taxes they gather in in yet it is a well known fact that even before racing was stopped many chiselers crooks and gangsters were edging their way into the richest financial harvest of all sport where well over a billion dollars was bet through 1944 where more than a few jockeys were not above suspicion and where general larceny wai was on the verge of breaking out at any moment this applies to all racing states only a J edgar hoover could help here where an annual salary of would be excellent insurance it would take a direct order irom from washington to bring this about but it might be badly needed ne eed at any given time later on pro football and boxing 12 football it would be almost i impossible i n to have any ruling commissioner for college football as so many sections have their own commissioners ners who have different and conflicting ideals and opinions but pro football faces as man many y problems as any sport for one thing there is the probability ot of at least one rival league be yon yona that is the problem of many returning stars who still have a year or two years of college play left any number of these will aill decide to play pro football and leave their college careers to the bosky dell this can not only bring about open warfare between pro leagues but also a civil football war between the colleges and the pros it can also lead to any number of scandals boxing here is one of sports greatest needs boxing like racing has been largely a matter of state regulation As it is we have no real boxing control champions in one state may be thrown out in another boxing and racing are the easiest contests to throw with more money involved in in the throwing especially in the general direction of the gamblers and I 1 mean the crooked gamblers boxing needs a commissioner or a supervisor more than any other single sport and it may need more very badly later on much more than it needs one at the moment I 1 have only mentioned tour four of the major public sports baseball racing football and boxing in each instance they all need a commissioner who is nationally known who has the respect of the country at large who has both honesty and proved ability and who will also be given possession of the iron hand op when the iron hand is needed any amy form of figurehead or front man would be a useless undertaking dob bob feller returns now that he is back in the states bob feller will be allowed to pitch for his great lakes team after two or more years service in the south pacific feller deserves his break at great lakes after a fine war record he has had little chance to get any active pitching since he won 25 games for cleveland in 1941 striking out hitters A lot ol of rust can develop in that time but he will have the chance now to aror arof out a few kinks |