Show S PORT occupies a peculiar place u in this country it appeals to more millions than politics finance the theater motion pictures utera litera art or any other single entry you might mention when yow you include baseball football boxing bowling basketball golf tennis track and field swimming and a n d the rest of the sports the combined interest of P people between the ages of 6 and 90 blankets the country you can grantland rice also toss ln in both sexes governors senators congressmen leading bankers and lawyers industrial leaders heads of labor unions mons can be indicted and jailed and a 9 good part of this Is taken for or granted it would be interesting to show you the long list of those named above who have been indicted and convicted this means those who have been proved to be crooks thieves chiselers even murderers who held high places in public life As a rule or a general average most of these convictions have been accepted with public yawns the public trust in politicians so called statesmen bankers industrial leaders and labor leaders has never been too strong look at the record many of these were expected to go wrong but it has been different in sport sport amateur and professional has been the main public trust let the governors and the senators and the industrial leaders plus labors labor s head delegates turn crooked as so many have but sport must be clean all the way through crooks muscle in the trouble Is that sport been as clean as it should be too many smart and crooked hangers on have been chiseling chi in through the last 20 years the crooked stupid and cowardly underworld has deen been looking for the open gaps this applies to racing football baseball basketball and any sport that commands the public interest the underworld has been looking over sports rich pastures too long they have seen the harvest that could be taken over and too many of them have taken over especially in racing and boxing the crooks expect to have even better luck with baseball and football and nobody seems to know just what they can do about it for the crooks as a rule are smarter than the honest people at least they know their goal and how to get there and not even the government of the united states has the faintest idea a of how these thieves and crooks can be handled so they are permitting this count rys major interest to take its major beating too deeply interested in politics which seldom has been on the level boxing has been packed with crooks so has racing these are the two sports that need most care and neither Is getting the protection protect lor that it needs what can be done sport is the basis for handling all juvenile delinquency programs it is the one program we have left in which the public at large has complete confidence complete faith and yet here are all these thieves crooks chiselers and murderers moving in the slime of creation and no one seems to know just what to do about it just jus t what should be done about this present sport situation Is quite a problem starting from the president of the united states on down through various governors and their commissions no one seems to bother much for sport is supposed to take care of itself yet those who are handling sport directly find themselves faced with situations they are unable to combat they know everything except the answers they see t the he underworld der world moving in and the they y give out statements which mean nothing the players so far have been the main bulwarks bulwa that sport knows but who is going to take care of the thieves and the crooks the new ar arrivals vals when a star falls fails to give out its usual glow there is always another to take its place it always happens that way but rarely in such profusion as the new season has offered us As feller rollet pollet and other star pitchers hover around the he soapy chute a lean lank young fellow by the name of 0 ewell blackwell of the cincinnati reds is stepping into the gap as the star pitcher of 1947 possibly one of the best bes A of all time blackwell has completely outclassed feller and pollet and others the human string bean has no one even close back of the red terror we have frank shea of the yankees warren spahn of the braves cat brecheen ot of the cardinals johnny sain of the braves schoolboy rowe and dutch leonard of the phillies Phill let |