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Show WW Ah WK:;:;OirS uU,ry on "Ch;ul-y I'uddoek, the Far.t'-t Human," In tlio "l:-t Kports Y.UirW of !i14," recalls a paddock y;irn I have never nev-er seen In print. The marine captain, killed In a plane orach vMIc ori war duty, told rri some yearn ago about the most Interesting split second of his long enre'-r as a printer. Yctu ro.iy recall that Paddot:k on several sev-eral occasions had run the hundred In O'A feconds. Also that be vas the firs, of the ex- Grantland PJce M- nck to cover cov-er this game distance dis-tance In 9.5. I asked him one day why it was that being able to tie the record time and again, he had been unable at some high peak spot to beat It. So Charley told his story, which makes one wonder whether or not nature hasn't set a certain limit on what the human frame can stand. "I was running that afternoon," he said, "against a strong field and I know I was never in better condition. condi-tion. I had the feeling before the x race that this was to be my big day the day where I would set a new world mark, possibly around 94 seconds, or even a shade faster. I had that record mark in my mind before the race was run. I was thinking of it while waiting for the Btarter's pistol. "At the bark of the gun I was away faster than usual. At the 50 yard mark I knew I had made the fastest time of my career for that distance. I increased my speed on the way home and at the 15 or 80 yard mark I could see that 9 or perhaps 9Vi all ready for track history. his-tory. Then a queer thing happened, at this point I suddenly felt my leg ligaments and leg muscles begin to quiver, as if they were being torn loose from the bone. In that split second I caught the flash that if I continued this same pace I would probably finish as a cripple. "So I called off any continuance of full pressure and eased down. Even then I again ran the distance In 9, where I threw away two-fifths of a second In those last 20 or 25 yards. I found later, however, that my judgment had been correct, for I was sore and lame in the calves of both legs for a week. The speed and the stamina were there, but the physical structure wasn't for that pace." Gehrig s Hard Luck Much along the same line, which proves again how difficult it Is to crack certain marks, is Lou Gehrig's case. Here was another star who came within a half turn of setting one of the greatest records ever written by the ash. Up to June 3, 1932, only two men in baseball history had ever hit four home runs in one game. The first quadruple blast came from the bat of Bobby Lowe of Boston in May, 1894. Two years later big Ed Delehanty of Philadelphia, one of the great hitters of all time, plastered plas-tered four out of the park to tie Lowe's record. Sixteen years later Lou Gehrig had his big chance. Facing the strong Athletic team of that season, Gehrig hit a home run his first four times at bat. He was now on even terms with Lowe and Delehanty, with another chanca left. On his final appearance Lou caught one solidly and squarely on the snout. It was the longest of his five hard smashes, but In place of traveling slightly to left or right, the big blow was caughl in deep center against the fence. It was a matter of raw luck that kept Luis Angel Firpo, the Wild Bull of the Pampas, from putting across the greatest ring sensation of all time. Few recall that the ring had been lifted that night at least 2 feet above normal. This move had been made to give the big crowd a bet ter chance to see the fight. The drop from the ring to the press seats was a deep one. I recall saying that I'd hate to have 220-pound Firpo fall across my neck Irom the luted plateau. It so happened that when Dempsey came through the ropes his body fell directly at Jack Lawrence, who instinctively in-stinctively put up both hands to protect pro-tect himself. If Dempsey had toppled top-pled a foot to the right or a foot to the left the champion would almost certainly have gone all the way down to the press rail or at least so far down that he would never have had the slightest chance to get back through the ropes in time. It is by such narrow margins that sport history is often written. College vs. Pro Football Greasy Neale, coach of the Philadelphia Phila-delphia Eagles, a team that lost only one game last falL insists that his high-flying Eagles would have beaten beat-en either Army or Navy last fall. Coach Steve Owen of the Giants doesn't agree. "Army had too much youth and speed, plus a lot of power," Steva said. "We have too much experlencs just as much speed and just at much power," Neale counters. I |