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Show DAVE FEimiSS, the Merlin ol tho mound, the ex-nlrmnn with the Huston Hed Sox, Is now after big game, mennlng the star pitching pitch-ing records of the last 40 years. When you nro levelling with dead nlm on such past stars ns Lefty Grove, Christy Mnthcwson, Carl Hubbell, G rover Alexander, Smoky Joo Wood, Ed rf"' "T""! Walch, Spud Chandler Chand-ler nnd a few olh- j ers, you hnve to nd- ' '' ! just your sights to ' .. -; .. ! an unusual angle. rl.T For In these 40 years , j of big league base-; base-; . ' -, '. ball there have I " . been others who r K, i hnve set up a num- 1 J 7 ber of Incredible marks that the bril-Dave bril-Dave Ferriss llnnt Ferriss must look at, face to face, or figure to figure. Here are Just a few among those who have won more than 20 games In any given season: Robert Moses Grove, Athletics, 19:!1: Won 31, lost 4, pet. .888. Smoky Joe Wood, Red Sox, 1912: Won 31, lost 5, pet. .872. Lefty Gomez, Yankees, 1935: i Won 2f, lost 5, pet. .839. Waller Johnson, Senators, 1913: Won 36, lost 7, pet. .837. Spud Chandler, Yankees, 1943s Won 20, lost 4, pet. .833. Carl Hubbell, Giants, 1930: Wot 20, lost 6, pvt. .813. Dizzy Dean, Cardinals, 1935: Wot. 30, lost 7, pet. .811. Eddie Cicottc, White Sox, 1919: Won 29, lost 7, pet. .800. Christy Malhcwson, Giants, 1909: Won 25, lost 6, pet. .800. The above are the high-ranking percentage records since 1904. E( Walsh won 40 and lost 15 In 1908 foi .727. Alexander won 31 and lost 1( In 1915 for .750. Bob Feller's best year was 1939 when he won 24 and lose 9 for .727. Quite a Target It Is Lefty Grove's record mark, set in 1931, that now becomes th main Ferriss target. Here's quite I target, no matter how keen a sharpshooter sharp-shooter you may happen to be WON 31, LOST i PCT. .888. Only Smoky Joe Wood of the Red Sox In 1912 has even approachei these miracle figures and Joe wai 14 points away at .872, which Is nc part of a bust or a flop. To beat Lefty Grove's 1931 mark Ferriss will have to win 31 game, and drop only 3. This means tha Miracle Dave will have to win 14 out of his next 15 starts. You wil have to admit this Is quite an order. This reminds us that Lefty Grove the silent mountaineer, had the t greatest consecutive years an; pitcher has ever known: .750 In 1921 .709 In 1929 .818 in 1930 .880 li 1931 .714 In 1932 and .750 In 1933. In 1930 and 1931, lefty won 59 game! and lost only 9. Try and match thai combination for something over ,87( for two straight seasons. There are those perennial pessl mists, who live in ancient history ai they stroke their mossy beards who have this to say: "This is a soft year for pitchers. They are only facing a bunch ol minor leaguers, most of them clasi B and class C. This is an off year It shouldn't count." But wait just a few seconds. Whj aren't the rest of the pitchers mop ping up as Ferriss is? Newhousei of the Tigers is one of the best from many seasons, but though working for a much better ball club he hasn't been able to follow the Ferriss pace No Real Support And looking back to Grove's bij year, has Ferriss another Jimmj Foxx or another Al Simmons batting bat-ting in runs for his side? Simmons hit .390 that season and Jimmy Foxx hammered 30 home rum over the wall. And there were oth ers. Connie Mack had a world se ries team that year, back in 1931 Don't forget that Grove drew fai better defensive and offensive support sup-port than the 1945 Red Sox can offer Without Ferriss, the Red Soj would be In seventh place, badlj outclassed by every team in the American League except the Athletics. Ath-letics. Leave out the Ferriss record and the Red Sox would have onlj 25 victories against the 42 they held aftur Sunday's list. Don't forget again that Left Gmve and Joe Wood were working with two pennant winning, two world sejtes teams, while Ferriss has beer pitching for a team that withoul him would be next to last among s Ic of bad ball clubs. His Infield lnd outfield support has been nothing noth-ing to compare with the support Grove and Woods knew in other and better years. Football's Coming Boom J "This will be the greatest war season sea-son football has known," remarked Steve Owen, coach of the New York Giants. "I am not referring alone to the pro game. I am also speaking for the colleges. We have been getting get-ting in a number of reports lately from our scouts. I've heard from a number of college coaches and they tell me their material wil be much better than it was a year ago. They won't be beating Army oi Navy but they will stil be good." |