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Show IVAN OLSON SHREWD AS BASEBALL PLAYER Fronted by Ancient Advice "Use Your Head." "I'so your head." That advice has been handed down on a multitude of occasions ever since Noah pulled it the tlrst time as advice to the goat which was having trouble getting aboard the ark. Ivan Olson is one of the greatest living examples of how that advice, taken right, will prollt a man. Here Is a player who should have been out of big leagues years ago ns far as purely mechanical playing ability abil-ity Is concerned, but who kept plugging plug-ging away because of his shrewd brain and fighting spirit. Now, though through as a player, he Is one of the main cogs In the Brooklyn Dodger machine and one of the fixea responsible for keeping that team up la the race against the Judgment Judg-ment of most scribes. Olson never was a great player, mechanically. me-chanically. He Is erratic In his Melding. Meld-ing. Ills errors, unfortunately, usually were costly. Yet despite his handicap handi-cap and occasional slumps, he has played the Inrleld In the big leagues since 1011. The tlrst four of those years he spent with Cleveland. The next year, 1915, be went to Cincinnati. Kven that early In bis career his Inconsist- V- K i ) J 7 --r"( Ivan Olson. ent playing had caused the Cleveland club to let him go at the waiver price. The Beds let him go to Brooklyn before the season ended. His reception recep-tion there was cool. Year after year the scribes panned Uncle Robinson at various times for leaving him in the lineup. Fans rode Ivan hard. But Olson kept right on. He played every Infield position for Cleveland and did the same for the Dodgers over the years between 1915 and this spring. Olson possesses that rare quality of judgment needed In an iniielder which enables him to outguess the opposing batter and anticipate actions on the bases. He not only steadies an Infield but encourages a pitcher and helps him. Olson played a part In two successful success-ful attempts made by Brooklyn to win the National league championship In 191 G and 1920. In the latter series, against his old Cleveland teammates, Olson hit .3-0, collecting eight bits In 25 times up. |