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Show 1 1 I i i 1 I I I 1 1 I 1 I I 1 1 1 .i -i-i-i-i-h-I 'I' ! I- I H-H- Expect Big Year for Leach HIS showing at the bat V j 111111 1,1 lllu fioU1 (lm''"g ,he ls)20 season folks rather ex- pected 1'red Leach of the Phillies I' to make his mark In the league I! last year. He batted .330 his first ;; full big league season and played a " sprightly game In the outfield. But " Leach reported with a had case of .. tin, got started late and never did H hit his stride of the previous year. At that he did not do so badly, for I he batted over the .300 mark and played a steady, helpful game for his team. Leach is an earnest, ambitious I! young player. lie has a wife and V - -A: i Xl :: four children out In Jerome, Idaho, ""' and he naturally would take his pre(j Leach. baseball seriously. He is a natural ' .. hitter, and with his Intense desire to excel in his profession he is .. apt to make himself a great player In the game. Leach used to be a station agent in the little town of Bcrryville, Ark., in the Ozark mountain country, and Ids one grand diversion was .. playing ball. A born athlete, he soon excelled In the game and made a .. reputation through the mountains nnd the strawberry country as a.i .. all-around player of parts and rare promise. Rivalry between village .. ball teams in that country ran high in the days of 1915-1917 and the .. commercial clubs used to Join in and help hire imported players to II win match games. And so it was that when the baseball feud between the little town I', of Golden and Iilankvllle flamed to white heat. Golden sent to Berry- " town for the station agent to pitch for Its team against its hated rival in the big town. Leach thrilled to the call and put the section foreman in charge for the afternoon. When he got to Golden he found " the most nondescript ball team that ever a seinipro pitcher had laid " eyes on before or since. The center fielder was sixty years old, and I his son, age thirteen, played shortstop. This was a fair sample of the team that Leach was to lead to victory against a gang of huskies from ; a much larger town. "I never worked harder in a game in my life," declared Leach, "and never got a greater thrill from victory. We beat I! them S to 0, and my fame was made in the Ozarks from that day on." Leach was born In Springfield, Mo., in 1900. At the age of seven- teen he got a Job in Berrytown, Ark., with the railroad. He married a ' Berrytown girl and two years later moved to Jerome, Idaho, to take a Job is a telegrapher. He had only a slow curve as a pitcher, but as a .. batsman he could hit a fast curve, so his playing ont West attracted - attention. Leach Is a likable fellow and has set his heart on making a .. ' success of his profession. His 1926 promise may bloom in 1928. Any- " way the Jerome telegrapher will make a desperate try for stardom. !! 4 1 I 1 I 1 I I 1 I I I I I 1 I 1 III III I 1 I I il-Hl I i 1..H..M..M, i, i I I-I ! |