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Show THE RICH COUNTY REAPER. RANDOLPH. UTAH Released by Western Newspaper Union. 'T'HE ancient controversy anent the performance of the lively, or rabbit, baseball as opposed to the dead ball, has flared anew, with players in both major leagues claiming the present ball has deteriorated in quality. George Selkirk of the Yankees, in talking to a New York sports writer, offered concrete evidence that the ball has become somewhat dead. Selkirk said that he had performed an autopsy on a ball and found a change in interior construction. More rubber oddly enough and he said. The wool less yam, seemed shoddy. Selkirk pointed out that new yarn, when torn, will curl at the ends. The wool from the TTTHAT are the toughest, hardest YV running distances for man and for horse? We shoved this debate along to a number of trainers who handle both the human and the equine breed. Years ago, many years ago, an e track coach told us, we figured it was the quarter mile, which was all sprint. Then we moved it up to well-know- Sweden Walks Tightrope, but Is Ready n old-tim- the half, which now is all sprint But in the last few years weve decided that the mile is the hardest test on the human system. It was different when they were running the GrantlandRice mile around 4:18 or 4:20. But when you turn in a mile at 4:10 or better, you are giving out all the system has to offer. It is possible to run a mile around four minutes flat. But we wont see that for some time. Such miles as Glenn Cunningham ran were largely sprints. They were terrific. I should say that a fast 4:10 or better mile today is the toughest race on the track. Same for Horse GEORGE SELKIRK p ball was dead and lifeless. In addition, the hide doesnt have the life it once had it has lost re- carved-u- Safe Passage to Indias Coral Strand siliency, added Selkirk. It is his opinion that the present ball is responsible for the low batting averages of the current season. He pointed out the marks established to date l, by DiMaggio, Keller, Camilli, Cramer, Leiber, Crespi and othKu-he- ers. old-tim- - Proved by Records Unquestionably the type of ball has a pronounced affect upon the quality and quantity of hitting. The records both hitting and pitching prove this. Back in 1911, J. Franklin Baker of the Philadelphia Athletics, led the American league in home runs with a total of nine. In 1912 he gathered 10, and in 1913, he totaled 12. The next year he slipped to eight. In 1913, the eight teams of the league hit 158 home runs. Last year in the American league, 21 men hit 12 or more home runs. Ted Williams of Boston topped the list with 37 circuit clouts. The league total was 704. In 1941 there were 28 men in the league who hit .300 or more. In 1913 only ten American leaguers hit that figure. The increased hitting of the present day gdme isnt the result of better sluggers. It has been due to the type of ball. The ball is designed for distance a hitters. ball. It was introduced some 20 years ago when club owners decided to do something in answer to a public howl for more home runs and the thrills they bring. m can time or measure. Going On They talk about the great pitchers of the past, he continued. We know they were According to the censor, the picture at bottom shows part of the largest convoy to leave Britain for Indian port. The ships brought soldiers, planes, guns and tanks for the deIndia as it neared an Indian port, shows hundreds of tanks lined fense of India. Above: This picture, made at some to the into action go Japs. against up ready un-nam- ed un-nam- ed Kings Gift With Atlantic Fleet Off Iceland Altering the resiliency of the baseball wasnt a difficult job. The core was changed and a better grade of yarn, more tightly wrapped, was used. The cover was made thinner and sewed more tightly. Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth and others who batted against both the dead and lively ball said that the latter traveled approximately 50 feet farther than the dead one. It is obvious that a rabbit ball makes a pitchers job more difficult. Yet Bob Grove hung up one of the games truly great records with the lively ball. In one three-yestretch with Philadelphia, from 1929 through 1931, Grove won 79 games while losing 15. In 1931 he won 31 games and lost 4 for .886 k, than a few no-h- it games. Bob Grove Cant you remember when around 295 was almost sure to win a National Open? Today they are shooting at 280. Or at least 285. I know the clubs and the balls are better and the courses are better, but the main point is that year by year they are setting new marks for a target. Its the pressure of competition that is forcing a faster pace. Certain critics are always talking about the millions who sit and watch the few play, the I wonder if they know went on. how many millions are also playing games? Football and basketball are two of our fastest games. If you take the high schools and the colleges and the clubs, there are more than a million or two taking active part in these sports. It is only natural that anyone who plays a game, whatever the game, is interested in seeing stars at play in his favorite sport. But that doesnt mean that all those who sit in stands or sit and watch dont also play when they get the chance. Notre Dame, to many, is a university with 40 crack football players. Do they know that in one form or another Notre Dame has from 500 to 1,000 football students? old-tim- er ar average. One can only surmise how many more games he would have chalked up had he pitched with the dead ball. George Sisler, one of the games greatest first basemen, is a case in point. During his career he batted against both types of balls. He batted against the dead ball for five years and against the lively one for three years until eye trouble interrupted his career. good. But suppose Bob Grove or Bob Feller had been allowed to work with a dead, half-blacor fuzzy ball? Or Dizzy Dean? Youd have seen 20 strikeouts more than once. And youd have seen more A Simple Job Case in Point This distance goes for a horse, too, John Partridge, the veteran, said. The mile is the hardest race. I mean a fast mile. You hear people talking about the strain of a mile and a half or even two miles. They forget that in these longer distances there is a lot of half loafing. Steeplechasers can go two miles or longer, carrying 150 pounds, taking the jumps, without being worn down. But when a horse runs a mile around 1:36 he is going all out. He cant be saving anything. This recalls Johnstowns speed and what it did to him. Johnstown in more than one workout beat 1:34. No other horse ever ran that fast. You hear a lot, an observing said, "about the fighters and the ball players and the football players and other competitors from years ago outranking present stars. Dont believe it. Everything is getting better. And I can prove it. Just how? I asked. Because everything that can be measured or timed shows a sure and steady improvement over old records. New records are being set in every sport from year to year. Cant you remember when 13 feet was a record pole vault? Warmer-dawill make it 16 feet before long. They are now close to seven feet in the high jump. Youll see 9.1 seconds in the 100 soon. Look at all the old swimming records. Look at practically every competition you d King Feisal II of Iraq, being helped down from the roof of the royal palace at Bagdad, after he had found a scale model of a Hurricane fighter plane in a the in constant fleet supply keeping is Atlantic The danger facing lanes open between the U. S. and Europe on the high seas. Here Rear storks nest. The model was plantAdm. Robert C. Giffen looks at the rocky coast of Iceland from one of ed there as a surprise birthday gift. the ships of the Atlantic fleet. Seven-year-ol- |