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Show ' Released by Western Newspaper Union. INVENTS of the past season have done little to cheer the days of Mel Ott, manager of the New York Giants. v For the first time in his career with the Giants, dating back to 1926, Ott is on the receiving end of an unkindly symphony of bleacherite boos and hisses. "I don't blame them," he told reporters. re-porters. 'I shouldn't be out there. But what can I do? I've got nobody no-body else.' Solidly in last position In the National Na-tional league, the Giants are one of baseball's present-day tragedies. It isn't right that the veteran Ott should be forced to carry on in the outfield he hasn't the physical stamina necessary for the job. The ' "v" MEL OTT added headache of managing the Giants is too great a cross for an average mortal to bear. Ott should be running the Giants from the bench, but he has absolutely abso-lutely no replacement and none is In sight. The team is without reserves, re-serves, both outfield and infield. Memories This is no fitting reward for a man who, in former years, meant so much to Polo Grounds fans. It is hard to realize that when Ott started playing ball with the Giants in 1926, a large share of old timers were in their prime. Ott has been around a long time. It was in 1926, Ott's starting year, that Frank Frisch was traded with Pitcher Johnny Ring to the St. Louis Cardinals for Second Baseman Rogers Rog-ers Hornsby. In 1926, Leo Durocher was with Atlanta in the Southern association, Jimmy Dykes was doing do-ing his daily chores in the Philadelphia Phila-delphia infield. That same year Gabby Hartnett was with the Cubs. His best years were ahead of him. In 1926 Babe Ruth knocked 47 home runs for the Yankees, hitting .372 for the season. Herb Pennock won his greatest number num-ber of victories for the Yankees with 23 games in the win column. Dazzy Vance still had several years to go with Brooklyn. It wasn't until February, Feb-ruary, 1933, that Vance was traded with Shortstop Gordon Slade to the Cardinals for Infielder Jake Flowers Flow-ers and Pitcher Owen Carrol. It was November 2, 1926, that Ty Cobb was released by Detroit and signed with the Athletics three months later. John McGraw didn't know whether to play Bill Terry at first or in the outfield. And Terry had bis 10 best hitting years ahead of him. The Front Office You get the idea. Ott has been around a long time. He has seen some of the best go over the hill. Ott is no youngster. And he deserves de-serves a better fate. To the Giants' front office must go much of the blame for the team's miserable standing. War has imposed im-posed many new demands upon all baseball clubs. Those who were equipped to meet those demands have been successful. The others haven't. Managers no longer have the power that once was theirs. The front office makes the player deals, builds the team. The Giants' front office is out of the running. Ott is not to blame. The future looks none too bright for the once greatest ball club in New York. It takes a long time to rebuild. Attendance at the Polo Grounds reportedly is off by more than a third. This compares unfavorably with a decline of 8 per cent throughout through-out the National league and a decline de-cline of 6 per cent throughout the American league. SPORTS SHORTS C Henry Armstrong's real name is Henry Jackson. His ring name was borrowed from a boyhood chum in St. Louis. C. Louisville lost 26 games in a row in 1889. C. Cleveland is the only major league club that doesn't outfit the bat boy. C. George Bird and Hillyard Bird are Pennsylvania's 1943 tackles. They are not related. C Roxie Lawson, one-time Tiger pitcher, is enlisting recruits for the navy. |