The White Falcon - 14.03.1942, Side 8

PAGE 8
SPORTS
CHATTER
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SUPERMEN?
As generations come and go,
so do various athletic records.
The impossible becomes more
probable with each passing de-
cade until the time will arrive
when we will breed a race of
supermen whose very liveli-
hood will be similar to that of
the famous comic-stripstar.
If Superman can jump over
a house, run faster than a
bullet, crush walls with his bare
hands and otherwise perform
miraculous feats of strength so
will the iulure man.
It was not so long ago that
track-men “knew”, 14 feet
was an impossible pole-vault,
a six and a half foot high-jump
highly improbable, that no man
would ever run faster than a 10
second hundred yard dash, that
a four minute mile was equally
impossible and so on down the
long list of physical tests some
men are pleased to put them-
selves through.
And yet, regularly each year
one or more of these records
is broken at least once, whether
the National A. A. U. accepts •
them or not. It was less than two
months ago that Cornelius
Warmerdam, a California
school teacher, pole vaulted 15
feet 7 inches, an impossible
jump.
Len Steers, another jumper
and Californian is reputed to
have jumped as high as 7 feet
in a running high jump.
Still another Californian, Hal
Davis, has continually threaten-
ed to break that “impossible” 9
second hundred yard dash re-
cord, and is expected to do so as
soon as he straightens out his
starting difficulties.
And too, it is common expect-
ation that either Leslie MacMit-
chell or Gil Dodds will break the
4:04 mile record, set by Glen
\Cunningham.
Thus it would be compara-
tively easy to take an ordinary
man and give him the punch
of Joe Louis, the leap of Corny
Warmerdam, the speed of Hal
Davis, the endurance of Greg
Rice and the agility of John
Borican, and form a modern
Superman who could make
quite a fair showing against Mr
Seigals’ mythical one.
Mize Question Mark
As Giants Speed Up
With the Giants showing
speed and hustle reminiscent of
the McGraw days, new Giant
manager, Mel Ott, finds his chief
worry centered around Johnny
Mize. ;
Mize, who has a faulty tendon
in his right shoulder, had been
attempting to work it out during
the early training season by
batting easily but he strained
it on Thursday and is having
some trouble rounding into
shape for a full season.
In the meantime Ott has the
Giants hustling as they never
have before. Not since the day of
John McGraw have they sped
along the base paths with as
much verve as they are do-
ing today. And too, the new
Ott system of speed and more
speed has proved helpful to the
batters who displayed early sea-
son power this week when they
whipped the Boston Red Sox
13—5.
TRAINING CAMPS
HAVANA. CUBA. — The
Brooklyn Dodgers came out sec-
ond best in their opening series
of exhibition games with the
Cuban All-Stars as they split a
twin bill winning the opener,
6—3, and suffering a shutout in
the final, 3—0, before a partisan
crowd of 12,400 in Havana,
thus ending the five game series
leaving the Dodgers on the short
end, two games to three.
“Them Bums” were supposed
to play the Phils on Thursday
for a short series but the “feud”
between Larry McPhail and the
Phillies new manager Hans
Lobert forced the cancellation
of these games.
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA.—
The ranks of the Yankee hold-
outs were depleted this week
when Joe DiMaggio, Red Rolfe.
Joe Gordon, Bill Dickey and
Charley Keller all turned in
signed contracts. In the mean-
time the New York Club has
been dickering for knuckleball-
er Dutch Leonard of the Wash-
ington Senators.
Manager Joe McCarthy is also
grooming Gerrv Priddy of the
famed Priddv-Rizzuto combine,
to substitute for Red Rolfe
whose position is uncertain be-
cause he is suffering from sto-
mach ailments.
After getting off to a three
game winning streak the Ygnks
Crowley Commissioned
Early this week “Sleepy” Jim
Crowley, member of the famed
“four-horseman”, and producer
of Fordham’s long successful
football teams, announced his
intention of accepting a com-
mission in the Naval Air Corps.
Crowley, whose teams have
lost but 8 games in his regime,
took his physical examination
on Tuesday and is awaiting
assignment to one of the Navys
new air corps training stations
in the newly-adopted, three-
month football-tvpe, “Toughen-
ing System”.
Backfield Coach Earl Walsh
will assume Crowley‘s job as
head coach for the duration of
the war, the Board of Athletic
Control announced this week,
but the Reverend Robert I.
Gannon, Board President, added
that this change would only
hold good until after the war
when Jim will return to his
former job. m
promptly lost two in a row this
week to the Senators and the
St. Louis Cardinals by scores of
9—2 and 4—2.
ORLANDO, FLA.—The Cleve-
land Indians announced their
intentions of going places this
year when they pushed across
four runs in the ninth inning to
overcome a two run deficit and
whip the Boston Red Sox by a
score of 7—5 remaining
undefeated thus far in Grape-
fruit League competition. Jeff
Heath ended his long hold-out
following a conference with
Alva Bradley, when he signed
for a repuled $15,000 leaving
Gerald Walker as the only
Cleveland hold-out.
DAYTONA BEACH, FLA.—
Pitcher Johnny Allen who was
suspended indefinitely for alleg-
edly breaking training rules in
Havanna, was to hold a confer-
ence with Dodger President
McPhail and Manager Durocher
fridav. Allen claimed the su-
spension was unjustified and
threatened to return home.
Durocher, without a smile said
it was for “action unbecoming
a Dodger.”
OSHKOSH WINS.
The Oshkosh All Stars. Na-
tionel Basketball League Title-
holders won; the Worlds Pro-
fessional Basketball Cham-
pionship Thursdav nmht by
nosing out the Detroit Eaffles,
defending champions 43 to 41,
scoring the wanning points in
the final minute.
Long I. B. C. Baseball
Season Planned
Plans are rapidly nearing
completion for a diversified
Spring sports program for units
of the Iceland Base Command
under supervision of the Base
Morale Officer.
A softball diamond in or near
each camp is the aim of the out-
door recreational plan so that
maximum use will be possible
during the extended hours of
daylight in the coming months.
Inter-camp league schedules
will be arranged by the base
atheltic officer with camp and
unit morale officers.
To aid units planning to con-
struct facilities for the playing
of outdoor games, the following
prescribed dimensions for play-
ing fields have been submitted
by the base athletic officer.
Baseball:
90 feet between bases.
60 feet, 6 inches pitcher’s box
to home plate.
127 feet, 3% inches home to
second.
Softball:
60 feet between bases.
43 feet, pitcher’s box to home
plate.
84 feet, 9 inches, home to
second.
Volleyball:
30 feet by 60 feet court.
Top of net 8 feet from ground.
Horseshoes:
Stakes 40 feet apart.
Stakes 12 inches above ground
leaning forward 3 inches in
center of box 6 feet square.
Apps Wins Trophy
As Rangers Score
The league-leading New York
Rangers extended their lead
over the Toronto Maple Leafs
by beating them 2—0 before
15,263 frenzied fans at Madi-
son Square Garden, this week,
after losing earlier to the De-
troit Red Wings 5—2. After a
slow start the Red Wings are
the hottest team in the league
right now having Avon 7 of their
last 8 starts.
Sil Apps, fast-skating, peren-
nial high-scoring forward of
the Toronto Maple Leafs won
the Bynd Trophy for sports-
manship and playing skill, it
was announced this week by
the Maple Leafs’ President,
Frank Calder.