r!S ALEXANDER GIVES TIP ON PALS' BATTING NEWS OF THE SPORTS WORLD FAR AND N EVENING LEDGER PHILADELPHIA, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1915; p CRAVATH AND LUDERUS' HOMERS DUE NOT TO SHOlfcT FIELDS, SAYS ALEX Injustice Is Done Philly Wrecking Pair by "Bandbox" Field Alibis "Gawy" Is Natural Slugger, Declares Phillies' Wonderful Slab Artist By GROVER CLEVELAND ALEXANDER Greatest Baseball ritcher and the Ualnstay of the Philadelphia National League Club In the 1915 rennant Ilace. AIITICLE XVII Baseball fans In other cities appear to ta getting the Idea In their heads that the Phillies havo been successful this year.and lead the league mlm In home runs, because we play In a park that has been referred to as a, "bandbox." When mention Is made of our sluggers, I frequently hear it said, "Tea, but they have short fences In the Philadelphia park." Honestly, I think an Injustice Is done Crav- AWAANDEH. nth and Ludcrus, par ticularly, and all tho other men on our club who slug the ball, when their extra base hit performances are credited to "short fences.". It Is true that tho rightfleld wall at tho Phillies' grounds Is a bit nearer to the home plate than Is the same boundary In some other parks. It also Is a fact that the left-field bleachers cut oft some of the playing spaco that Is open In other cities. However, this Is not tho reason for the long hits of our players. Cravath Is a natural slugger. That Is admitted, I am quite certain, by every pitcher who ever faced him. When he gets a hold of n baseball with his bat It's got to "go Bomewhere." And thero Is not a park In our league that doesn't offer op portunities for "Oavvy" to get home runs or extra-base hits. There are three parks I know would be good homo run spots for Cravath thoso In Chicago, St. Louis and New York. Each one requires a longer drive than Is necessary on our homo lot, but not be yond the wallops that "Gawy" delivers on many occasions. Did you ever stop to consider how far over the wall some of Cravath's drives go? Why, some of them sail nearly across Broad street, I am told by persons who have been outside tho park when he hit them, Tho opposing players see tho ball clear what they term our "short fence," and then they like to think that on their home lot the right fielder would have caught the ball. But, I'll tell you that In a number of Instances the right fielder would not have caught the ball unless ho had an aeroplane handy. All that has been sold for Cravath ap plies to Luderus. Ho has powerful nrms and shoulders and gives tho "apple" a terrific swat "Luddy" would be a home run hitter In any park In tho world. I am not Insisting that Cravath and Luderus would hit ns many home runs If they played In Chicago, St. Louis, New York or some othor city. In fact, I guess they would drop oft somewhat In their circuit punches. But they would get more doubles and triples, I am certain, and that would keep their extra-base hit rec ords ahead of other players. How many times have you seen "Gawy" and "Luddy" and others of our players rock the right-flold wall with terrific line drives? I'll bet Cravath and Luderus have smashed 23 baseballs against the wall this jear, and the ball has bounded back I lit mi --ti "ALEX" HAS THE "STUFF AND NERVE," AND YET HE MAY BLOW, HE MAY Also Gibraltar May Topple Over Pitching Stars of the Past Have Worked True to Form, as Witness Matty, Bender, Coombs, Rudolph and Wood By GRANTLAND RICE A Reason (Just why, upon the average, so many champions fade so quickly). Ton see the far heights waiting through the mists. And so von scrap and strive to reach the top; Diving headlong into the open lists, Content to struggle on until you drop; Content to suffer for the waiting throne, Content to take Fate's hardest, roughest blow, ' Until at last the heights are yours alone, Where you may watch the fighting field below. So by this climbing mankind makes its goal, From bitter iuck, from dreary loss and pain That make or break that crush or render whole , The dreamer fighting upward from the plain. But at the top the old desire goes flat, There comes no more- the old thrill of the fight, Ambition fades the soul grows soft and fat, An easy mark for any one in sight. For in this Oame but one thing makes the Strong ' Unending battle against bitter odds; Raw luck, that drives the laggard heart along That may not call for help to Fortune's gods; But at the top the flame no longer glows, Sloth and conceit supplant the early hope, And so the softening process grows and grows Until the first hard smash "upsets the dope." ''It wouldn't surprise me," writes Henry 3-, "after all the stuff that has been writ ten, to see Alexander knocked out of the box, white Mayer, Chalmers or Demareo wins for Philadelphia." Which would seem to Indicate that 1 Henry J, isn't easily surprised. A mine explosion under his feet probably would't fet a blink out of his system. Via the Grandoldope J New York Giants no longer hold The sportUght's festive glow; The start of Mack have left the fold And dealt a telling blow; Sir Hatty's arm has lost its vlm, Chief Bender's star hat set, meLoughlin's crown has patted from Mm, And backward dropt Ouimet; fe Ohampt of old have flipped the trail M to mane way for Ut newi And the dope will tell the tame changed tale When the Crimson meets the Blue. Pitching Chatter In the main star pitchers adjoined to World series starts have more than made Cod. Brown, Walsh, Mathewson, Ben r, Coombs, Donovan, Plank, Rudolph f, tyood have nil pitched true to form. Some of these havo been hit hard In yrld scries spotsi but only at rare In tervals. Sinco anything Is possible In rt-it I also possible that Alexander U be a big disappointment But It wt't probable In any sense since Alex r has the two mala Ingredients for oH swlcw success-tha Btuft and tha ins Allies. lonf tne, wtH front eyl awU became weary 0 sptiglnT piuitl jo hard that they have been held on first baso. In other cltlei thee wallop would havo been good for two or three bases, and sometimes for a homo run. 1 recall one homer that Cravath hit this season that would have been good for the circuit anywhere, although ccntro fielders always play deep for him. That was tho drive over the mlddeld wall which cleaned the bases and scored tho four runs that bent New York. The ball could not havo been caught In any park, I am sure. Furthermore, I remember several times that "Oavvy" hns hit the baseball far up In the centre field bleachers. If the bleachers had not been there they would hove hit the clubhouse, I am positive They would havo beon triples sure and qutto likely homers In any city In the land. Cravath showed how hard he could hit tllO ball In PIH.hlirirh ruanllv Tt clouted one over the left field wall, and only two men hnd accomplished that foat before, I understand. In every city tho outfielders move back to tho fences when Cravath and Ludcrus come to bat. Dut the further they go back tho more room there Is between them, and no batsman always hits ona directly at a fielder. Therefore, no mat ter how far back they played, "Oavvy" and "Luddy" would continue to get their long-distance hits. Naturally, the two men get most of their extra-baso hits at the Thlllles' Park. The schedule calls for one-half the games to be played at home. Doth men hit fairly well on the road, ns a rule, but they don't have long stretches of games In a city with many opportu nities to And the home-run spots. I feel sure I am snfe In saying that Cravath hits a longer drive than any other player In our league, and Luderus Is not far behind "Qavvy." I do not know anything about Crawford, who Is sold to get more dlstanco than any other American League player. But I don't beliovo the Detroit man can beat our pair of sluggers. Slugging Is always enjoyed by the spec tntors, and our team has been popular when we were not high In the race be cause we had lons-dlstancc hitters. In fact, hitting hns been associated with Philadelphia teams for many years, I believe. It pleases the spectators when "Gawy" and "Luddy" "pole one," but It Is not such good fun for tho pitchers who must face them. I Imagine It Is pretty tough for a youngster to go up agalnsV such a hard-hitting duo. Sly main reason for writing this has been that I believe tho Idea is getting too general that our players are sluggers because of tho "short fences." Natural ly, wo ball players don't caro what they think about us In other cities In fact. If they get an Idea that we can't hit ex cept at homo, we may tako them un awares, But certainly Cravath Is entitled to any home-run record he may make, for nobody knows that he would have failed to hit as many home runs had he been playing In another city. nnd decided to hit tho line for a spell. There are exactly four reasons why the Mackmen didn't finish 12th this season In place of eighth. Do your own figuring. A. C. (Detroit). "Too much winning takes away one's keenness." comments L. J. F "nnd It may bo that Haughton will lose his zest Just as McGraw, Mack and others have done." Yes, It may be Just this way. And then, again, it may not be. For football is only a matter of two or three months, whero baseball Is a matter from February through October. It's pretty hard to grow stale on a Job that only lasts two or three months, espe cially when one doesn't have to Carry the Sail. REYNOLDS IS VICTOR IN THIRD MURPHY GO; MAYO WHIPS FULTON Clever Southwarkite .Wins in Ten Fast Rounds Hunting Park Club Opens Tonight KRAUSE VS. McANDREWS Ten-round bouts 45 minutes from City Hall will give followers of the pastime In this city an opportunity to see encoun ters nf longer duration than the limited six-session set-tos here. Pop O'Brien, of this city, who was appointed matchmaker of the Palace A. C, Norrlstown, has decided to stage half a score of session scraps In the future. The first 10-round affair was held last night with Jimmy Murphy, of West Phil adelphia, nnd Hobby Ileynolds, of South work, as principals. Reynolds' exhibition was a revelation and, despite reports sent out to the contrary, there was no doubt whatever as to Bobby's superior form over the West Phlladelphlan. It was their third meeting and resulted In a good match. r Reynolds held the upper hand from the ery first round. His cleverness in using his left mitt Jabs, hooks and uppcrcuts had Murphy In n quandary In tho tatter's endeavor to avoid the punches. Bob' Incessant Jabs opened a cut In Jim's lips In the second round and blood streamed from his mouth until tn final gong. In the other bouts Krankie McKeever defeated Johnny Kelly In a good tight, Johnny Morgan, although handicapped by a pulle tendon In his left ankle, won, from Jimmy McCabe, and Young Man ton lost to Young O'Leary In one round. Bailor Charley Grande will meet either Eddie Revolre or K, O, Baker In 10 rounds at the Palace next Tuesday night. Eddie McAndrcws and Johnny Krause will meet In the wind-up of the opening Hunting Park A. C, Hunting Park and dermantown avenues, tonight. The program follows; Ktrst tout Art Farrell. Oenntntown, vs. Jo Wrlsht. Utrmsi'tQwn. Htcond bout-Elm" Mount, Manayunk, vs. Third jom-atrif IUbs, North Pna, vs. cU McAiEfS. Maa55k, w 2? wMhobYa "tw7 BAST) Df! DA-A'D 1 ' . WT T-o f TV" - -"-N Day! JcVNicKt-e. j. - 2 TT"TII?iToCth1 Ho"Vli y. w m THE BLACK BOOK Duke's Luck Changes and His Money and Spirits Are Nearly Gone He Suddenly Gets a "Good Tip" By CHARLES E. VAN LOAN The World's Oreatot Writer of llascball Fiction. Sherwood Clifton, "the Duke." Is the star Pitcher of Ihe Ponies Ills one sin is his fondness for the race track Although, he has never been near ft course, he lajs his money according to the way ho "ores out the form charts, which he carries around In a little black book. Ills team mates Joan. him. During the early part of the season Duke's luck has run high, and he Is ViOOO head of the came. (Copyright. Street and Smith.) Thus he lost no faith In tho blnck book, even when a long losing streak thinned the pigskin wallet, and the bills with which It had been stuffed began to find their way homo again. He redoubled his mathematical researches; he spent more time "doping out" the probable win ners, with no better result. Like most losers, he began to plunge, to bet on three or four horses In an afternoon In stead of confining himself to tho one best bet on the card As the bank roll dwindled, his temper grow ragged at the edges, his appetlto became uncertain, nnd there were days when he sat upon tho bench, staring out on the field, knowing less of the prog ress of the game than the most Ignorant spectator. When It came his turn to pitch, he shook off the spell for the time being, but ho no longer had tho Inde finable snap and dash of the early spring. His heart, as Dutch had said, was at the race track with most of his bank roll. "The Duko don't say so much about his killings these days," commented Orcn dorff one evening. "I guess he's finding that yon can't pick 'em all the time." "Ho certainly is awful crabby about something," said Bush thoughtfully. "He won't play poker no more, and when he shoots crnps ho Just bulls jou to death with big bets. There ain't any fun gam blln' Uko that, particularly with your friends." "I wish he's come out of It," said Dutch. "Johnny Merry and his gang will bo here next week, and If wo don't stop 'em they'll Just about win the pennant. I'd rather see any other club land that post-season money." "You've said something!" Bush chimed In. "Any guy In the world but Merry I If we knock the Dudea down three out ot four, or only break even with cm whllo the Grays are walloping the tnll-enders, tt ought to set Merry's cue plum' outside the game." "With the Duke In this trance," con tinued Orendorff moodily, ""Merry will Just about run rings around us. The Duke could stop 'em If he was In shapo. When he's right he can beat that club Just by chucking his glove out on the line where they can set It He had their number last year and the early part of this season, but now ho gets out thero and he reminds me of a mechanical toy. His arms and legs are playln' baseball, but the rest of him Is wrapped up In that black book. Confound him I I wish he'd get onto himself I But it's Just the way I sold. He's been tryln' to beat two games at once, and It's got him." "Oh, you Just Imagine that I" laughed Bush. "The Duke's got a sour ball about something, but when It comes to a ques tion of trimming these Dudea you'll see him come through with the goods In both hands. You know he hates Merry worse'n you do." Johnny Merry and his Dudes, thus called because of the prevalence of silk under wear and tailor-made shirts on tho play ers, and a certain swagger which might easily have been mistaken for conceit, were popular In their home town; but on the road they drew no applause save that earned by their professional efforts. Johnny himself a cocky, assertive little man, with energy enough to supply a dozen dynamos, and a brain which took advantage of every opportunity to win, no matter what it might be was par tlculsrly disliked by the Ponies, and not without reason Johnny believed In fighting to win games, and fights make hard feelings, some of which linger beyond the heat of battle To knock Johnny Merry out of a pennmt would be a real triumph equal to finishing In the first division them selves) certainly It would havo afforded Monk Lawson's carefree young devils more genuine satisfaction. The pennant race had tightened to such an extent that the drays were hanging at the top of the column, only three full games ahead of the fast-coming Dudes, Chestnut Sts. UUtlon, M, Tbrevgla reaches, 4 dlalbg cars. Kstoru- KELLY GOING HOME Tho Grays might bo depended upon to rmiko a. clean sweep against tho tallend ers, and with this in view Orendorff nnd Haw ley wero not the only members of tho Pony team who had given thought to taking vengeance on Merry and the Dudes. Clifton hadn't thought of It, for the Duko had troubles of his own. All his plans centred around some coup which should repair his fortunes, some long shot which he might fish out of tho morass of figures which engulfed him day and night. That evening at tho small hotel where he lived when In the home town Clifton was Introduced to a Western turfman whose name he had seen In tho owners' column on the form charts. The West erner, whose name was Ollfeathcr, had been trifling with metropolitan cocktails and ho was very glad to meet a ball plajer. In his condition he would havo been glad to meet any one. Tho Duko purchased htm a few more of the same, which brought GUfeather's regard for ball players to an acuto stage. ' Can you keep a secret?" ho demanded, looking at the Duke with the stern grav ity of intoxication. "If I should tell you something something good would you keep It under your hat, and not go toutln' all over town? Oh, I know you fellers; jou all like to act as It you knew some thing" "I'm no tout," sold tho Duke carelessly, "and I didn't ask you to tell me any thing." Qllfcather thumped the table with a heavy fist. "That's a man tolkln"." ho said. "By grab, I like to hear a man speak outl Now, then, I kind of like you, Duke read so much about you, but never seen you before, you know and I'm goln' to tell ou whero you can pick up some soft money to last you over the winter. Beat money!" "It listens well," said Clifton. "Think you can stand another one of those things?" "I could stand a bar'l of 'em!" said GUfeathcr; wrcrcupon the Duko made signs to thp barboy. "How!" said Gllfeather. "Back East hero they Bay 'Here's howl' That's dead wrong. It's an Injun toast, and an Injun never wnstes a word. Just 'Howl' Like that. Savvy!" "I do," said the Duke. "Let's see; you wero speaking about picking up some soft money. Horse race. Is It?" "You're whistling!" ejaculated ail feather. "I got a colt In my barn that can run away and hide from anything or. that racetrack at llvo furlongs. Only started him once at this meeting, and then ho wasn't goln' for the downs. Just a workout. Wanted to throw a race under his belt, see? Well, he got away bad I had a stableboy on him that couldn't ride u pig and after being nil but left at the post, he's running twice a fast as any horse In the race at the nnlsh. and came mighty near beln' third. You bet. I took a rattan cane to that tool Jockl Little more and he'd have ruined the price for me. Next Tues day I've got him In a rnce against pretty fair horses, and, Duke, he'll make suck ers of 'cm all) Just stand 'em on their heads. There'll be a good price against him, and you can hock your shirt to bet because this baby's there! You can go as fur's you like, and It this bird don't win I'll give you your money back!" Clifton laughed. "That's fair enough," he said. "What did ou say was the name ot this colt?" Qllfeather looked alt around, then ltaned across tho little table and whis pered hoarsely. "Cheyenne!" he eald. "And bet your shirt on him right on the nose, because that's where hell finish I ve been here for months, waitln' to put him over, and the big show comes off next Tuesday." Now, If the Duke had spent more time among racing men he would have been hardened to a tale ot this sort. The tout ing owner, common enough on a race track, was a stranger to Clifton. He TRENTON FAIR September 27 to October 1 M flffc ROUND TRIP FROM Ji.UU PHILADELPHIA THRILLING RACES n;l 2 AEROPLANE FLIGHTS lSUy EDUCATIONAL NTERTAININO XHIBITS SPECIAL TRAINS WEDNESDAY & THURSDAY r.fute Heading Termlual.,, SiSO A. M. Hteppluf at bprlag Uardeu Ht., Columbia Ae-, lluntlugdun St., Ytayae Junction and Jcnklntown For Particulars Apply or l'hone Any Aft. H- Philadelphla & Reading Rwy. could hardly wait long enough to make a decent exit, so anxious was he to con firm tho story of Cheyenne's first race. But Gllfeather rocked away at last, after cautioning him to preserve the strictest sort of silence; and two minutes afterward the Duko was sitting on the edge ot his bed, with the blackbook In his hands, hastily running over the pages In search of Cheyenne's name. He found It In lime. "Last away from the poet." said the Duke to himself; "last at the half pole, and Inst turning for home, Correct so far. Ho was ninth In the stretch, and Just beaten a nose for third, Gee whlsl What a finish I Now for the footnotes. Cheyenne, away badly, closed with bril liant burst of speed. Would have been third In another stride.' " Thus was the talo of the owner confirmed In every particular. Gllfeather might be a liar, but the black book told the truth. The Duke took out his pigskin wallet and thumbed Its contents with n rueful smile. The stiff yellow-backed notes ot July had been replaced with plebeian greenbacks the fives nnd twos and ones. "8lxty-!ght bucks." said Clifton to himself. "Here's the chance I've been laying for, and It catches me busted!" From the third finger ot his left hand he took a diamond ring, and from a com partment In the pigskin wallet he took another, weighing them In his hands. "For these and the stud I ought to get about JM)0," he reflected, "No pay check until a week from next Monday, and tt wouldn't do to tip my mitt by making a touch In advance." He Jingled the rings In his hands, his brows wrinkled In thought. Then he took another look at the black book. Then he shook his head and sighed heav ily. "Oh, you Cheynne!" he said, aloud. "If you don't get down there In front It will look like a hard winter to me." It was Monday night. The telephone In Clifton's room began to ring. The Duke answered It. "Benson?" he said. "Tell him to come right up." A few moments later the "betting com missioner" appeared, embellished by a clean collar, which he had donned In honor of the occasion. "Hello, Bo!" said Clifton. "Sit down. Have n smoke." Bo sat down, and bit oft the end of the cigar which was offered him. "A punk may bo all right for them as likes 'em," he said, "but for me the pill every time. Gimme the old brown paper brain capsule tor mlnel What's doing?" Bo," snld Clifton, "we haven't been hitting them very often lately, have we?" "Tough luck," said Mr. Benson. "But we're going to make up for It ONCE every year all Firestone salesmen meet at our Akron head quarters. At our first annual meetingfonly" thirty men were present; this week we'll have over three hundred from all parts of the United States and several foreign countries. Besides attending the general sessions addressed by Company executives, branch managers and sales men, every representative will spend hours in the factory studying, in a practical way, the manufacture of Firestone tires. He will actually see our experts building into Firestones the "extras" you have been reading and hearing about; that extra layer of fabric in the five-inch tire; the extra ply in the three-inch; the extra coating of pure gum between the plies, etc. He will see the "inside" reasons why SO per cent more Firestone dealers were added last year, and. why our output was increased 78 per cent He will see five great buildings under construction to provide over seven acres of additional floor space which will increase our output of pneumatic tires from 7,500 to 12,000 a day. This increase of 4,500 tires per day is larger than the output of the original new Firestone plant erected on its present site four, years ago. He will rub shoulders with hundreds of men whose interests are kin to his, and from them he will reap a great harvest of valuable and helpful information which he will use to the advantage of customers in his territory. These days of conference and study represent a large Invest ment, but it produces adequate dividends in better service for tire users the world over. It means a greater, more alert, better informed Firestone organization, and that insures satisfied customers. And there you have the vital reason for it all because; satisfied customers constitute the corner stone of this business. FIRESTONE TIRE & RUBBER CO. Mmsrcer Largttt Exclusive Tirm and Rim Makers" 312.314 N. Broad Street, Philadelphia, Pa, Home Office) aud Factory! Akren, Ohio Branches and Dealer Everywhere v2'. tomorrow, and what we'll do vftY fc , hame.M "A long shot?" said feo, pricking his ears Imedlately. "I hop so," said tha buke: "but, atiyr way, I don't want you around the house before the game. Bee?" ' "Sure!" said Bo. "There' A. , H nosey guys In this world, ain't they? Now, Dutch Orendorff) he" "I'm going to put down a blr bt,M said Ciltton, "I'm going after 'em hrt this time, and I want you to place this money for me downtown. Do you know of any place?" "Sure!" said Bo. "There's a whel nest of 'em down by the Metropolitan Hotel. Five or six In one block. And they won't take any piker money, either." (CONTINUED TOMOmiCW".) FOOTBALL AT WILLIAMS Dosplto Loss of Stars, Good Saw Is Expected WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Sept. . De spite the loss ot some, ot the 1S1J stars Williams has high hopes pt a most suc cessful soason. Five of last year's regulars were graduated In June, and a ilxth, deWlhdt, has resigned from col lege. Tho loss of the centre trio, -Eells, Furness and Drlscoll, from the line. Is no less severe than the absence of ray son and Toolan from tho halfback $oft tlons. Nevertheless, the presenceof' tf . "W" men and several of Inst year'a.Hrst1 string substitutes, together with valuable line material from tho sophomore clM, ft give promise of a strong eleven which w)H be somewhat heavier than last -year'a t team. RACES TODAY AT HAVRE DE GRACE., Clx Itsxes Dsilr Including a Stesplecha, h Special Tnlnsi l'enna It, (. tears BrM St. lziSt p. m West I'hlla.. tills pv Mbr B. it O. teats 21th Cbestmit Sis.. UtU , P. m. j Admission. Grandstand A PaddocX S1.S0 Ladles. 11.00. First Rata at HM (, m. mm. j" v.- "4&