His bias is showing

_THE

SPORTLIGHT

By BERT WHYTE

JACK BOYD dropped into the office this week and thrust a
picture (see below) into my hand. “See if you can pick me out,”
he said. I tried, but couldn’t. Can you? The picture was taken
back in March, 1909, when a team of boxers from the old Vancouver
Athletic Club invaded Spokane and cleaned up on an American team,
“Bloody Canucks Fight Too Hard,” said the sports headline in a
Spokane paper the next day. (Boyd won his bout by a knockout in the
second stanza), =

Boyd, 67, an active worker in the progressive movement for
many years. sat down and reminisced for a half hour on his fighting
past. He entered the ring in 1898 and continued boxing until 1909,
with considerable success. As a bantamweight he won Toronto and
Ontario amateur titles sevel years running, then moved up into the
featherweight division (126 pounds) as he grew older. Working
as @lad in silver mines at Cobalt and the woods around Algoma had
given him a good set of muscles, but in his first bouts he depended
on speed and skill rather than punching powers. Later he began
to develop a wicked punch and rocked many opponents to bye-bye
land.

Jack turned professional in 1909, lost two fights against heavier
opponents, and decided to hang up his. gloves. While living in the
U.S. from 1909 to 1911 he frequented the gymns and often sparred
with leading fighters of that-era, notably Joe Rivers, the Mexican
lightweight who is remembered for having knocked out lightweight

chimp Ad Wolgast. Unfortunately for Joe, Wolgast connected with
a right cross at the same moment, and a double knockout resulted.
The referee started to count both men out, changed his mind, grabbed
the champion and dragged him to his feet, then continued counting
Rivers out while he propped up the limp, unconscious Wolgast.

Boyd saw Joe Gans (probably the greatest lightweight fighter
who ever drew on a glove) knock out several aspiring fighters in
one evening, while on an exhibition tour. ‘‘The Negro champ bowled
them over like ten-pins,” says Jack. ‘Clip, clip, clip, and there they
were, one after the other, being carried back to the dressing room.”

Oh yes, abotu that'picture. Have you found Boyd yet. He’s
the young fellow third from the left, standing next to trainer George
Paris. .

* * *

A- READER from Duncan sends in a contribution to the Pacific
Tribune drive and says: ‘‘Tell Bert I sure like his sports talk and
will look for more articles on USSR sports.” ‘Thanks, pal, will try
to oblige. es

Another reader writes from Vancouver: “How about a discus-
sion on sports, either at a meeting or a house gathering? Discussion
could centre around such topics as: what is the role of sports in a
socialist society; what sports are encouraged in that society; how do
they look on awards, competition and endurance; and sports in our
own society, with reference to the star and hero system, commerciali-
gation, brutalization and so on.”

This writer goes on to suggest that the PT organize such a
gathering. Frankly, I'd be glad to attend such a discussion group,
but haven't the time to do the organizing of same. If other readers
are interested in the idea, perhaps they’ll write to me and enclose
more suggestions. I’m particularly interested in readers’ opinions
on the type of sports news this column should comment on. If
enough letters come in, perhaps we can arrange a coffee-klatch and
gabfest. —

* : * *
: THE INITIAL Pacific Tribune baseball practise for the
season will be held at Powell Street Grounds next Sunday, April
13, at 11 a.m. All former players and 1952 aspirants for a
place on the team are asked to turn out.

The composition of the Industrial nion Baseball League,
of which the PT Clippers were: part, has changed somewhat this
year. The league has united with the North Shore Baseball
League to form what will be known as the Inter-City Baseball
League. es ages . ,

otk ok * aoe

I’M GLAD TO report that the popular young people’s paper,
he Ukrainian Canadian, is now introducing a regular sports column,
written by Walter Chernysh, who worked with me back in 1947 on

the Daily Clarion,

Ty Cobb, with the help of a

Kiner, Ted Williams, Eddie Stan-
ky, Phil Rizzuto and Bob Feller,
and the teaser. ‘“‘Which two are
the only GREAT players?”

Cobb’s answer to the teaser ad
is that Rizzuto and Musial are
the only great players today, the
only ones who would have stood
out in his time. He runs down
the peerless DiMaggio in a sense-
lessly provocative way. He doesn’t
even mention why Feller didn’t
win his august favor—a pitcher
who has had 24, 25, 26 and 27
game winning seasons, fanned 17
batters in one game, pitched three
no-hitters and won -almost 300

ES

JACKIE ROBINSON |

games in the era of the lively
ball despite four years in the ser-
vice!

As a player Cobb@was one of
the greatest. He goes automatic-
ally on all-time outfield with Babe
Ruth, The third spot is now in
dispute between Tris Speaker and
DiMaggio.

.as DiMag.

Cobb strikes out
ina dirty series

By LESTER RODNEY

smooth ghostwriter, has just had

published. in Life magazine a series of two articles, “They Ruined
Baseball’ and “They Don’t Play Baseball Anymore.”

There were big ads in the newspapers to introduce the series,
with pictures of Jackie Robinson. Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial, Ralph

Cobb today is a retired 65-year
old millionaire living in Northern
‘California. He made his dough
with early investments in Coca
Cola in his native state of Georgia.
What right he has to write about
present players I don’t know; I
have never seen him at a ball
game at Ebbets’ Field, Yankee
Stadium or the Polo Grounds, and
he would make it known-if he
were there, you can be sure,

Cobb says DiMaggio “limped
along on one cylinder,’ that he
‘hated physical exertion.’”” What
gall! Sneering at the marvellous
all-round star that was Di Mag-
gio, a player who would go down
as the greatest defensive center-
fielder even if he were a weak
hitter—and a great cleanup hitter
to boot! : :

He “‘limped along”’ to hit safely
in 56 straight ball games, some-
thing even the great Cobb never
remotely approached, He led the
Yanks to pennants in 10 of his 13
active years. He played to the
age of 37 despite two handicaps
Cobb and the old-timers didn’t
have—three years torn out of the
middle of his career spent in the
Army, and night baseball.

(Cobb makes much of the fact
that the ball is livelier today, and
here he is right, of course. But
that goes two ways. The “old
timers” in centerfield never had
to range as swiftly back, forward,
to right and left as far and often
They never had to
throw so consistently from as far
away from the infield,

* * *

Cobb’s article is a dirty one
because it is an attack on men
who make a living playing ball,
and it is a senseless attack, filled
with deliberate exaggerations, dis-
tortions and untruths. For those
who knew Cobb the ballplayer,
dirty stuff from him comes as no
surprise, because he was cordially
hated as a dirty ballplayer.

Nor does it surprise the Negro

people to find Cobb insulting the

JOE DiMAGGIO

first Negro player to break into
the big leagues—Robinson—first
by ineluding Robinson in a group
of eight players, asking which two
were great players, then ignoring
Robinson in the answer, Robinson
has “only,” in his short career,
been Rookie of the Year, Na-
tional League batting leader, lead-
ing base stealer, league-leading
runs-batted-in hitter, and record-
setting second base-man in field-
ing average and for participating
with Peewee Reese in double-
plays!

Then Cobb pointedly dug at
Robinson, the like of whose base .
running had not been seen in a —
decade, by saying there are no
first class base runners.

In addition, he overlooks com-
pletely in current players a truly
great catcher, Roy Campanella,
who stands comparison with any-
body who ever donned the mask
and mitt before, during or since.
Cobb’s time.

And of course he has nothing
to say about modern baseball’s —
partial ending of baseball’s in-
famous color liné, which kept
many great stars out in the ‘‘good
old days” of Cobb, kept Cobb from
facing better pitchers than he fac-
ed and competing against base
runners who may have done 45
well or better than he. :

Jt was not for nothing that
Negro fans more often called Cobb

the “Georgia Cracker’, rathe?!
than the more fanciful sports
writing name, the ‘Georgi®

Peach.” His racist venom was 20

secret, and early in the twenties
fans in the bleachers at Comiskey
Park in Chicago poured a barrage
of missiles at him as a reaction
to several outrageous incidents i?
which he was reported involve

in hotels.
cone

Millions enrolled in ‘Kolkhoznik’

By JOSEPH CLARKE

While athietics and sports
competition is amateur in the
Soviet Union, ‘there are thou-
sands of professional coaches,
trainers, physical culture in-
Structors and teachers. Phy-
sical culture colleges in Lenin-
grad, Moscow, Kiev, Baku and
other cities turn out such spe-
cialists regularly. In addition
there are many thousands of
volunteer instructors and
coaches who take short time

sports clubs and organizations.

The unions also are a ‘big help
to college sports. They spon-
Sor the inter-collegiate sports
society known as “Nauka.”

_In the colleges and universi-
ties sports are organized on
about ‘the same basis as in the
plants, and again Vasiliev
Stressed the 'two words — demo-

eratic and voluntary. There is

courses and work with various/|.

the same wide participation in
intramural and __ inter-school
competition, with women en-
tering sports as much as men.

Farmers have their own
tremendous sports outfit,
called the “Kolkhoznik,”
which organizes millions of
dirt farmers in athletic com-
petition. Socialist farmers
are something new under the
sun and not only do millions
take part in games requiring
physical ability but more than
half a million entered the last
chess tournament.

Speaking of the achievements
of trade union athletes’ Vasiliev
noted a long list of Soviet and
even ~world records held by
trade unionists.

Leonid Meshkor is an active
trade union club member and
holder of the world butterfly.
stroke record for the 100 meter

Swim. He’s done it in 1 minute
5.1 seconds.

Soviet farmers have sports outlet

Nina Pletnova, a member of
the Miners sport club, has run
the 800 meters in 2 minutes
seconds, faster than any other |
woman has done it. :

Tatyani Kafelina of the Avan
guard club has run the 9,
meters in the world record time
of 10 minutes 10.7 seconds. Ge
rgi Nalak has a number of
world weight-lifting records,
/has Fron Sumi.

And Vasiliev reminded ™®
that the world chess champio™
Mikhail Botvinnik, is a trade
unionist, as is the world’s 7%
man champion, Ludmilla Rud-
enko. ‘

Out at Alma Ata recently
members of the trade union ¢ 1d
Iskra set a number of w0F Bf
speed skating records. Iskré e
a club composed of library Wor
ers, teachers and other }
Jectual workers.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — APRIL 11, 1952 — PAGE #°

(Second of two articles)