Bert Whyte's

SPORTLIGHT

AN AMERICAN visitor to the

shla Scotland
story
) main
action in the district was a
shland shepherd who had
it his dog to play check-

do 4

something I’ve got
id the visitor.
enough, at the village
ne between the shep-
his dog was in pro-
Yank gazed in
ent as the dog used his
nose and his right paw to move
his checkers.

Finally, however, the shep-
d cornered his dog and won
game. The visitor immed-
y stretched forth his hand
] nerd and said en-
ly: “Say, you’ve got
dog I ever saw!”
nae sa smart,” the
shepherd dourly replied. “I
won the last two games, didn’t
IP”

$e 503 xm

More than 100 Canadian
young people have already reg-
istered for the Sixth World
Youth Festival, which will be
held in Moscow this August.
In conjunction with the festi-
val there will be a grand car-
nival of sports. Anyone desir-
ing to go should write the
Youth Friendship League, 47
Dundonald Street, Torontu; for
full particulars.

n $e it

Willie Shoemaker pulled the
boo-boo of the year
when he stood up on his mount
I he finish line in the Ken-
Derby, thinking he’d
the wire, and so lost
“ace by! a nose.

the Shoe pulls few
s like that one. The tiny
sle-head is one of the best
ars in the business (some
ay the best) dnd rarely loses
a race that could be won.

Back in 1949, when he made
his debut, he booted; home 219
winners and made himself
about $40,000. The next year
he battled it out with JoJe Cul-
jockey-of-the-year
honors. They finished in a
dead heat with 388 winners
each. That year Willie paid in-

racing
racing

mone for

come tax on $80,000. He’s never
looked back since.
a Bos 5

Watching Gene Fullmer bull-
old Sugar Ray Robinson
around the ring on TV that big
night, I never dreamed that
one punch from Ray would
settle the whole affair. What
can One say about a guy like
Sugar? Only that he grows
sweeter with age, I guess.

mt 5 Os 5 O

Saw a picture of Babe Ruth
in a baseball magazine the
other day and it reminded me
of a story.

After the First World War
Marshal Foch paid a visit to
the Yewnited States and was
taken to the Polo Grounds to
watch Babe Ruth demonstrate
his~ skill at America's nat-
tional game. Surrounded by
cameraman, the war leader and
the King of Swat clasped
hands. Babe felt he should say
something, but alone of the
thousands in the park he had
only a hazy idea of who the
distinguished visitor was. Nev-
ertheless, he made a try at
conversation. With a big grin,
he looked at the Marshal of
France and said, “You were in
the war, weren’t you?” P

“Oui oui,” replied Foch grin-
ning at Babe. And, another in-
ternational crisis was avert-
ed.

it xt xt

Seems like we have a bunch
of hucksters runing our B.C.
Lions, and their haywire meth-
ods of handling players have
doomed us to end up last in
the WIFU standings again this
season. Whassa matta, youse
guys?

Dumping Al Pollard will
have big repercussions. among
the fans, and perhaps among
the players, Big Al wasn’t the
best player on the team, but
he was a long way from the
worst. His record shows he
was a handy guy to have

-around, and the abrupt move

to get rid of him just doesn’t
make sense.

Maybe football followers
should stay away from Empire
Stadium in large numbers,
just to teach the Lions’ brass
a lesson.

4 Greatest comeback in ring history

was scored by Sugar Ray Robinson this month when

he flattened Gene Fullmer in the fifth round to become the first man ever to win the
At 3%, Sugar Ray was an underdog in the betting, but he put

middleweight. title four times.
the young and aggressive Fullmer
Photos show Fullmer on the way down,
Robinson may defend the title this summe

Negro players

counts him out.
pion Carmen Basilio.

Influx of rookie
helps National American

By LESTER RODNEY

soundly to sleep in the fifth round with a devastating left.
rolling on the canvas, and sprawled flat as the referee
r in a bout with welterweight cham-

leagues

NEW YORK

As the new baseball season gets well underway, a glance at the clubs shows

that the process of steady and natural influx of
possible to make a comprehensive tally un il
but some things,can be noted.

Philadelphia has definite

Red Sox and Detroit Tigers
of the American League who
have never suited up a Negro
player. ‘

After the signing of Jackie
Robinson by Brooklyn and
then Larry Doby by Cleve-
land to break the ice starting
eleven years ago, the tendency
was to sign up already estab-
lished Negro stars from Neg-
ro Leagues. A long period of
“pump priming” was foreseen
before Negro youngsters with
no experience were signed up
to farms and started moving
up the ladder and into the big
leagues. It didn’t take that
long. ‘

Going into May here are
the new Negro big leaguers
we note: Andre Rodgers, ex-
citing young shortstop from
the Bahamas with the Giants,
Sporting News’ pick for the
league rookie of the year.
Third baseman Ossie Virgil,
who was born in the Domini-
can Republic and now lives
in the Bronx, getting a Polo
Grounds, shot after a good
year with Minneapolis. Catch-
er Valmy Thomas who hails
from the Virgin Islands and
was moved up from the farm
system as an emergency mea-
sure when Bill Sarni suffered
his heart attack.

The Dodgers present Rene
Valdes, “El Latigo,’ a Cuban
hurler rated number two in
the possibility parade for NL
rookie by Sporting News.

The Milwaukee Braves pre-
sent a 19-year-old Puerto Ri-
can southpaw who is in our
own hunch likely to sweep
past both the above. Juan
Pizzaro is the name and
whether he makes it big in
one giant leap from Jackson-
ville or not, he very much
looks like the National

F)

League’s answer to Herb
Score. I have heard some
startling estimates of this

young man’s possibilities from
sound baseball people.

Tom Alston, a 6-5 first sack-
er from Greensboro, N.C. ap-
pears up to stay this time with
the Cards behind Stan Musial
after hitting over .300 with 21
homers for Omaha.

John Kennedy, a shortstop
signed from the Kansas City
Monarchs by the Phils. With
the purchase of a better es-
tablished minor league phen-
omenen Humberto Fernandez
from the Dodgers, Kennedy
didn’t make the starting line-
up but the way he hit in the
spring and the way the Phils
will need hitting, he could
pop up in another part of the
infield before too long.

In the American League,
Baltimore introduces with
great hopes, 22-year-old right-
hander Charley Beamon, who,
hails from Oakland, won 13
while losing 8 with the last
place Vancouver team of the
PCL, came up in September
and in a debut showed he was
not afraid by blanking the
Yanks 1-0 while fanning nine.

Cleveland is taking a look
at outfielder Joe Caffie,~ a
speed demon out of Warren,
Ohio who hit .311 for Buffalo
and infielder Larry Raines,
a star with the Indianapolis
club the last two seasons.

Earl Battey, a rangy catch-
er from Los Angeles, is get-
ting the long look from the
White Sox.

Interesting is the influx of
promising Negro pitchers with
the trio of Pizzaro, Beamon and
Valdes an unusually interest-
ing group.

For some years after the big

ew Negro players continues. It isn't
the rosters shake down later this month,

ly left thelilywhite ranks. This leaves only the Boston

breakthrough © against jim-
crow, there wasn’t much in the
way of Negro:pitchers to match
the influx of other all round
stars. :

In making out mythical All
Negro all-star big league teams
to register the imposing
strength of this part of the
population denied its chance
for so long, pitching was usu-
ally the weak spot. This clear-
ly no longer holds, not with
this formidable young trl0
joining the likes of top major
winner Don Newcombe, Cin-
cinnati’s 19-game winning
Brooks Lawrence, no-hit hurl-
er Sam Jones of the Cards,
Ruben Gomez of the Giants
and Connie Johnson of the Or-
ioles.

As of now, the Dodgers, the
trailblazers, remain the team
with the most Negro player
déspite the passing of Robin:
son, the trading of Fernan:
dez and the farming back 9
Roseboro. The six are New
combe, Campanella, Gilliam,
Neal, Amoros and Valdes. Mil-
waukee comes next with five
league-leading hitter Hank
Aaron, Bill Burton, Wes Cov"
ington, Felix Mantilla and P!#
zaro. ;

An interesting question is a

whether the Yankees, wh?
ended their bitter holdout bY
bringing up Elston Howare
are really acting down the Jiné
in scouting and signing yo
prospects, in other words, rea’
ly integrating their farm SY*
tem, or whether they aim 7)
let it rest and maybe “die out
with Howard. k
A preliminary look at thel!
top farms makes it worth whl
to keep looking deeper into
their far flung system. f
Will let you know.

MAY 17, 1957 — PACIFIC TRIBUNK—PAGE 1

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