Hungary last November in Vienna, we be- A CORRESPONDENT wants to bet me a dollar for the PT fund that I can’t name the victims of foreign world’s most musical fish. la and that is the That’s easy, son — the piano ve did not return. We tuna. to Brussels and lived x °. x there, but now we are home and I want to join in Hungar- t once again.” athletes | | meland dur fe now re x re; overed ian spor Tottenham Hotspurs delight- than 21,000 soccer Empire Stadium last when they outclass- ed Glasgow Celtics. 6-3 and gave one of the finest exhibi- tions of team play seen here in many a moon. ed more fans at Saturday A game between an Old €ountry side and a Soviet soc- cer team would draw 40,000 here. Why don’t the soccer of- ficials explore the possibili- ties? 5 ©; 5@ $e. three days of spring racing at Exhibition Park this ay,. Saturday. and Mon- ; then the show moves out ansdowne June 14. Some horses to watch: Baraloy: In due for brackets. Pulse: On ready. shape now, st coun- hem head- fled now can ; Space to upgrade and about Velvet Side: every Looking better race. Camilla B: Short will hang on soon in last, National Valor: Due for win- ner’s circle. Railworker: Wire to wire one of these days. Mabe Mike: A the-board bet. good across- * Appearing on a TV show recently the jockey who rode Iron Liege to victory in the Kentucky Derby (above) denied that Willie Shoemaker on Gallant Man lost because he mistook the finish line, stood up in the stirrups and began to “coast” before the race was over. A study of the film patrol shows that Shoemaker did stand up before reaching the wire, then settled down again before his horse broke stride. Ten years ago Branch Rickey made an introduction. league baseball to its first Negro player, By IRV GROSSMAN Jackie Robinson He cages major . Together, Robinson and Rickey opened the way for other Negroes to play in the major leagues. Today, only three teams are without the services of Negro ball players. And the three teams that haven’t as yet discovered a Negro good enough to make the grade — Philadelphia, Boston and Detroit-— all have Negro ball players in their farm systems, working their way up to the top. The status of the Negro ball player has improved by leaps and bounds since the first day Robinson put on a Dodger uni- form. But it should not be overlooked that baseball it- self has benefitted immeasur- ably from their services. It is a fact without question that Negro ball players have add- ed badly needed talent to the big leagues. What would have been the. fate of the Dodgers without the services of Robinson, Roy Campanella, Junior Gilliam and Don Newcombe? Would the White Sox now be considered first division material without Larry Doby and Minnie Minoso in their lineup? Would the Indians have sur- vived seasonal hitting lapses without the bat of Al Smith to pull them through? Is there any more exciting player than Willie Mays of the New York Giants? Would you get even a mild argument from a Kansas City fan when you say that Vic Power is the real pro of that outfit. Can Chicago Cub fans recall any of their previous short- stops who could hit and field with the all-round brilliance of Ernie Banks? Is there any other player on the Yankees who goes about his daily chores with the grace and hu- mility of Elston Howard? Is there any way possible to measure how much of the Mil- waukee Braves’ success is due to the slugging of Hank Aaron and the fielding of Bill Bruton? Did anybody notice that the Baltimore Orioles started to take on an air of respectabil- ity last year. when Connie Johnson took a regular turn on the mound? And how could the experts have figured Cin- cinnati a possible pennant win- ner this year without know- ing that a couple of fellows named Frank Robisnon and Brooks Lawrence would set the world on fire with their play? Cincinnati was one ofthe last clubs to take on Negro players. The organization was hesitant to do so, since the city is situated closer to south- ern thinking than other big ~ league cities. In fact, Cincy comes close to being a south- ern city itself. But the Redlegs took a chance with outfielder Rob- inson and pitcher Lawrence and at~last look the former won rookies-of-the-year hon- ors and the latter won 19 games. In 10. years since Negro players were admitted to the Dodgers’ catcher Roy Campanella suns himself on dugout steps. big leagues, Negroes have taken five rookie awards — these things going to New- combe, Sam Jethroe, . Mays, Joe Black and Gilliam. Five times a colored player has been awarded the league’s most valuable player award— Campanella three times, Rob- inson and Mays once. Robinson and Mays each have won the National League batting title. Mays and Doby have . led their respective leagues in home runs, Campan- ella has taken the runs-batted in crown, and Newcombe last year posted the best win-loss record in the majors. Banks broke an 80-year old record in 1955 by clouting five grand slam home runs in one year. It’s quite a record that Ne- gro ball players have compiled on major league diamonds during the past 10 years. And it reminds one of what Alvin Dark said when Willie Mays first joined the Giants. A man: told Dark, who him- self was raised in Louisiana, about Mays’ habit of losing his cap when flying around the bases or speeding after a fly ball. “If Willie is half as good as they say he is,” Dark said, “I'll be delighted to pick his cap up.” ® Reprinted from Labor’s Daily Opponents bewitched hy our amazing Mounties At best, Vancouver ball fans hoped for a first division club this year. Now here it is June and Mounties are way up there on top. What’s to stay there. The age of miracles is past, so we’ve been told. But it took some kind of a miracle to transform the cellar-dwel- ling Mounties of 1956 into this year’s scrappy outfit. Teamwork — that’s the sec- ret. Teamwork breeds morale, which is what the Mounties boast plenty of right now. Maybe they won’t stay ahead of San Francisco and Holly- wood as the long season drags on—but if they keep fighting to win every game as they have up to this point, Van- couver fans will be more than satisfied. more, they play every game as if they intend Introduction of Sunday af- ternoon ball hasn’t hurt the cash register, and more money means a better club, too. (At least it should; but the foot- ball Lions cast doubt on the theory). .-Mounties haven’t any “big gun” on the squad but in a pinch someone always seems to come through. The “get in there and fight’ philosophy has permeated every . player, and both veterans and rookies give everything they’ve got. So far the opposition seeems just a bit bewitched, bother- ed and bewildered. JUNE 7, 1957 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE 14 oS | ' x 2