DAZZY OVER THE RING

September 1, 1924

I had it all figured out. First I'd get me, Rachel and her father great seats behind the Brooklyn dugout with Heinie's help. Then I'd count on Dazzy Vance winning his 20th game of the year against Jimmy Ring, which is kind of like betting on a leopard to handle a bunny. Then I'd get Saul alone in the fifteen or twenty minutes between games with a new cold lemonade and ask him if I can marry his daughter.

I would wait till we go out to dinner later, except like that day here in July when I asked Rachel the question in the first place, second games of double-headers are high-scoring and don't go the way you want them to, and I don't want him in any kind of mood like he was yesterday. I also thought about asking Heinie to "go easy" on the Robins for me, but that's about as illegal as you can get and I wouldn't feel good about myself if poor Heinie had to hunt raccoons with Shoeless Joe Jackson the rest of his life.

Autumn was definitely in town along with the Robins, though. I wasn't even sweating until the third inning. Rachel was wearing this peach-colored dress and hat and had a pretty sweet smile to match them. The stands were packed for the holiday, and during the little flag-marching parade I noticed Grover our old club house man who they must've talked out of retirement, toting bats around again in place of me. Oh well, I had to grow up sometime.

I was a little nervous the first few innings because Ring with his 6-16 record suddenly decided he was going to pitch well, and shut down the first six Brooklyn batters easy. Then Jimmy Johnston singled to open the 3rd, Zack Taylor got him to third with another single, and Dazzy walked to the plate and ripped one over Heinie's head, who jumped high enough to convince me he wasn't laying down. A Bernie Neis single and Ford error on Wheat's grounder made it 3-0, and Vance probably had all he needed.

I went and got Saul a sausage roll, and he asked me if it was "kosher meat". I said I had no idea if Kosher was the hog farmer's name, but that I'd been eating them all year and they were delicious, so who cared? He went for a popcorn bag instead, so I ended up eating my second sausage roll of the game. Rachel hardly ate a thing, being as nervous as me, and her plan was to go the ladies room between the games and leave us alone.

After a Neis scoring fly made it 4-0 Brooklyn, Vance settled down to business, getting 14 Phillies in a row at one point, whiffing six of them. He has a curve that you can't hit with a tree trunk, and sitting that close made it clear why he leads both leagues with 226 strikeouts. Saul was more excited every inning. "A shutout for his 20th win? Just imagine that!" he said a few times, and then the 9th inning rolled around a bit too quick.

Harper walked for starters, and Saul squirmed his behind around on the seat. Oh great. Was he going to lose his brain if Dazzy didn't throw a shutout? Heinie walked up, gave me a little nod from the home plate area and then cracked one into the left field corner. Phils on second and third! Dazzy struck out Holke, and it was Cy's turn. Now he knew I was sitting there but wouldn't look over at all, and I got the idea he wasn't too keen about me walking off the batboy job and probably didn't even want to go out with my mother anymore. He waited on a big Dazzy curve, whacked it deep to Wheat in left and Harper ran in to break the shutout.

I couldn't believe it, but Saul took off his hat and said something dark and yiddish, and even when Wrightstone lined out to end the game and give the Robins the win, he didn't look all that thrilled. Certainly not ready to listen to a giant question from me.

"I'm going to find a powder room, if that's what I can call it here," Rachel said with a wink, and hurried up the aisle. And there I was, three inches away from her father, with probably no better time to do this. So I sipped more of my lemonade, cracked open a peanut or two. Or three. Then wiped my salty, sweaty hands off on my pants and turned to him.

"Umm, Mr. Stone? I need to ask you for something."

"Popcorn? I think I finished the bag but there might be a bit more—"

"No, no. It's about Rachel. I um, love her a lot, you see. And I was wondering—

"You want to kiss her? It's only a natural thing, my boy. When I met her mother I couldn't even speak about doing that until we'd gone out to see half a dozen shows. There was a burlesque playing at the—"

"I 've already kissed her, Mr. Stone. And now I wanna marry her."

He squinted at me with one eye, then the other. And the sun was behind a cloud.

"How old are you?"

"Eighteen at the end of the month. But I'm finished with school, and I'm going to start looking for a real job, and—"

"And you'll become a Jew?"

"Umm...s-sure. I mean, how hard can it be? I'm sure I can find us a Kosher Brothers hog farm somewhere."

He turned away with a wave of his hand, mulling this over. Some of the players were already coming back on the field to warm up.

"Please, sir. I love Rachel more than anything."

"More than baseball? I don't believe that—"

"It's true. Watch this." I stood and turned my back on the field. "Let's go right now. I'll even miss the second game."

Suddenly there was a loud cheer that shot from one end of Baker Bowl to the other. Saul looked around me and saw fans pointing to the scoreboard:

The Cubs had beaten the Pirates 8-3 in their first game.

"Are you crazy??" He grabbed me by the wrist and jerked me back in my chair. "You can marry Rachel and come live with us in Brooklyn if you want, but we are not missing the second game!"

And so I became a soon-to-be-married half-Jewish man. Rachel returned and we hugged, and then both Stones screamed themselves silly for two hours as Jack Fournier got two singles, a homer, drove in five, Dutch Ruether made us look stupid and the Robins put Clarence Mitchell through a meat grinder 18-5 in the second game.

I hate to say it, reader-people, but the outcome meant nothing to me. Rachel's warm hand was in mine even while the fans around us were booing, throwing things and finally giving up early and going home. We went and got Mama after, and she was so shocked by the news she didn't even notice we were celebrating at a restaurant that wasn't Italian.

And did I mention the Bucs lost the other half of their double-header? Well Saul did, over appetizers, salad, the main course, and dessert.

—Vinny

BRK 003 100 000 - 4 9 0
PHL 000 000 001 - 1 3 2

BRK 402 200 604 - 18 22 0
PHL 100 000 031 - 5 6 2

Other National League twinbills today:

CUBS 8-14-3, at PIRATES 3-5-1
CUBS 3-8-1, at PIRATES 2-9-1
After winning seven straight decisions and eleven out of twelve, Lee Meadows gets creamed for a change in the opener, and Vic Keen pitches his best game of the year as the Cubs come back from being behind 3-0. In the nightcap, hardly-ever-used Del Lundgren gets the start for the Bucs against Sheriff Blake, and nearly beats them but Rip Wheeler throws four tough relief innings to save the day and make the rest of the league very happy.

CARDINALS 16-23-4, at REDS 5-9-4
CARDINALS 3-8-0, at REDS 2-9-0
Cincy slips under the .500 mark, and they do it in god-horrible style. First Dolf Luque pitches like he's brain damaged and Hornsby goes mental himself with a 6-for-6 game: two singles, two doubles, a triple, homer and seven knocked in. The with Pete Donohue pitching the game of his life, 2-0 into the 8th, the Cards glue a walk and four singles together for three runs and the ballgame. Bottomley's winning hit comes after Hornsby is walked, even though Sunny Jim has 12 game-deciders of his own.

GIANTS 6-8-2, at BRAVES 1-11-1
GIANTS 3-11-2, at BRAVES 1-8-3
The complete holiday sweep for the road teams ends with this one. Virgil Barnes gives the Braves eleven hits, which they do nothing with, before Wayland Dean goes all the way in Game 2. The red-hot George Kelly goes out for three games, but with the Braves being their enemy this probably won't amount to much.

NATIONAL LEAGUE through Monday, September 1
Pittsburgh Pirates	81	47	.633	—
Brooklyn Robins	75	55	.577	7
Cincinnati Reds	73	58	.557	9.5
New York Giants	71	57	.555	10
Chicago Cubs	65	65	.500	17
St. Louis Cardinals	64	66	.492	18
Philadelphia Phillies	54	77	.412	28.5
Boston Braves	36	94	.277	46

HUH?

NO POST TODAY, FOLKS—Due to the classic, glorious scheduling of eight double-headers on Labor Day, Vinny and Cal need an extra twenty-four hours to catch up. In the meantime, enjoy this rare and marvelous moving picture footage of Walter Johnson. See you on Friday and throughout the long weekend. —J.P.

A FINAL BRONX TALE

SEASON SERIES CONCLUDES IN 11-11 TIE AS NATS HOLD OFF PESKY YANKS

By C. Jedediah Butterworth
Base Ball Freescriber

August 31, 1924

NEW YORK—My erstwhile pilot Smith arrives at the stadium press row around 5 p.m., ready to transport me to the next thrilling series of my choosing, yet it will be difficult to mount the heart-pounding heights this contest reaches.

The best thing that happens early for New York is their starter Shawkey getting hurt after just three innings. Washington clangs his bell often in that time frame, as doubles by Rice and Tate kick them off to a 2-0 lead in the 1st, before three singles and a walk add two more in the 3rd. With their dazzling speed up and down the lineup, the Senators can turn the smallest uprising into a full-blown run riot, and Shawkey is fortunate to twist his ankle striking out when he does.

Mogridge returns to his winning mound form for the visitors, and Ward's solo homer in the 2nd is the only digit he surrenders in the first seven innings. Gaston,taking over for Shawkey, has calmed things down a tad, but when Wid Mathews triples in Harris to make it 5-1, all seems lost again for the locals.

The baying mob doesn't seem to believe it,though. Pleading shouts rain down from every corner of the Bronxian palace because in a campaign that seems destined to topple their champion crown, the fans and players would like nothing more than to take the season series from the front-runners.

And so I give you Sir Everett Scott, lashing a single with one out in the Yankee 8th. His Babeness, 0-for-3 at this juncture, doing the same, Meusel then singles, and Alan Russell is hailed from the hinterlands to take Mogridge's place. Pipp singles, as does Ward, and it is suddenly 5-3. Whitey Witt pinch hits a deep scoring fly, it is 5-4, and I cannot hear myself type.

But Russell, though inconsistent, can quell any disturbance when he is correct. Schang dribbles out to Judge, and we repair to the 9th. Walter Beall shuts the Nats down without a peep, and Miller Huggins has his on-base wizards lined up to tie this affair: Combs, Dugan, and Ernie Johnson. If but one of them reaches, the mighty Ruth will have a lick.

Except Combs grounds to Judge in Schang fashion. Dugan grounds to Bluege. The Bambino takes the on-deck circle before Johnson even reaches home plate, no doubt to instill fear into Russell. But Ernie also grounds to Judge, the air and noise leave the stadium in one shocking moment, and our business here is done.

I contemplate staying on for New York's double-header with Boston tomorrow, but neither club is important right now and there isn't much of a rivalry between them to speak of. Smith can fly me to Washington, but the visitors there will be the lowly Athletics, who the Senators are a ridiculous 14-2 against. No, Chicago's Comiskey Park and a pair of hit-filled clashes between my second place Tigers and third place White Sox suits my fancy.

WAS 202 010 000 - 5 9 0
NYY 010 000 030 - 4 9 1

Other American League games played today:

WHITE SOX 6-12-1, INDIANS 5-11-2
I spoke too hastily yesterday in announcing Chicago had swept the tribe. Now they have, after Cleveland celebrates their expungement from the pennant race by staging another torture spectacle for their home fans. With Joe Shaute losing his eighth straight decision in a shower of sharp singles from the deadly top of the Sox lineup, the Indians also manage to cast 13 runners adrift to aid his misery. Cleveland scores three in the 8th off Connally and Cvengros to narrow the gap,, but this team almost never wins a close game (as the statistic below bears out), and leave the potential winning runs aboard when Riggs Stephenson pops out.

TIGERS 9-12-2, at BROWNS 5-10-1
Lil Stoner is forced to start with Holloway on the mend, and except for an early Severeid homer, pitches fairly well until the last of the 6th, when he suddenly resembles a drowning child. Having just been given a 3-2 lead, he allows two doubles, a homer, walk and single before Cobb yanks him for Herm Pillette. Detroit wakes up right away, though, and Heinie Manush bashes a 3-run blast in the 7th to give them the lead back for good.

AMERICAN LEAGUE STATISTICAL COMPENDIUM

RECORD IN MONTH OF AUGUST
Boston 19-8, Detroit 16-10, St. Louis 15-12, Chicago 14-13,
Washington 12-14, Philadelphia 12-15, New York 10-16, Cleveland 9-18

RECORD AT HOME
Washington 49-23, Detroit 35-25, Chicago 30-24, St. Louis 29-30,
Boston 32-36, Philadelphia 32-37, New York 32-38, Cleveland 29-35

RECORD ABROAD
Washington 31-26, New York 30-27, Detroit 36-34, Chicago 37-37,
Boston 30-30, St. Louis 33-38, Philadelphia 25-36, Cleveland 27-41

ONE-RUN CONTESTS
Washington 22-14, Detroit 29-23, Philadelphia 17-12, Chicago 22-21,
Boston 18-19, St. Louis 13-14, New York 15-23, Cleveland 10-30

ADDITIONAL INNINGS
Detroit 9-4, New York 5-4, Washington 9-9, Chicago 7-7,
St. Louis 6-6, Philadelphia 4-5, Boston 4-5, Cleveland 7-10

COMEBACK VICTORIES/RUINED ADVANTAGES
Washington 34/20, New York 35/28, Detroit 30/26, Philadelphia 24/24,
Chicago 31/35, Boston 28/35, St. Louis 24/31, Cleveland 30/38

BATTING AVERAGE
St. Louis .308, Cleveland .302, Detroit .299, Chicago .295,
New York .294, Washington .293, Boston .284, Philadelphia .283

RUNS SCORED
Cleveland 780, Detroit 760, Chicago 721, Washington 704
New York 684, St. Louis 680, Boston 674, Philadelphia 653

TRIPLES
Washington 75, Detroit 70, New York 65, Cleveland 61,
St. Louis 61, Boston 57, Philadelphia 61, Chicago 50

HOME RUNS
New York 80, St. Louis 65, Philadelphia 56, Chicago 40
Cleveland 38, Detroit 31, Boston 27, Washington 23

DOUBLE PLAYS GROUNDED INTO
New York 109, Washington 131, St. Louis 141, Detroit 144,
Philadelphia 159, Cleveland 159, Boston 164, Chicago 170

EARNED RUN AVERAGE
Washington 3.90, Boston 4.79, New York 4.95, Chicago 4.88,
St. Louis 4.93, Detroit 5.03, Philadelphia 5.14, Cleveland 5.47

ERRORS
New York 127, Detroit 127, Boston 146, Cleveland 150,
Washington 151, Chicago 154, St. Louis 156, Philadelphia 159

DOUBLE PLAYS EXECUTED
Philadelphia 179, Boston 156, Washington 151, Cleveland 141,
Detroit 139, Chicago 137, New York 136, St. Louis 121

HOME RUNS ALLOWED
Boston 25, Washington 37, Chicago 40, Detroit 42,
Philadelphia 42, Cleveland 56, St. Louis 57, New York 59

BATTING AVG. LEADERS
.365 Jamieson, CLE
.362 Falk, CHW
.361 Heilman, DET
.356 Ruth, NYY
.352 Speaker, CLE
.342 Judge, WASH
.342 Cobb, DET
.338 McManus, STL
.329 Goslin, WASH
.329 Lamar, PHA

HOME RUN LEADERS
38 Ruth, NYY
21 Hauser, PHA
18 Williams, STL
18 Jacobson, STL
13 Goslin, WASH

RUNS BATTED IN LEADERS
123 Goslin, WASH
118 Heilman, DET
112 Ruth, NYY
104 Meusel, NYY
101 Lamar, PHA

GAME-DECIDING BLOWS
21 Goslin, WASH
14 Lamar, PHA
14 Heilman, DET
14 Harris, WASH
13 Mostil, CHW
12 Jacobson, STL

WINS LEADERS
22-3 Collins, DET
20-9 Johnson, WASH
17-9 Thurston, CHW
16-6 Ogden, WASH
15-10 Faber, CHW

E.R.A. LEADERS
2.86 Johnson, WASH
2.51 Ogden, WASH
3.31 Collins DET
3.43 Mogridge, WASH
3.95 Smith, CLE

SAVED GAMES LEADERS
14 Dauss, DET
9 Pruett, STL
8 Meeker, PHA
8 Ross, BOS
8 Wingfield, BOS

AMERICAN LEAGUE through Sunday, August 31
Washington Senators	80	49	.620	—
Detroit Tigers	71	59	.546	9.5
Chicago White Sox	67	61	.523	12.5
New York Yankees	62	65	.488	17
Boston Red Sox	62	66	.484	17.5
St. Louis Browns	62	68	.477	18.5
Philadelphia Athletics	57	73	.438	23.5
Cleveland Indians	56	76	.424	25.5

THE LAST BOARDWALK SHOW

August 31, 1924

The final Sunday of summer, and what better way to spend a day off from Phillies baseball then with one more trip to the New Jersey seashore? Benny and me decided on Atlantic City this time, mainly because we didn't want to run into those gin-drinking putt-putt girls who tried to fleece us back in June, and we were halfway down my stoop with our clothes bags when a taxi rolled up and out stepped guess who, folks?

Rachel Stone of Brooklyn with her father Saul.

Benny and me stared at them like they'd just popped out of the ground, before I shook the heck out of Saul's hand and embraced Rachel until her perfume was up my nose. "What are you...Why didn't you tell me—"

"Don't you like surprises? I thought you did. And my dad is just thrilled to see our boys in that big double-header tomorrow, right Dad?"

Saul was dressed in a suit and bowler like he was headed for the symphony, and sure seemed to be in a great mood. "We plan to murder you fellows, sorry to say."

Benny pushed out a weak smile and it was quiet for a second or two, so I told them we were off to Atlantic City. Rachel naturally brought up our time at Luna Park and it took about five seconds for me to talk myself into inviting them along. They had already checked into a hotel near Rittenhouse Square and didn't bring any bathing clothes anyway, so off the four of us went to the train station.

Atlantic City was more packed than a packed factory of sardine cans. The last weekend of the summer always brings out the mobs, and there were circus acts to watch, and knucklebrains on the sand climbing on each other, and pretty girls for Benny to ogle and me to ignore, and more cheap tasty food you could imagine. I held Rachel's hand the whole time and she whispered to me that Saul didn't know about our engagement yet and when was I thinking of asking him? I couldn't exactly answer that because I wasn't prepared for the shock of seeing them today, so stalled her some more.

The bigger problem was that Saul wanted to find a place with a baseball scoreboard the second we hit the boardwalk. The Robins were home for their last game with the Giants, and it was killing Saul that he had to miss it, so "the least we could do is find an electric board!" It wasn't easy to find a good pretzel there when it was that crowded, let alone one of those things, but Benny did remember a newsstand near a Ferriss Wheel and we spent the next fifteen minutes squeezing through people until we found it.

The score after three innings was

NYG 100
BRK 000

"Why??" groaned Saul, fanning himself with his bowler, "That ingrate Bentley is pitching so why can't we hit him?? Get me away from here—"

So we walked down to the water, where Rachel took off her shoes and leggings and gave her white legs a salty bath, and Saul kept his entire suit on and couldn't relax one second. He said he had find a rest room and disappeared for a good half hour until we went back to the electric board and there he was in more agony, because the score from Ebbets was now

NYG 100 001
BRK 000 001

"I can't bear this!" is all he said over and over, and it made me realize he hates McGraw's team even more than me and Benny do. "Get me away from here!" he yelled, and this time we took him on a little ride on these fake swan boats, which seemed to calm him down until we went into a tunnel and his loud groan echoed all over the place and almost knocked me out of the boat. "It has to be the ninth inning by now! I need that electric board!"

We didn't even go back there with him, and when he joined us on a bench in front of a few hundred passing people, we could tell from his hound dog expression what had happened. "Doak was terrible. Gave up eleven hits. And on the same day the Pirates won!" Rachel patted his hand, kissed his cheek, and we started back to the train platform.

Hey Vin," said Benny, "How about you and me go to Atlantic City sometime?" I nodded with a sigh, looked over at poor Saul. Guess it was a good thing I didn't bring up marrying his daughter.

Only National League games today:

GIANTS 4-12-1, at ROBINS 2-7-1
Bentley, Frisch and Jackson have been three of the Giants' big losers all year. Well, Bentley throws his first good game in two months, Frisch hits a game-winning homer and Jackson doesn't even make an error at shortstop. Brooklyn heads to Baker Bowl for the holiday looking for Phillie blood.

CARDINALS 2-8-1, at REDS 1-7-1
Eppa Rixey had won six in a row and 15 out of his last 16 decisions. So naturally he loses to the Cards in extra innings on a Curt Walker outfield error in a game Cincy desperately needs.

PIRATES 17-17-0, at CUBS 2-9-4
Oh, boy. The formerly-swaggering Cubs run into the Bucs' cutlasses and have their limbs strewn every which way. It's actually 2-2 in the 3rd when Pittsburgh goes on a 15-0 romp that lasts the rest of the game. Kiki Cuyler who I've run out of shining words for hits a 2-run homer in the 1st and two singles and drives in four, while Traynor gets four hits and knocks in five. Chicago makes three errors in one of the three 4-run innings. The real scare is that Vic Aldridge, the best Cubs starter other than Alexander, takes most of the bashing.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Today's post is dedicated to Stephen Elia, Strat baseball man, true Phillie fan, and one of my best new friends who I knew far too briefly. I'll be missing you. —J.P.

NATIONAL LEAGUE STATISTICAL COMPENDIUM

RECORD IN AUGUST
Chicago 17-11, Pittsburgh 16-12, Brooklyn 14-11, Philadelphia* 15-12,
Cincinnati 13-13, New York 13-13, St. Louis 10-17, Boston 9-18
*Black Phillies 7-1 included

RECORD AT HOME
Pittsburgh 42-27, Brooklyn 39-21, New York 30-27, Cincinnati 34-33,
St. Louis 34-36, Chicago 35-39, Philadelphia 20-38, Boston 16-40

RECORD ON ROAD
Pittsburgh 39-18, Cincinnati 39-23, New York 39-28, Chicago 28-26,
Brooklyn 34-34, St. Louis 28-30, Philadelphia 34-37, Boston 20-52

ONE-RUN CONTESTS
Pittsburgh 26-16, Brooklyn 23-14, St. Louis 24-18, New York 17-17,
Cincinnati 19-22, Boston 18-22, Chicago 12-17, Philadelphia 14-27

ADDITIONAL INNINGS
Pittsburgh 13-6, Boston 7-2, St. Louis 10-8, New York 5-7,
Philadelphia 7-9, Cincinnati 7-10, Chicago 3-7, Brooklyn 4-8

COMEBACK VICTORIES/RUINED ADVANTAGES
Brooklyn 37/27, Pittsburgh 37-28, New York 29/23, St. Louis 37/31,
Cincinnati 33/33, Chicago 25/27, Philadelphia 27/34, Boston 17/38

BATTING AVERAGE
St. Louis .303, Cincinnati .293, Pittsburgh .289, Brooklyn .286,
New York .285, Chicago .284, Philadelphia* .268, Boston .252
*Black Phillies .396 (8 games)

RUNS SCORED
St. Louis 740, Chicago 733, Pittsburgh 698, New York 684,
Brooklyn 652, Cincinnati 622, Philadelphia* 576, Boston 461
*Black Phillies 81 not included (8 games)

TRIPLES
Cincinnati 112, Pittsburgh 109, Chicago 86, New York 79,
St. Louis 76, Brooklyn 49, Philadelphia 50, Boston 36

HOME RUNS
Philadelphia* 94, Chicago 88, Brooklyn 72, New York 69,
St. Louis 50, Pittsburgh 43, Cincinnati 37, Boston 15
*Black Phillies 14 not included

DOUBLE PLAYS GROUNDED INTO
New York 117, St. Louis 124, Chicago 127, Pittsburgh 128,
Cincinnati 130, Philadelphia 131, Brooklyn 167, Boston 182

EARNED RUN AVERAGE
Cincinnati 3.34, Pittsburgh 3.27, Brooklyn 3.80, New York 4.09
Chicago 5.01, St. Louis 5.20, Philadelphia* 5.27, Boston 5.58
*Black Phillies 4.20

ERRORS
Philadelphia 100, Boston 134, Pittsburgh 135, Brooklyn 159,
St. Louis 161, New York 163, Chicago 171, Cincinnati 175

DOUBLE PLAYS EXECUTED
Pittsburgh 179, Cincinnati 159, Brooklyn 159, St. Louis 153,
New York 131, Philadelphia 130, Chicago 120, Boston 104

HOME RUNS ISSUED
Pittsburgh 39, Brooklyn 46, Cincinnati 47, Philadelphia 51
Boston 60, New York 67, St. Louis 73, Chicago 95

BATTING AVG. LEADERS
.408 Hornsby, STL
.380 Wheat, BRK
.368 Cuyler, PIT
.359 Youngs, NYG
.347 Bressler, CIN
.346 Critz, CINC
.342 Fournier, BRK
.338 Williams, PHL
.332 Blades, STL
.323 Grimes, CHC

HOME RUN LEADERS
28 Fournier, BRK
28 Hartnett, CHC
22 Williams, PHL
19 Wheat, BRK
18 Hornsby, STL
17 Harper, PHL

RUNS BATTED IN LEADERS
123 Fournier, BRK
119 Cuyler, PIT
119 Hornsby, STL
117 Hartnett, CHC
113 Bottomley, STL
104 Wheat, BRK

GAME-DECIDING BLOWS
16 Fournier, BRK
15 Cuyler, PIT
14 Blades, STL
12 Wilson, NYG
12 Bottomley, STL
12 Grantham, CHC

WINS LEADERS
19-6 Rixey, CIN
19-8 Vance, BRK
18-8, Mays, CIN
17-10 Grimes, BRK
17-10 Kremer, PIT
16-4 Alexander, CHC
16-8 Meadows, PIT

E.R.A. LEADERS
2.21 Vance, BRK
2.23 Mays, CIN
2.31 Rixey, CIN

SAVED GAMES LEADERS
16 Jonnard, NYG
14 Dibut, CIN
12 Ehrhardt, BRK
12 Fowler, STL

NATIONAL LEAGUE through Sunday, August 31
Pittsburgh Pirates	81	45	.643	—
Brooklyn Robins	73	55	.570	9
Cincinnati Reds	73	56	.566	9.5
New York Giants	69	57	.548	12
Chicago Cubs	63	65	.492	19
St. Louis Cardinals	62	66	.484	20
Philadelphia Phillies	54	75	.419	28.5
Boston Braves	36	92	.281	46

BLUDGEONING OF A LEGEND

SENATORS DROP ANOTHER TO YANKS AS BIG TRAIN DERAILS HIMSELF

By C. Jedediah Butterworth
Base Ball Freescriber

August 30, 1924

NEW YORK—Betting men are joyful when dawn breaks on matchups like this. The great Walter Johnson and his twenty wins, on the same pitching bill as Waite Hoyt, saddled with 15 losses already and an earned run average well over five? Who can argue the odds of a Washington win?

The deities of base ball, that is who, the forces of pure wonderment that come to play nearly every day to shower us with the utterly unexpected. Here are the usual base runners handed out by Hoyt, six total through the first five innings, yet none of them score. Here come the first thirteen New York hitters to try their luck against Walter, and there they go back to their bench. But after Pipp doubles with one retired in the Yankee 5th, Jumpin' Joe Dugan chooses a tasty buggywhip curve and swats it into the seats down the left field line for a 2-0 lead!

The Nats tie it nearly immediately on singles by Goslin, Rice and Bluege and a Harris scoring fly, but Pipp's double has apparently knocked something loose in Johnson. He escapes a small jam after Combs leads the 6th with a double, but after Rice and Bluege make out to leave Senators around the bases in the 7th, Pipp poles a homer off the Train to begin the New York half. A second Combs double, Ernie Johnson single and gargantuan moon blast by Ruth start their 8th, and Harris slinks to the mound to remove his shell-shocked pitching legend.

The usually stoic Johnson is even more mute following this one. Of the nine New York hits, all but one were for extra bases, while his mates were busy abandoning 14 men on the base trails against the Yankees' four. For the Gothams, it is a critical victory, for a loss would have dropped them below their northeastern nemesis, the currently rampaging Red Sox, who will be here to play two on the Labor Day holiday.

WAS 000 002 001 - 3 13 1
NYY 000 020 13x - 6 9 1

Other American League games played today:

at RED SOX 8-10-1, ATHLETICS 4-10-3
Boston concludes their clean sweep of Philadelphia and have now won five in a row. Ross finishes up Ehmke's win, as perfectly dreadful A's fielding helps the Red Sox mount their late comeback.

WHITE SOX 9-16-1, at INDIANS 5-13-2
Another sweep climaxes, this one at League Park, as Speaker's glorious return to the home lineup (two walks, two singles and a double) do nothing to fend off the marching parade of hits on Chicago Avenue.

at BROWNS 9-12-1, TIGERS 4-8-1
With a chance to cut their deficit to eight and a half, the Detroiters fail miserably. If you remove the 1st inning when Earl Whitehill gives up three singles, four walks and a homer, or the 2nd, when he gives up five more singles and falls behind 8-0, he actually throws a nice little 3-hit game. If I had been present for this outrage I surely may have vanished into the Missouri wilds to befriend Injun Joe.

AMERICAN LEAGUE through Saturday, August 30
Washington Senators	79	49	.617	—
Detroit Tigers	70	59	.543	9.5
Chicago White Sox	66	61	.520	12.5
New York Yankees	62	64	.492	16
Boston Red Sox	62	66	.484	17
St. Louis Browns	62	67	.481	17.5
Philadelphia Athletics	57	73	.438	23
Cleveland Indians	56	75	.427	24.5

RELAXING IN THE SUN WITH JOHNNY COUCH

August 30, 1924

Mama wasn't all that upset about me walking off my job, because she never thought a "honky tonk ball yard" was a good place for a young adult person like me to be spending most every day in. She wanted me to have a more regular profession like a banker or butcher, and over our eggs this morning started asking me to look up her Uncle Salvatore at the Reading Terminal Hog Exchange again. I felt too rotten over myself to even think about work just yet, and told her that. Besides, I was too nervous waiting for a telegram back from Rachel about whether she could come down on Labor Day or not.

Benny sure didn't smooth out my mood any, showing up at the door just in the time for Mama's last plate off sunnysides. "One more with the Braves, Vin. C'mon, they need you there."

"Yeah, but I don't need that crappy job or hearing any more crud from racist jerks."

"Hey, Cy Williams asked me to come here and talk you back into it." Mama's eyes lit up at the sound of his name. She hadn't gone out with him for a while.

"He's a grownup. He can get over it."

"Okay, but you're my best friend and I need you out in the bleachers again to just watch a game and yell whatever we want at the players and chow down those salty sausage rolls and drink the best lemonade in Pennsylvania and not even care who wins." He flashed his biggest smile of bad teeth at me.

I hawed and hemmed and hawed some more. Then remembered tomorrow was a day off for the Phillies, meaning that would mean...two straight days without baseball?

* * *

It was Barnes for the Braves, Johnny Couch for us, and the usual goofers in the bleachers having a great time. Oscar the Peanut Man gave us two bags for nothing, fat Rollo Briggs was there to bet on pitches with us, and with nothing to do but watch people play baseball it was the most fun I'd had at Baker Bowl since Carlson threw that shutout back in June on Benny's birthday.

"Lew Wendell? Who's he?" Benny was as puzzled as me when the megaphone man announced the lineups, and then I remembered that for the last game of a season series between two teams, the managers sometimes start their third-string players who've been on the bench all year. Well, with the basement life of these clubs, everyone but Fletcher's pet dog was getting a chance. The Phils sent Andy Woehr out to third (fine with me, because I didn't have to see Wrightstone's ugly face all day), Wendell behind the plate, Parkinson to third, Fritz Henrich (?) to right field and first backup catcher Butch Henline out to left field—meaning straight in front of us.

"Hi Butch!" yelled Benny before the first pitch was even thrown, "Long sea no time!"

The Braves had been throwing every one of their bums on the field all year to try and get the team going, so the only new person I didn't know was Herb Thomas in center. Not that it mattered. Two singles and a scoring force-out by Casey Stengel in the 1st put them up 1-0. Padgett and mystery Herb singled to open the Boston 2nd, and Bob Smith doinked another single in front of Henline, who kicked it for an error and made it 2-0.

"Wrong glove, Butch!" I yelled, "Catcher's mitt stays in the dugout!" Benny jabbed me with a wink and Henline actually looked around for a second, recognizing my voice. The sun was beating down until we had to unbutton our shirts, there was a good chance we'd get beat by a bunch of wahoolies, and you know what? I didn't even care.

Everyone in the bleachers screamed for hits whenever the third-rate Phils went to bat, and it started paying off in the last of the 2nd. The great Lew Wendell reached second on a Smith throwing error. Parkinson and Henrich singled and then Couch did too and we were tied 2-2! Ford singled to begin our 3rd, but after the next two guys went out, Wendell banged one off the bleacher wall in front of us to make it second and third. Parkinson walked and Andy Woehr binkered a ball through the infield for the lead. Barnes was out of his mind on the mound, served up another single to Henrich.

We were all on our feet, stomping and shaking the bleachers until I thought the thing would collapse and crush forty or so people. But Johnny Couch did the crushing instead, ripping Barnes' next pitch over the right wall for a grand slam homer!

"Pretzels for the while row!!" yelled Benny, and boy if he didn't make good on that right away. We didn't score another run after that but we didn't need to, because Couch was laying back on that mound like a fat dad on a Sunday. Boston scratched out a couple more runs in the 5th thanks to two errors, one by Couch himself, but I think it was because he was getting bored. We finished the year 12-10 against the awful Braves, which wasn't great but Boston had to beat someone I guess.

The other fun thing was that Benny made sixty dollars betting on pitches with Rollo, and was already trying to talk me into going out to Atlantic City for the Phillies' day off tomorrow. I told him I was still waiting for Rachel's telegram but he poo-pooped on that idea.

"Doesn't mean they won't deliver it. Anyway, aren't guys supposed to go out for some crazy times right before they get married?"

I hawed and hemmed and hawed some more...

BOS 110 020 000 - 4 9 1
PHL 026 000 00x - 8 12 3

Other National League games today:

REDS 4-13-1,at PIRATES 3-11-2 (12 innings)
Gotta hand it to them Reds, who win their second straight at Forbes in big drama fashion. With Carl Mays up 2-0 in the 7th and mowing down the Bucs like a war ship, Pittsburgh puts together one of their famous lightning rallies. Cuyler and Smith single, Traynor walks, Wright's grounder scores one and Maranville's triple puts them ahead. Emil Yde is throwing for the Pirates but like he's done a lot, crumbles at the end of the game. Bohne, Walker and Mays all single off him in the top of the 9th to tie the score, and third-string catcher Gus Sandberg singles off Babe Adams in extras to win it.

at ROBINS 3-12-0, GIANTS 2-11-1
Happy to hear this news is the city of Brooklyn, where Osborne and Nehf both pitch awful but the teams strand anybody who could possibly be stranded until Andy High scores the winner in the last of the 9th when Frankie Frisch throws Fournier's roller into the Ebbets Field stands. It's Brooklyn's first win in days and a most huge one.

at CUBS 5-9-1, CARDINALS 3-12-0
Chicago leads this one 5-0 into the 8th when Kaufmann loses everything and gives up back-to-back smashes to Blades and Hornsby and a Bottomley double before Guy Bush takes over and shuts the big door. Hornsby also gets two singles and keeps his average at .411, as if he cares.

NATIONAL LEAGUE through Saturday, August 30
Pittsburgh Pirates	80	45	.640	—
Brooklyn Robins	73	54	.575	8
Cincinnati Reds	73	55	.570	8.5
New York Giants	68	57	.544	12
Chicago Cubs	63	64	.496	18
St. Louis Cardinals	61	66	.480	20
Philadelphia Phillies	54	75	.419	28
Boston Braves	36	92	.281	45.5

TAKE THAT! AND THAT TOO!

GOTHAMS AVENGE EMBARASSMENT WITH 11-2 FILIBUSTER OF SENATORS

By C. Jedediah Butterworth
Base Ball Freescriber

August 29, 1924

NEW YORK—Sparkling new Yankee Stadium bursts at the seams, despite the home nine having their rumps paddled yesterday. The presence of first-place Washington is undoubtedly at play, as is the fine early autumn weather and the fact that the Yanks have but ten home games left.

And the mob is rewarded for their numbers almost instantly. Tom Zachary twirls for Washington, but the portsider has been a pale visage of his earlier self of late, and the peppering continues in the very 1st when Earle Combs leads with a clanging double and Joe Dugan singles him home one batter later. Ruth fans mightily but Meusel chips in with a hit and Pipp adds a scoring fly. A Bush single, second Combs double and second Meusel single in the 2nd make it 4-0, and the grumbling in the visiting dugout can be heard clear up in the press row.

For Bullet Joe Bush is firing another gem at them for the fourth time this season, and the Nats could tell the sun wouldn't shine on them today when they filled the sacks with none retired in the 1st and Goslin, Rice and Tate went out weakly. In the middle frames, there is more of the same, as scattered singles by Goslin, Judge and Tate are the only blemishes.

A frightening Pipp triple and Schang single add to the Yank lead in the 5th before the world as Washington knows it utterly explodes in the 7th. Three straight singles with one out finish off Zachary, but By Speece is greeted with a walk, two more singles, a 2-base gaffe by Rice and two more walks to add six steaming runs to the New York plate. The Nats scratch out their only two digits off Bush on a Tate double in the 8th, but the constant gleeful baying from the stands has long drowned out any hope for competition here.

One oddity is the dry offensive showing by Ruth, who has been the only Yankee squaring up the ball these dark days. "Okay by me," he says afterwards through the fat roll of his fresh cigar, "I needed a day off anyway." The two clubs stand at 10-10 versus each other for the year, and the great Walter Johnson will attempt to give his team the leading notch tomorrow.

WAS 000 000 020 - 2 7 2
NYY 220 010 60x - 11 15 1

Other American League games played today:

TIGERS 7-9-2, at BROWNS 0-5-1
It is a full day of massacre in the Americans. The incredible Rip Collins improves to 22-3 with a complete whitewashing and ironing of the Browns, as seven of Detroit's nine hits come from the bottom three slots of the order. Knowing the motivation tools of Mr. Cobb, I am certain the sight of Washington's flailings in New York on the local board got his team sparked up. It is the 70th win of the season for the Tigers, and a truly sterling one.

WHITE SOX 25-25-1, at INDIANS 3-7-5
As I said, it is a day of massacre.

at RED SOX 12-17-2, ATHLETICS 5-12-0
The Mackmen bounce back from a 3-0 deficit with four runs in the 4th, Gray, Harriss and Naynor cannot hold back the Beaneater floodgates as they take over 5th place from St. Louis. In truth it is a horrid contest, with Boston receiving ten free passes and leaving 16 men adrfit in a game that takes nearly two hours and fifteen minutes to play.

AMERICAN LEAGUE through Friday, August 29
Washington Senators	79	48	.622	—
Detroit Tigers	70	58	.547	9.5
Chicago White Sox	65	61	.516	13.5
New York Yankees	61	64	.488	17
Boston Red Sox	61	66	.480	18
St. Louis Browns	61	67	.477	18.5
Philadelphia Athletics	57	72	.442	23
Cleveland Indians	56	74	.431	24.5