Slants on Sports

Tammany Young, One-Eyed Connolly, and your sports commentater met the other night behind one of those places where, despite repeal, you have to knock three times in order to get in.

(In case any of the boys are interested, the joint is up on Fifty-second street. All you have to do is rap out the first bars of “Dotty, that old war horse of mine” and ###y, “Peady sent me.” The rest is just a pink lady.)

However, to get back to our story. We had just imbibed our fourth Angel’s dip when one of the Yankee rookies suddenly lets out a yell. “Wow,” said he, after he had cooled down, “the Giants are in fourth place now and I’ll put a finif on the table right now to say they end up in seventh when the votes are counted in September.”

“You’re on,” says we. “We’re rooting for the Giants and in case that something materializes that Terry has up his sleeve we’ll be collecting. So, my good fellow, give my regards to McCarthy and the boys.”

GOOD NEWS FOR THE BRONX BASEBALL BUGS

Of course the place was in an uproar after we had said “Terry has something up his sleeve.” It’s just this. Phil Weintraub, the old meatpacker from the Windy City, who is at present spending his summer in the daisy fields of the Nashville ball park, may be back on the Giant roster. ‘Tis said indeed, begorra, that the Giants are in their present pfizzle but what they need is a good harhitting slugger with plenty of pep and “gism” to him. That’s where Phil Weintraub fits the bill.

THE BIG GUN OF THE NASHVILLE TEAM

Right now Phil is slambanging the old apple better than 350 for his batting average since the season began in the Grapefruit League since he was left there early in April by Bill Terry when the Giants passed through that town on their barnstorming trip.

According to the boss of this Nashville nine, Phil is getting just the right polish on his fielding that he needs to make him a natural for a big league team.

Then again, the fact that the Giants may have a good Jewish baseballer on the team should be good news for the Bronx fans.

NOT MANY JEWISH BIG LEAGUE PLAYERS

A careful checkup of the big league ball teams reveals that there are only four Jewish players in the majors today. Of course the news from the training camps two months ago had a flock of Hebraic talent competing for posts in big time ball parks. And at that, the home teams of these Jewish diamondmen are far from our little old New York.

When Phil was invited down to the Giant’s training camp in Florida early in February, the baseball boys ballyhooed it aplenty.

A CRACKER JACK RECORD AT MIAMI

It was Phil’s wallops that gave most of the games to the Giants when they were down under. He came through every time and his spirit and verve keyed up the entire camp to that certain pitch of enthusiasm that a manager hopes for every season.

Dizzy Dean, of the Cards, proved easy prey for Phil’s bat. Many other dreaded pitchers of the big leagues were just so much siwash for Ma Weintraub’s little boy.

STARTED PLAYING IN 1926

Weintraub began playing baseball with the Evanstons, a Chicago semi-pro team, back in 1926. Later he signed up with the Rock Island ball club. It may be surprising to most people, but while Phil was playing with these teams he was a left-handed pitcher.

He played for a season or two in the Central League of the Middle West but didn’t get very far out there. It was this reason, chiefly, which made him give up baseball and go back to his wholesale meat business in the Windy City.

But selling kosher cows didn’t appeal to this chap, especially once the baseball bug had gotten into his blood, and the very next year he was holding down the first sack with another minor league team.

He was coming along in grand style when a bad arm injury forced him out of the game once more. Despite the fact that the doctors told him he would have to give up his hopes of becoming a big leaguer, he kept at it and finally succeeded. He got his big chance with the Birmingham outfit last year when Clyde Malin, veteran manager of the ‘Bama club, placed Phil in the outfield. Though his fielding wasn’t anything to brag about, his heavy-hitting activities caught the eye of the Giants’ scout in the latter’s tour of the hinterland.

NEEDS ONE MORE YEAR IN THE MINORS

Phil realized that his fielding could be improved even when he was trying out for the Terryteam in Florida. Phil said: “I know I have a long way to go but I picked up a lot since last year. If I could work regularly at it, my fielding would improve. There hasn’t been much wrong with my throwing as yet. And then again, I know I can hit in big league competition.” His training camp record proved the truth of this statement and it is this record that Terry is banking on should he decide to make room for the Jewish baseballer on the Giants’ outfield at the Polo Grounds.

DARK CLOUDS FOR THE UNITED STATES SOCCER TEAM

The national soccer team which was chosen to go to Italy to compete in the play-offs for the world’s championship is in for some dirty weather. According to the play-off competitive lists, the American soccer team is scheduled to play Mexico in its first game. Should they beat the Mexican eleven they will face Italy, which in the estimation of the experts, is the strongest of the sixteen teams in the competition.

Some have stated that the U. S. team would be wiser to lose their game to Mexico than to face the inevitable slaughter at the hands of the Italian football group.

The day before the team chosen by the U. S. F. A. sailed for Italy they played a practice game against the All-American soccer team. The latter aggregation had been selected from the American soccer league and represented the cream of the talent in the east. Slone and Chesney and Gross were among the Jewish football players contending against the “pick” of the U. S. F. A. Incidentally they trimmed the “pick” of the U. S. F. A. to the tune of 4-0.

In our estimation there should have been a little wider discrimination in the choice of the national team.

THE SPORTING CALENDAR THE RIDGEWOOD GROVE

No sooner had his hectic battle with Jim Londos come to an end at the Ridgewood Grove last week than Abe Coleman looked up Matchmaker Rudy Miller and demanded a return bout with the Greek Strumberry man.

“I can’t put you on with him right away,” said Miller, “but I’ll match you with Jim McMillen and if you throw him I will do my best to secure Londos again for you. It’s up to you.”

“If that’s all there is to it,” replied the Jewish champ, “that bout is as good as signed. I’ll beat McMillen.”

However, McMillen is nobody’s pushover. And because of this we’re expecting a corking wrestling match tonight at the Grove.

Steinke faces Katan in one of the special features that rounds out a very attractive card.

MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

The Garden has announced that tickets for the Carnera-Baer heavyweight championship contest, which will be staged at the Bowl on Long Island, June 14, go on sale today at the Madison Square Garden box office. All seats are reserved. The various prices include the tax. They range from $25 ringside down to $3.45.