Slants on Sports

The contest to select the “greatest Jewish boxer of all time” has just drawn to a close. Many readers of this corner submitted their letters in order to win the first prize of two ringside seats for the coming Barney Ross-Jimmy McLarnin scrap on September 6th at the Madison Square Garden Bowl.

Announcement of winners will be made by the judges next Wednesday in the “Slants on Sports” column. The best letter will receive the aforementioned prize and the writers of the seven next best letters will be awarded ringside tickets to the boxing and wrestling arenas about town, including the Bronx Coliseum, the Fort Hamilton Boxing Club, and the Coney Island Velodrome.

Benny Leonard, Maxie Baer, Barney Ross and David Mendoza, were some of the fighters up among the top. However, Sid Terris, Ruby Goldstein, and Battling Levinsky succeeded in getting their share of acclaim and recognition. Watch for the winner next Wednesday.

TENNIS

The Women’s National Lawn Tennis Championships of the United States will be held in the next three weeks, August 13 to 18, at Forest Hills, L. I. Miss Milicent Hirsch is the most prominent Jewish racquet wielder entered on the lists. However, a letter received from our correspondent in England tells us that Miss Phyllis Barnett of Bargood, Wales, may be entered in the coming tennis matches at the West Side Tennis matches at the West Side Tennis Club on Long Island.

Miss Barnett has a fine record to her credit in lawn tennis. She is eighteen years of age, and head girl and school captain of the Bargood Secondary School. In 1931-1932 she won the “under sixteen” Junior Championship of Wales, and in 1933-1934 the “under eighteen” Junior Championship. With her partner she was mixed doubles champion in 1933-34 and also junior champion of Carmathern County. This year she was Victrix Ludorum of the Bargood Secondary School, with twenty points out of a possible twenty-four. Miss Barnett is the first Jewish girl champion of Wales.

WHY NOT A HANK GREENBERG DAY?

At the beginning of the season two rookies on the New York Yankees kept the wires burning with stories of their flash, their form and their playing ability. They were Heffner and Rolfe. But their flash was only in the pan and flickered out ere long.

However, out in Detroit along the Tiger front a youngster of twenty-one who had played pretty good ball the year before was holding down the first sack position again. Since the season began he has been coming along like four houses all afire at once. We have written much on this lad and yet, in looking at his record for the last three weeks, all we can do is marvel. Greenberg of the Bronx dishes out singles and doubles, and doubles and triples, and it’s his spirit that has the Tigers on top.

Now as all we baseball fans know there has been a Lou Gehrig day and a Lefty O’Doul day and a Chaim Yankel day, but to make a gala occasion for a Jewish rookie who is proving his worth is something unique. The idea rests entirely with the fans of this city. The Tiger will be in New York to open a series with the Ruppert Rifles some time in August. Why not a Hank Greenberg day, folks?

ODDS AND ENDS

Of late the stories about the horse Yoshe Kalb have been increasing. In fact various newspapers have printed stories about a Hambletonian Stake trotter named Yoshe Kalb which is claimed to be an entrant of the Bee Bee Stables, owned by Isadore Beiber. There is not and never was a horse by that name, but the boys who are giving out the interviews are getting a big laugh and some publicity out of the matter, since the play “Yoshe Kalb” will appear in book form soon.

Now that the news about New York State collecting 129,000 berries on race taxes at the many tracks in the State is in circulation, the bookies are introducing a new sport which will not entail any bill to the boss after the thing is over. This is worth while for those who like to speculate but feel that the hossies are poison at Empire City. Consider what the Jews and the Arabs do in Palestine. They get a lot of fun out of placing two scorpions in a saucer and then betting on the winner of the inevitable fight.

People will never forget the terrific lacing Ernie Schaff took at the hands of the present heavyweight champion, Max Baer . . . Sidney Sherman of Toledo, Ohio, bowled a 300 game on February 21, 1921, alternating with the left and the right hands.

Eddie Kramer, ace southpaw of the Temple University baseball team for three seasons, who recently joined the Washington Senators, registered 112 strikeouts in 121 innings on the hill. Kramer saw action in 15 of the Owls’ 23 contests.

Georgetown was the easiest for Kramer, thirty hilltopper batsmen whiffing in a pair of games against Temple. The Owl Flinger fanned fifteen in each game. His next start against Indiana saw him fanning fourteen. Big League timber, says we.

THE SPORTING CALENDAR

Coney Island Velodrome—Tonight

Tonight at the Velodrome the old rassling racket holds sway once more. Gino Garibaldi, the pride of sunny Italy, will try to dish out his famous garlic special to Sandor Szabo, the Hunk from Cheesania, in the feature attraction to a finish. Hans Steinke meets the old maestro, Dick Shikat. Everett Marshall takes on Henry Piers, the old plowman, and Eli Fischer, the lad from the Raritan and the Brooklyn regions meets Bert Rubi.