12 Sports Aces, January 1943 — page 38: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

36 12 SPORTS ACES 06 OPO eeDer Dero PrP re Ore Bo 1 Qe Poe GoGo 1B Pro hyoedye Hs ore Deer Der De Oo Bee Qer Her Per Doo Ger He rors 9s Dee S19 P01 Dor Deni rs oor Qe vir ele Dee Gee Ge ers Hee er Oe+ eotpor he oer lhe «+ there and play against the Jewelers. I want to show up that team for a bunch of roundheels.” “Y wish you luck,” said the personnel ~-man with a wistful smile. “But I guess you know the Oilers are usually sitting near the bottom of the league.” Willie didn’t care so much about that. When he got in there against the Jewel- ers, it wasn’t going to be the Oilers vs Jewelers. It was going to be Willie Phelan vs. Bounce Bender. One of the refinery bosses, a hulking giant known as Easy Mike, was coach of the Oilers. When Willie went through his first practice session with the team the next evening at the refinery gym, he de- cided the coach’s name should be Sloppy Mike. Play swept from one end of the floor to the other. Signals were vague. Passes were long, frequently missed, followed by a mad scramble for the ball. Willie winced, And they called this a pro team! One of the guards on the scrubs, a redheaded kid, continually let Willie break away for shots. “Look, Red,’”’ Willie said, aan he got a chance. Maybe he could show them a few things to help them out of this mess. “As soon as a man gets into scoring ter- ritory, it’s up to a guard to get close enough to prevent or hinder a shot or pass. You’re playing too far away. If the offensive man is a good shot, get close enough to block the shot. If he’s a poor shot, get just close enough to hinder him, but let him shoot. So you get a chance to recover the ball.” Later, a foul was called. A big blond ‘boy named Gramatky toek his free throws. He missed them both. “Mind my giving you a pointer?” Wil- lie asked. He took the ball from the fel- low. “You were too tight on those shots, I think. Relax before you shoot. Next time, try looking at the floor, and bounce the ball a couple times. See how it heips.” Willie demonstrated. “Wait a minute!” bellowed Easy Mike, who up till now had been sitting idly on the sidelines. He shoved his big bulk forward on the hoards. “‘Who’s running this outfit, Phelan? Me or you? You're on the Oilers now, not the Jewelers. Ellia coming in for you.” The brawny coach waved a new player in. : Willie took it grimly. He’d been wrong in sticking his uose in, he knew; Any- way, it was hopeless. This team wasn’t going anywhere, The Jewelers would mop up the court with them. He might as weil quit it all and try again for a Navy com- mission, as he futilely had once before. A commission would allow him enough pay to support his folks. A hand on Willie’s arm stopped him as he trailed off the floor at dismissal. He turned to look into Gramatky’s eager face. *“Coach’s gone,” the blond husky said. “What was that you were goin’ to show me about foul shootin’?” Some of the other boys who were still hanging around, came up. Willie thought for a moment, hesitated. “What the hell!” urged a thin chap Willie had heard called McCrae. “Our time is our own now. We know you taught the Jewelers plenty. We'd like to pick some things up. too.” Willie showed them. In the next two weeks he added many more spare mo- ments. The kids were so eager and will- ing, it made Willie feel warm. But the break had to come. It came the next Friday night. The Oilers were playing the Acme Insurance five. In the last minutes of play, the Oilers led 34-32. The lead had changed hands a dozen times in the contest. “Freeze the ball!” Easy Mike ordered from the bench. “Freeze it?” Willie ES He knew Mike’s idea: The Acmes couldn’t score as long as the Oilers were in possession of the ball. But with the uncertain pass- ing of his mates—what a terrific risk! ILLIE did the closest thing to freezing the ball that he knew. He called for something he’d shown the boys on his own, A figure-eight play. The stall attack employed three men weaving in a figure eight. It created screens near the center line while Kelso and McCrae, EOPMICOOOKS (E@)