12 Sports Aces, January 1943 — page 80: what you’re looking at

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

78 | 12 SPORTS ACES Wright. They were with the Chalk be- OOTBALL teams like Notre Dame al- cause he held the crown, and because championships have to be taken. The man who wants to be crowned in the hearts of the fans as well as in the books of the officials, has to get up on his hind legs, wade in, and show that he is fit to rule his division. There can be no respect for the bloke who, like Freddie Welch, is “just half a point ahead of his gallant opponent, Wille Ritchie,” as the English referee said in awarding him the diadem. No stuff like making the other boy beat himself through errors, will make any man anything but a technical champion, Look back through the years. Jess Willard wore Jack Johnson down and took the erown. But nobody loved him for it. Nobody particularly wanted to see him stay up there. Jack Dempsey went out to take that championship. He was there to prove who was boss of the ring world. With his pretty footwork and his blazing speed, Jack could have been a nifty boxer; don’t let them fool you with that talk about his just being a wild slugger. But Jack was out to belt that crown right off the giant’s cranium. And belt it off was just what he did. The most popular man to fight Jack was Luis Angel Firpo, the Wild Bull of the Pampas. Firpo’s ring record was nothing compared to the long strings of victories of Bill Brennan, Bartley Mad- den and others who were around in those days. But when most of the champions have been forgotten, the tales of Firpo will still ring loud whenever a fanning bee takes place around the hot stove by the old cracker barrel. For Luis Angel went in there to take that bauble; to grab it in his two fists and shake it loose. And _ 3f newspapermen had not helped Jack back into the ring, Luis would have taken that belt home as the first tribute to the good neighbor policy. ways win the hearts of the fans and are likely to win championships, too. When Notre Dame gets its hands on that pigskin, every play is aimed at a touch- down. There is not a signal in their book which calls for making three yards and then stepping out of bounds to hold the clock, or making six inches to gain a first down and hold the ball. In one game with Ohio State, with the highest ranking in the country as the stakes, they rammed three touchdowns acress the line in less than five closing minutes of the fourth quarter, and they needed ali of them to win. Fans will go to see the New York Foot- ball Giants or the Chicago Bears even when those teams are not in the lead. They know that those two outfits are out there to take eharge on the field—and I do mean take charge. They do not share a game with their opponents, they take it or make the other team take it from them. This last World’s Series was like that, too. The once aggressive Yankees had become accustomed to having a big in- ning or so, and then coasting. And even so, they were aggressive enough when at bat. - But those Red Birds from St. Louis had something which has not been seen since before the first World War; oldtime re- porters say not since 1906. They were aggressive on the defensive as well as when at bat. The closing play of the series was ag- gressive in spirit. Cooper wasted a ball, whammed it down to secand and caught Joe Gordon off the bag. Never mind just fielding the other team out, fight them out ...» that is how the Cardinals won. They are champions beeause they did the only thing the fans will stand for— they stepped out there and took the crown. = cComicbooks (E@)