12 Sports Aces, May 1943 — page 14: what you’re looking at

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

2 12 SPORTS ACES 6 0 eGo ones One Ges ro tee reer Oar Dos a Pease 8 On OG Ors een mn Gor borne Ore Pen Per Pea Gee Pree Gor re Ora OGG aan Oanses * Lefty? It’s in your blood. A rap like this don’t cure you.” A lot of pity for the pitcher seeped out of him. “Sure, life’s a gamble, Lou. I want to. gamble my hide with a Jap’s. I gamble when I tell you to stick close to Madge. What are the odds there, Lou?” “Drop that,” Lou said. “Keep her name out of this, Lefty. I wish there was some- thing I could do to help you.” “It know all the answers, Lou. You think a swell kid like Madge will take the veil for five years? Look, I’m famous up here. The warden’s daughter is a nice number and J drive her around a lot. ’m a trusty, Lou. They don’t treat me like the murderer the D. A. said I was.” Lou Bracker felt like throwing his knuckles into Lefty Boyle’s face. He looked far ahead to the day when Lefty would get his release. The vision put a bad taste on his tongue. Going away from there, he wished for a while that they’d given Lefty Boyle the limit. He had to go back and tell the girl a lot of lies about Lefty taking it like « soldier and how much he looked forward to see- ing her again, He was glad when he reached the railroad station in the prison town. CHAPTER III HE METROS came into Boston three weeks later, riding ahead of the rest of the league by three games, and grimly determined to add to their lead at the expense of Lou Bracker’s second division club. The jockeys of both teams had sharpened their spurs and were ready to sink them deep. The fans knew that when the Blues and Metros played, blood ran hot. The Back Bay park had twenty- four thousand people in it when the um- pire called to the first Metro batter to get up there and hit. The Blues’ infield talked it up to Mace Brownell, who generally pitched the first game of a series against the Gothamites. Lou Bracker said: “Let’s go there, guys. These are the Phillies with New York suits on.” Seffler, leading off, looked at two of Brownell’s offerings and the ump called both against him. He turned, said some- -is the day he thing to O’Rourke; the ump turned his back and got out a new ball. “He’s got nerves,” Lou yelled in. “This gets horse-collared, Brownie. Toss it up to him slow with canapes around it.” Seffler took a vicious swing and then threw his bat away. Walking to the bench, he Jooked out at short and yelled some- thing at the Blues’ pilot. The fans up in the high seats could see the redness at Seffier’s neck. ‘ Brownell got rid of Rowe, the Metro backstop, by forcing him to hit a can of corn to Thurneau. Parker, the visitors’ left fielder, beat one into the dirt. It rolled lazily between the third base line and the pitcher’s mound, He beat Brown- ell’s throw to first and the Boston crowd started yelling. Rizzetti threw two bats away and swung a big club as if it had been an orchestra leader’s baton. “Pitch to him,” Lou said, Brownell worked the corners carefully, but couldn’t get the third good one_cver-” The slugger trotted to first. Lou Bracker and Ottler came in to talk to the pitcher. McGurn, the next Metro batter, was belt- ing the ball at a .889 clip. They talked to Brownell about the battle of Midway there on the mound until the ump told them to break it up. Steadied a little, Brownell worked a three and two count on McGurn. He pulled the string on the next one and Mc- Gurn timed it nicely. Fhe ball sailed to left field, but Corbin was running with the crack of the bat and he took it over his shoulder not far from the barrier. Chipman had Tresky, a young right- hander, working in the box. TPresky looked over at the bench after every pitch. His manager masterminded him into whiff- ing Thurneau on four pitehed balls. Lou Bracker bit down dard on his gum and put furrows in his browned forehead, Lombard went down in the dust from a sizzler close to his head and Tresky grinned. Lombard had been hit four years back and had spent ten days in a hospital. Tresky fired another close one and Lom- bard fell away from it. Fhe Blues’ first baseman yelled something at Tresky and the war was on. Gomichbooks (G9)