12 Sports Aces, May 1943 — page 9: what you’re looking at

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

SPIKE THAT MAN OUT! 7 eee Ao! pre Ge caromed off the hot corner guardian’s shins and rolled to the stands. Lombard held up at second. “Go out and murder it,” Low said to the third spot hitter, Stahl, and selected a bat himself. He had put himself fifth in the lineup and had been going pretty good. Mexier, the clean-up hitter. rode his bat between the dugout and the plate and watched Stah! draw a walk. With the Blues’ teading hitter up there, the Metro bench went to work on the visitors’ first base coach. One caustic-tongued jockey pulled the veteran around with a particularjy slurring thrust, and Stahl, taking a lead, swung his angry eyes the same way. Luffmaz threw to his first sacker and Stah! was out by a foot. _ The Blues’ coach started for the Metro bench and Stahi was on his heels. Lou Bracker tossed his bats away and went over there. “Break it up!” Lou yelled. “Get back at.first, Pete. You loused one up. Now—” *“>Chipman was grinning. Lou Bracker walked away, trying to bring something out of the past. The new players in the business went back a long way to pull a trick out of the hat. There weren’t many Mack and McGraw hadn’t used. Mexier took Luffman all the way, played out the string. With the count three and two. Mexler drove one between ieft and center and it rolled to the fence. Lombard scored. Mexler pulled up at third. Lou Bracker took his stance at the plate and warmed to the hand he got from the New York fans. He watched the Met- ro infield come in a little. Seffler moved toward centerfield, took his stand with his back to a toothpaste ad. The picture of the girl on the big sign reminded Lou of a girl with dark hair that fel! to her shoulders. The iast time he had seen her was outside a courtroom and her eyes were filled with tears. That was the first time he had dared to touch her. He moved out of the batter’s box to shake the memory of that day out of his head. Z Luffman watched Mexler taking a long APA Dae Mar jer teen Dra e Gee DeaBee Sooper iead off third. He toed the slab again, iooked down at Lou Bracker and grinned. For years, Lou had saved many games behind Red, but that was all forgotten. Luffman had to stay on, too, and give everything he had. Lou let the first one go by, turned to give Mexier a sign. But Chipman had flashed one himself before that pitch came in. The Metro catcher fired to third and Mexter went back to the bag on his stomach and ate a lot of dirt, The umpire called him safe and the crowd went wild. There was a huddle around the ump until the arbiter threatened to throw three men out of the game. Chipman called them off, said a few things to the umpire himself, Luffman, a little unsteady, dic not get enough break to his fast one, and Lou Bracker smashed it between short and second to bring in a tying run. Standing on first, he tooked over at the Metro bench where Chipman was feaning forward watching his veteran pitcher. Lou remembered things his old team- mates had said when he had emptied his jocker in the Metro clubhouse. Red Luff- man himself had said, “It’s a dirty break, Lou. Well, that punk won’t last in this league. We won’t do the managing for him, because we don’t get paid to do it. Without Al Moss, he better study up on big leaguers at night. [ll give Chipman a year, Lou. Don’t let them sign you to Der Re Pee _a long contract in Boston. But Chipman seemed to have caught on for keeps. The Metros were beginning to look up to him as a born strategist. You had to hand it to a guy that could come right up from the minors and fill Jim Carty’s shoes in a few weeks. Corbin, the Blues’ left fielder, popped a iong one and the rally was nipped. The game went into the eighth. Lou Bracker slammed one into the right field bleachers in the visitors’ half to put the Blues into the lead. Brownell put the Metros down in order. There was but one more chance for the champs to pull the game out of the fire. The Blues tried to add another run in their half of the ninth, but were checked after they had filled the bases. GEomichooks (E(0)