Twilight Trail

In the seventh inning of the crucial seventh game of the 1926 World Series, between the New York Yankees and the St. Louis Cardinals, a skinny Italian kid named Tony Lazzeri stood at the plate, wrapping and unwrapping his clammy hands around his quivering bat. The Yankees were one run behind, the bases were loaded, two men were out. Facing the Yankee rookie was wily old Pete Alexander, just called from the bullpen. With 38,000 pairs of eyes focused on him Rookie Lazzeri, trying desperately to live up to his reputation as a slugger, went down swinging.

But the sad-eyed son of a San Francisco boiler worker went on to erase the stigma of that strikeout. The craftiest, quickest-thinking ball player in the major leagues, Second Baseman Lazzeri became the mastermind of the Yankee infield, helped them win six pennants and five World Series, became, next to Babe Ruth, the most popular player ever to wear a Yankee uniform. Thousands of New York's Italians, who up to that time had been content with boxing and boccie, began to stream into Yankee Stadium. "Poosh 'em up, Tony!" thereafter was the battle cry of the bleachers. In the World Series of 1936, on the tenth anniversary of his famed strikeout, "Poosh'em up Tony" reached the climax of his career when he hit a home run with the bases loaded--a feat that had been accomplished only once before in a World Series.

Last year, after twelve years as Yankee second baseman, Tony Lazzeri at 33 started his twilight trail. Released from the Yankees, he served as braintruster for the Chicago Cubs, quit the Cubs to join the Dodgers, quit the Dodgers to join the Giants--all within 14 months. Last week, on the same day that old Pete Alexander, along with ten other living Immortals, was installed in Baseball's Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, Tony Lazzeri quit major-league ballplaying, signed up as manager of the minor-league Toronto Maple Leafs.*

In the minors, Manager Lazzeri will match wits with many a famed onetime major-leaguer. Among his rivals in the International League (Class AA) are three former big-league managers: Rogers Hornsby (Baltimore Orioles), Burleigh Grimes (Montreal Royals) and Steve O'Neill (Buffalo Bisons). Other famed big-leaguers now managing minor-league teams: Donie Bush (Louisville Colonels), Roger Peckinpaugh (New Orleans Pelicans), Lefty O'Doul (San Francisco Seals), Rabbit Maranville (Albany Senators), Kiki Cuyler (Chattanooga Lookouts), Blondy Ryan (Clinton, la. Giants), Goose Goslin (Trenton Senators).

* Of the 295 clubs in the U. S. network of organized baseball, eleven are Canadian.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.