Why Pick on P.A.s?

The stories about draft discrimination kept piling up. Several athletes who looked like grade A 4-Fs had been hurriedly reclassified and inducted--after draft officials spotted the P.A. (for Professional Athlete) on their papers. Examining doctors had rejected Hugh Poland of the Braves until an Army officer cracked: "If you can play ball, you can serve in the Army." The Phillies' Ron Northey had been turned down and then called up three days later. The Cardinals' Danny Litwhiler had been drafted despite a medical notation that "this registrant . . . does not meet the minimum requirements for military training."

Baseball's new commissioner, Albert ("Happy") Chandler, decided to go to bat. One of the reasons why he got the job was because he had influence in Washington. Happy went straight to President Truman. At the same time, Illinois Congressman Melvin Price went to the War Department with a well-publicized beef about P.A. discrimination. Last week, the War Department agreed that professional athletes unable to meet general physical requirements should not be grabbed by the Army. Further, questionable or below-standard cases (such as Poland, Northey, Litwhiler, et a/.) will be reviewed, and some discharges may result.

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