St. Louis, Missouri (UP) –
Following the Cardinals’ loss to the New York Yankees yesterday, outfielder Harry Walker and pitcher Alpha Brazle returned home to find that the mailman had left Army calling cards.
Both players were scheduled to report at Jefferson Barracks today for Selective Service examinations.
The Pittsburgh Press (October 13, 1943)
New York (UP) –
It was a jubilant group of World Champion New York Yankees that arrived home last night to receive the cheers of several hundred fans who greeted them as they piled off a train at Grand Central Station.
Details of police were on hand to hold back the crowd and the victorious Yankees jostled their way out of the station. They seemed eager to get home, glad that the 1943 season was over, and apparently concerned over 1944.
The principal topic of discussion yesterday while coming from St. Louis was whether there would be baseball next year.
Conversation was exhausted regarding the Series – in which they blasted the Cardinals, four games to one, to gain revenge for last year’s duplicate defeat at the hands of the Redbirds.
Cards’ pitching good
There was much praise for the Cardinals, especially their pitching, although the Yankees did not think that the kids from Missouri were as tough as they had been last year. But with true Yankee confidence, they still believed that even in 1942 they had the better ball club despite their loss to the Redbirds.
Husky Charlie Keller, the hard-hitting leftfielder, was particularly outspoken concerning the effective of the Cardinals pitchers. Keller said:
Mort Cooper and Max Lanier showed me as good pitching as I’ve seen all year. They all were tough, but this Cooper is as rough as they come. There’s no question, though, that this Cardinal team was not as good as the one we played last year – but then neither were we.
Keller said his future was uncertain, although he is married and has three children, and that he expected a call from his draft board “very soon.” He pointed out that there were a number of Yankees and Cardinals – pre-Pearl Harbor fathers – who were in the same boat.
Marius Russo, the Yankees southpaw who won the fourth game, revealed that he had been ordered to appear before his Brooklyn draft board next week for his preliminary physical. Russo, too, is a pre-war father.
Landis urges ‘carry on’
Strengthening the belief of those who thought baseball would have trouble continuing because of the manpower drain, two of the Cardinals team received notices as the Series ended. They were centerfielder Harry “Little” Dixie Walker and rookie southpaw Alpha Brazle. Both reported yesterday for physicals.
There appeared to be a determination among club owners and officials to carry on in accordance with the expressed desire of Commissioner Kenesaw M. Landis. The white-haired czar of baseball urged continuation “as long as we have men to put in the field and it does not run counter to the war effort.”
The ultimate answer appeared to hinge upon how many fathers would be needed to bring the Army up to required strength and whether physical standards would be lowered to admit some players now classified in 4-F.