BASEBALL SPORTS OF ALL SORTS BOXING
Next to the abolition of "free
lunch," the most unpopular principle
we can imagine is "popular" deci
sions in ten-round prize fights. They
serve no purpose but to stir up ill
feeling, and seldom settle the ques
tion of superiority.
Willie Ritchie won a "popular" de
cision over Lightweight Champion
Freddie Welsh in ten rounds at New
York last night He clearly whipped
the Briton, yet is not entitled to the
championship because of an unwrit
ten rule that titles cannot change
hands in ten-round affairs.
That is manifestly unfair.. Ritchie
lost his title on points in twenty
rounds in London, and it seems only
reasonable that he should be allowea
to take it back on points, even
though the go was only for ten
rounds. To all intents and purposes
Ritchie is the best man this mornlngv
yet he must remain merely a chal
lenger, while Welsh, the defeated
man, retains the title.
Welsh makes a significant post-battle
statement. "It seems to be a habit
to give popular decisions against
Welsh," he says, "but you notice
who goes right along fighting all
comers and meeting more than all
the title claimants put together."
There stands Welsh. Ten-round
decisions make no difference to him.
He keeps his title and can Tealize on
it at the box office.
Neither man was marked through
the ten rounds. Ritchie staggered
the champion once, but the effect
came more from the fact that
Welsh was backing away than from
the blow alone. It was a fast fight,
full of action of a kind, but not
bruising.
This pair should fight twenty
rounds and settle all doubts. Wheth
er they will or not is something else
again."
Following several shifts in the two
White Sox teams, Russell Blackburne
may come into his own as a, regular
infielder and stick until the start of
the season, at least. Manager Row
land, after watching the work of his
charges in several games against va
rious teams of the Pacific Coast
league, is dissatified with the per
formances. Baker, a regular third baseman,
filling in for Weaver at short, has
failed miserably. Eddie Collins is
much too fast for him and this has
tended to throw out of gear the ef
forts of the crack keystoner. Over
at third base Bromwich has not lived
up to his minor league press notices.
He has committed a bone play or two
that are not to be tolerated in the big
show.
Chapped, gardening in left, is still
overweight, and this affects his work.
Russell is another fellow who is too
beefy for his own good or that of thq
team. Consequently Reb, Chappell
and possibly Bromwich and Baker are
due for a jaunt with the second team.
Blackburne is to report immediate
ly to the regulars and go to work at
short, where he will remain until
Buck Weaver is able to get back into
the game. Then it is probable Rus
sell will be shunted over to third. His
experience there is limited, but the
station is on the side of the diamond
familiar to him, and he has baseball
brains to stack up with Collins and
Weaver. If Brief hits, Rowland could
afford to use a light-hitting, fast
fielding and quick thinking man on
the third corner.
Jack Fourner, whose batting is ab
solutely necessary, will be picked up
by the first team in a day or two and
assigned to one of the outfielding po
sitions. Fournier is certain of a reg
ular position, as his bat is powerful.
A .300 hitter cannot be kept on the
bench.
With these shifts made- Rowland