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THE CHRONICLE, Clinton, S. C., April 17, 1969—7-A The Death Of Baseball When the jolly lads of a bygone era mustered for their weekly baseball game on the village green, in truth it might be said that th? national pastime was watching the antics qfr th^se bucolic comr petitors. While less physically endowed youth might aspire one day to preside over matters of state from the White House, any barefoot boy worth tbis salt cast his longing glance# to the Big Leagues. There paraded such immortal figures as Mathewson, Johnson, Cobh, Young, and later Ruth, Gehrig, Greenberg, Foxx, and countless others who have long since gathered in Valhalla. That such* exalted personnages were actually only men seemed hard to believe for the country boy languishing in the dust of his rural hamlet. Today, however, the ancient idolatry Is as foreign to the scene as Horatio Alger's rags to riches hero. The modern baseball player is a pale and impotent descendant of the greats, for his mortality has been bathed in the all revealing light of knowledge larded out to kids nowadays alT too soon. But it is not wholly the cfcsillusionmeftt of youth that has robbed the contemporary baseball player of his hallowed spot. Actually the players themselves are woefully lacking in the qualities of greatness which were hallmarks of an earher and less sophisticated age. * * * The Old Heroes Were Colorful Ty Cobb chewed tobacco, swore with gusto in public and private, came into a base with his spikes up, and played because he was as tough as harness leather and held his opponents in personal contempt. Cy Young, who won more game* than any pitcher who jever lived, would stick it in your eAr and if you happened to get your brains serambU •d, there would certainly be no apology. The old pitchers did not cry about the lively ball, nor did the batsmen of those days weep for a lowered mound and a smaller strike zone so that they might hit above their cap size. Ball players are now about as unpredictable as a corporate board chairman. Surrounded by their lawyers and agents, they weight every ex pressed word and action in terms erf what it could mean to the image of the products they endorse. Few have time for kids anymore, and as a direct consequence of this, fewer and fewer kids are having time for baseball players. The end of course, is that in a generation or so nobody will give a tinker’s dam about baseball, and some of the biggest and emptiest of heads in the universe may be reduced to working for a living. * * * Sacrificing Hometown Rivalries Really, it’s a shame. I get a nostalgic feeling about this time of year. But the old heroes are dead and there are none aborning. Baseball is truly an example of thoughtless men slaughtering the goose while they scream to hell with the eggs. Hometown rivalries have been sacrificed to such monstrosities as the Southern League which is neither southern nor a league. Imagine, If you will, how excited the people in Mobile, Ala. get when their team plays Evansvilla, Ind. No wonder everybody I know is getting obese lapping up suds while stultifying his brain in the absorption of the mediocrity of the tube. About the most interesting thing in a baseball park these days is the new growth of weeds in the outfield. "It's a football trophy! fop woe it playing cards!" PC Junior Wins Golf Title 1 Terry Clyburn, a Kershaw Jun ior, has brought Presbyterian College its first individual state collegiate golf championship. Clyburn fired a two-over par 73 last Saturday to go with his opening round 72 for a total of MS. He topped the University of South Carolina’s Hap Lathrop by two strokes in the race for in dividual honors in the state col lege tourney at Hampton. Clyburn, who is majoring in history at PC, plans to teach and coach. The PC golf team offers bo scholarships. The University of South Caro lina won the team championship •or the fourth straight year. Clyburn has been alternating in the No. 1 spot for PC with Ash ton Blount who was elected cap tain of the team this week. Blount, a senior from Gaines ville, Ga., has been a mem- 6-5 Melson Signs PC Cage GrSHt Fred Melson of Columbia, a highly sought-after 6-5basket ball prospect, has signed a bas ketball scholarship with Presby terian College, Coach Herb Rob inson announced Tuesday. Melson, 17 years old, averaged 27 points per game, hitting 52 per cent of his field goal at tempts during his senior year. He also garnered an average of 16 rebounds per game. Coach Robinson said, “Our basketball program has just taken a giant step forward with the signing of Fred Melson. I pre dict this young man is going to have a great career in basket ball. He is an excellent student and is planning to pursue a pre law course of study.' TERRY CLYBURN ber of the PC team for four years. The PC team, coached by Her man Jackson, has a record of four wins and five losses overall and 2-1 In the Carolinas Conference. The Blue Hose golfers are to play Lander at Greenwood Coun try Club today. Lined with backward-pointing teeth, the open mouth and throat of a grouper is nearly as wide as its body. The teeth arrange ment renders escape impossible once a fish is drawn into the cavernous mouth; yet the group ers at Marineland of Florida al low divers to thrust an out stretched arm into the mouth and throat momentarily before spew ing it out. THE CHRONICLE OFFICE SUPPLIES TELEPHONE 833-0641 i Eckstein Picked for All-American Game In Atlanta June 28 is a special date for Presbyterian College’s Dan Eck stein. That’s the night he will be playing in the All-American All- Star football game. The frost ing on the cake is the fact that he ’ll be playing in his hometown. A native of Atlanta, Ga., Eck stein Is the first Presbvterlan PC Signs Outstanding S.C. Cage Prospects For the second straight year, Presbyterian College Basketball Coach Herb Robinson has signed to a scholarship the most valu able player in the state 4-A Championship Basketball Tour nament. Bobby Whiteside of A. C. Flora’s state championship team signed a PC basketball scholar ship last Friday. Also signing with PC last week was Britton’s Neck guard Mike Lovell, who averaged 37 points per game. Whiteside won the4-A Tourna ment’s Most Valuable Player tro phy during the past season. Danny Yarborough of Spartanburg won the Most Valuable trophy In 1968 and is now a rising sophomore at PC. Whiteside is a 5-10, 145-pound speedster who averaged 12 points per game for Flora. Robinson commented, “We’re real happy that Bobby’s coming to PC. He’s a fine student and a Upstate Fishing Good Fishing in the upper part of the state is on the up-swing due to improved weather and water con ditions. Lake Murry, Lake Moul trie and Lake Secession are the “Hot Spots' with excellent cat ches of large mouth bass, white bass and crappie being reported. TROUT FISHING IN MOUN TAINS - Trout fishing is excel lent due to stocking and should continue over the weekend. Hot spots are Chauga, Chatooga and White Water Rivers in Oconee County. Also South Saluda, Eastowee and Little Cane Break Rivers in Pickens County. Most trout are being taken'on spin ners, corn, red worms and sal mon eggs. LAKE HARTWELL - Water le vel is one foot above normal and clear in main body but feeder streams are muddy. Large mouth bass fishing is good in shallow water using Rebels, night craw lers and spring lizards around Tuogulo River, Six and Twenty Creek, and Andersonville Island areas. Crappie fishing is excel lent in four to six feet of water using live minnows. Trout fish ing is good in upper reaches of rivers using com and red worms. Some walleye are being caught above Fair Play Park on the Tuo gulo River trolling deep using Water Dogs. Mr. George Wor- nock of Anderson, South Carolina in two days fishing caught four teen large mouth bass, nine crap pie, two walleye and two bream. All were caught on same plug, a small Rebel. LAKE GREENWOOD - Crappie fishing is good in shallow water using live minnows and are also biting good in the river behind the dam. Large mouth bass are bit ing fair around points and in coves using Bass Masters, Little Cleo and spinners. Fishing for catfish is excellent using cut bait and worms. ing and fishing has been good. F ishing for white bass in excel lent in Little River, Ltmg Cane Creek and other feeder streams using Potgut and Doll Flies. Large mouth bass are biting good around the points using black and purple worms and jigs. Crappie fishing is good using live min nows in shallow water near bushes. WATEREE - Crappie fishing is good in both shallow and deep water using live minnows and jigs. Bream are beginning to bite but fishing for other species is poor. LAKE MURRAY - White bass fishing is excellent using Potgut and Doll Flies in Big River, Lit tle River and other feeder streams. Crappie fishing is ex cellent in four to five feet of water around brushpiles and wil lows using live minnows. Large mouth bass are hitting good on night crawlers, Bass Masters, and Little Cleo around points and in coves. Catfish are biting good on cut bait and worms. UPPER LAKE MARION - Water level is rising and slightly muddy. Crappie fishing has been good in clear water around stumps and trees using minnows and jigs. Large mouth bass fish ing is fair. Striped bass activity ‘has picked up in the Santee,Con- garee and Wateree Rivers and is expected to be better for the weekend. White bass fishing is excellent but are moving up-river. LAKE MOULTRIE - Large mouth bass fishing is excellent in coves around Russelville and Pinopolis areas using Johnson Spoons with pork rind and purple and black plastic worms. Crappie fishing is excellent using live bait in four to eight feet of water and striped bass fishing is fair in eight feet of water on cut bait and on buck- tails trolling. fine athlete and will be a big asset to our basketball program. Two factors impress me about Bobby: his tremendous desire to compete and his quickness.’ Whiteside, a captain of the Flora basketball team, also was co-captain and a standout defen sive halfback for the Flora foot ball team, was last year’s 880- yard state champion in track and is a member of the Flora Key Club. His coach, Cy Szalcacsi, said, “If anybody’sdeservingof a scho larship, it’s Bobby. His biggest single quality is his determina tion never to give up. I’ve never seen anything like it--any sport-- not just basketball.' Lovell’, who is 5-9 and weighs 1965 pounds, hit a season’s high of 60 points in one game. He hit 58 per cent of his field goal attempts for the season. Coach Robinson said, ‘The a- mazing thing about this is that most of his shots were m the area of 25 feet.’ Lovell was named to the second team all-state and is president of the Block B Club at Britton’s Neck. Robinson said, “Without a doubt, Mike Lovell is one of the finest shooters to ever come out of the high school ranks in South Carolina.’ Whiteside and Lovell are the third and fourth outstanding South Carolina prepsters to sign with PC. Steve Crowe (6-5) of Easley and Howard Bean (6-6) of Spar tanburg signed previously. DAN ECKSTEIN College to be invited to play in the mid-summer football classic in Atlanta. Numerous All-Americans, in cluding Heisman Trophy winner 0. J. Simpson, have accepted in vitations to play in the game. Eckstein, a senior, was named to the Small College All-Ameri can team as a defensive half back. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. Eckstein is to visit Green Bay, Wise., this weekend for a week end training camp with the Pack ers. Eckstein said, “My letter from the Packers said they intend to find out what sort of condition we’re in.' Eckstein hasn’t signed a con tract with the Packers yet but in dicates that he will as soon as the PC track season is over. “When I sign with the Pack ers, I’ll lose my amateur status and I want to complete the track season first,' he said. STEEL BEAMS PLATES, CHANNELS, ANGLES WAREHOUSE PRICES ON FULL BARS PITTS STEEL & WELDING CO. I \ Laurens, S. C. MEN'S AND BOYS' White Coats 25% Off Were $14.95- now $|| # 21 Were $10.95—$8.21 Were $ 7.95—HOW $5.96 Were $ 5.95—$4,^6 Lydia Mills Store 833-0631 '.Ve.*. PAY YOUR MORTGAGE OFF 3 TO 5 YEARS EARLY WITH . Jefferson Standard’s s CLARK HILL - Water is clear- V MORTGAGE CANCELLATION • PLAN • Standard Mortgage Insurance Pays Only If You Die — Ours Will Do Much More Than That! Cht&ifelt Draw near to God and he will draw nearer to you.— (James 4:8). We should be receptive to God’s guidance and inspiration when we have a problem to solve, pray to God to be shown how to think and speak in order to arrive at the correct solution. 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