Morning Register Des Moines, Iowa
Sittin' in with the athletes by sec taylor
BOB FEllER,
Bob Feller got a deserved creak* when he was named o^oh^of the Great Lakes Navy "baseball team/ The g;reat hurler from Van meter, 2a*-, was one of the first major leaguere to volunteer for service in the armed forces* He served for o more than two years, most of it on a battle-wagon In the Pacific, and saw quits a bit of action,-.- participating in several of"the major naval battles against the Japs* Finally arriving back in the United/States he was designed to great Lakes and was given the Job of coaching the baseball team, a position usually held by a commissioned officer* He will now have a chance to unlimber that right arm of steal*
Feller Is inclined to talk more about baseball than of hie experiences on a battleship* Recently he was asked whether his no-hitter against the White Sox in the opening game of the 1940, or his feat of striking out IS batsmen,for a major league record, gave him his greatest thrill*
He replied that he was prouder of striking out 18 Detroit hitters than of any other think that had occurred in hie brief baseball career, because other modern hurlera have turned in no-hitters, but none has fanned 13 men in a game*
^Neither the Cleveland nm the Detroit clubs was in the championship running at that time, so I was-relaxed,* he said, *2 remember all the details-perfectly;
nIt was not until the ninth inning that I felt any tension. I had fanned 16 Tigers in the first eight innings* Someone in the box sent word that I needed another strikeout to tie Disty Bean*s and my own major league record and that * two more would give me the unshared record*
*I hadn$t been trying especially for strikeouts in those first - eight frames but I really began .bearing down against Pete Fox, who was first up* He swung for a third strike* But when Roy Cullenbine singled the crowd groaned* Hank Oreehberg filed out and X heard still louder groans, for that meant the final out had to be made on a strikeout if I were to get the record*
*X lost control on Birdie Tebbett and walked him in my efforts to keep him from hitting* I dldnH wind up against Chet Laabe, for I wanted to hold Tebbetts on first* The boys in the press f box, pulling for a record, yelled, * Forget the runner*
Wind up-and work on the batter*1
oI whipped in a strike with out the windup, but took it to
get another over* The third was a fast ball with a hop on it*. Laaba started to swing, decided the ball was wide and checked himself, but Cal Hubbard who was umpiring behind the plate threw his right arm in the air, calling it a strike, indicating the opitch had eaugfrt an outside comer of the
thrill
