Two page fold out from a large format magazine. Measures 21 x 14 inches tall
Something On The Ball
By O.B. Keller
Co-author (with Bobby Jones) of "Down the Fairway" and "Goodbye to Golf"; member of Collier's 411-iimerica Football Board; noted sports authority and columnist for the Atlanta Journal.
Who'll be the champions of 1940? Look for the men with something on the ball . . . the men who've added brains to strength and speed . . . who've made a fine art of what was once an accident.
An old story? No. Baseball was about 30 years old before pitchers learned how to put something on the ball. Soon fadeaways, spitballs, emery balls, shine balls, fingernail balls and knuckle balls were wrecking batting averages on every diamond in the country.
What did it? Science got busy. The uni¬versity professors demonstrated that it was all a matter of air pressure. When you throw a ball forward without any spin, the air is churned up behind it, and suddenly creates pressures one way or another that put the ball off its course. Thus, the sharp, deadly, unpredictable break of the spitball.
Throw the ball forward with a spin, and some¬thing else happens. One side of the ball (say, the left) is turning backward, so it moves easily through the air. The other side (the right) is turning forward, against the air. This piles up the air pressure on the right side, and pushes the ball to the left.
In other words, a spinning ball follows its nose. If the nose is spinning to the left, the ball curves left. If the nose spins upward, the ball will be an upcurve. A down-spin causes a drop.
Outcurve, incurve, upcurve, drop. Seems simple, doesn't it? It isn't. Ask the mighty Giants, who stood and swung helplessly all one sunny afternoon in 1925, while Walter Johnson curled bewitched balls tirelessly across the plate. And when the "Big Train" smoked that last pitch in, the stands' roar was tribute to one thing—"something on the ball."
It goes for golf, too. Remember the shot that helped win the 1937 Open for Ralph Guldahl? It came on the short 13th at Oakland Hills. Guldahl's Number 6 iron dropped the ball four inches from the flag—a birdie 2!* He says it is the best short shot he ever made.
Something on the ball. That's what's mak¬ing the champions today—yes, even in football, as any coach will tell you.
In last year's pro championship football game it was the educated fingers of Green Bay's Arnie Herber that rifled a bullet-like pass between two Giants straight into the arms of a waiting end to give the Packers the lead that spelled victory.
Go indoors—watch Joe Falcaro, outstand¬ing match game bowler of America—if you want to see something on the ball. He'll tell you it's spin that does it’s spin that sends the pins tumbling in all directions, avoiding the heart-breaking "splits" that wreck scores.
And when you come to tennis—just think of Vincent Richards, whose terrific service and dazzling assortment of spins, chop-strokes, forehand and backhand smashes made him a leading star of the net world for over two decades. Among many tennis "greats", he personifies this ability to put "something on the ball".
Have they reached the limit—these artists of sport ?
Not by a long shot. On every baseball dia¬mond, golf course, tennis court and gridiron, you'll find athletes studying new and ever-dizzier ways to put something else on the
ball. And the one who has most on the ball—Well, he's your champion for 1940!
Just as every sport has its champion, there's a leader in beer, too—a champion with "some-thing on the ball."
It's Schlitz. And today it's an even finer Schlitz—a beer to honor the memorable vic¬tories, to celebrate the great occasions of life!
If you have not tried it—hurry! In just two or thiee minutes from now you can learn how really good a bottle of beer can be. Behind that new, distinguished cream, gold and brown label you'll find such a flavor and savor . . . such glorious freshness and cleanness of taste as you've never known before.
You will recognize that the Schlitz process, removing air from the bottle an instant before the beer flows in, protects its famous flavor right up to the moment you drink it.
So why not try it today? And have it ready always for the Great Occasions that call for the finest the world affords.
JOE FALCARO has bowled 49 perfect (300) games — holds match game record for3o games with a 255 average and has rolled 33 consecutive strikes!
ARNIE HERBER —holder of pro records for most passes completed and most yards gained from passes; star of Green Bay Packers.
VINCENT RICHARD —First Ameri¬can Professional Tennis Champion; winner of io championships includ¬ing national and Wimbledon events.
RALPH GULDAHL —two consecutive National Open Championships, 1937,
"Something on the Ball"—it made WALTER JOHNSON one of baseball's immortals. He struck out 3400...