Scientist Says Baseball's
A Missile; But, Batters
Have Known It All Along
Cleveland-Science Service-
A baseball, often described
as the world's most popular
unguided missile, is subject
to many of the factors that
work on a ballastic missile.
For example, cold, dry air
can rob long ball hitters of
home runs. This happens, Dr.
W. Milton Swanson of Case
Institute of Technology here
reports, because the air is
more dense on a cold, dry day
than on a hot humid day.
Under otherwise identical
conditions, this difference in
air density can result in a
discrepancy of 10 to 20 feet
in a ball hit 400 feet.
This means that pitchers
Vargas Due
In Portland
Portland - (DPD Mexican
' heavyweight contender Reu
ben Vargas was due in Port
land today to wind up train
ing for his nationally tele
visted bout with Eddie Mac
hen at the Centennial Exposi
tion arena next Wednesday.
Vargas will take his first
Portland workout at the
Grand Avenue Gym Saturday
at 2 p.m. Machen has planned
workouts for noon each day.
Reports from San Fran
cisco indicate that - Vargas
will be given a non-title fight
with heavyweight champion
Ingemar Johansson next fall
in Sweden if he stops Machen.
Aiacnen, a roruanaer wno
.-.was rated number one con
tender in the heavyweight
' out by Johansson last fall,
whipped Vargas in a S"an
Francisco bout last May. .
The videoed main event
will get underway at 6 p.m.
Wednesday with a 200-mile
area around Portland blacked
out.
Promoter Tommy- Moyer
has announced plans for two
supporting 10-round bouts, a
six-rounder, and a pair of
four-heat clashes.
have an advantage over bat
ters in the cool days of early
spring and towards the end
of the season. Batting aver
ages should rise, on the other
hand, during the hot humid
days of midsummer. At that
time, because of the less dense
air, the pitcher also has less
control of the baseball.
Weight also affects a soar
ing baseball just as it affects
any other ballistic missile, Dr.
Swanson, who is assistant pro
fessor of mechanical engineer
ing at Case, reports.
A baseball's weight causes
a natural drop in its flight of
three to four feet as it travels
the 60 and one-half feet from
the pitcher's mound to home
plate at gametime speeds of
70 to 90 miles an hour. This
difference is partly compen
sated for by placing the
mound three or four feet
higher than the bottom of the
strike zone at home plate.
Depending on its direction
of spin, Dr. Swanson reports,
a baseball can curve five to
eight inches in any direction.
Most pitchers can give a
ball a rotation of some 1,200
to 1,800 revolutions per min
ute. .Scientists are still not sure
whether a curve ball can
"break," says Dr. Swanson. A
good deal of what appears to
be a "break" may simply be
due to an optical illusion simi
lar to that seen when watch
ing an approaching train. In
the distance a train seems to
be moving at a relatively slow
speed, but the closer it comes,
the greater its speed appears.
During the last half of the
V of a second that a curve
ball is in the air, its path de-
SPORTS
Friday, July 17, 1939
MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, Or.
9
viation is twice as much as
during the first half. Thus, if
the ball actually curves seven
and a half inches during its
entire flight, it will curve five
inches during the last half of
its trip to the plate.
Since the last half of its
flight takes of a second, a
batter needs good reflexes to
be able to hit a curve ball at
all. If he misjudges the flight
of the ball by an inch or so,
he will hit an easy pop fly
or a grounder.
A knuckle ball does not ro
tate much and can move up
and down and from side to
side in a confusing manner,
This erratic movement, Dr,
Swanson says, is caused by
the irregular pattern of seams
on the non-rotating baseball
CAMPING-Shown above are campers at
Diamond lake, where the Medford YMCA
. conducts a summer- camping program for
boys. Registration for the week of .July
19-2 still are, being taken at the local Y.
Cost of the camp is $20 for YMCA members
with an additional $2 charge for non-members,
Y officials said. Transportation for
boys who do not have transportation avail
able will be arranged at the YMCA.
7A
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M&
143 S. RIVERSIDE
MEDFORD
Woods, Water, Wildlife
By Hank OeVoss
During the past few years
I have heard many complaints
from ' sportsmen regarding
policies of the Game Com
mission. Sometimes these com'
plaints are legitimate in that
there seems good cause for
-them but most of the time the
complaints seem to be an at
tempt to blame the Game
Commission for a lack of suc
cess at hunting and fishing,
A case in point is the open
ing day at Diampnd lake - a
couple of years ago when fish
ing was poor for most and the
story was that the Game Com
mission fed the fish tons of
hamburger the night before.
How this was accomplished
varied with the storyteller;
some claimed they saw barges
out in the lake and others
swore it was done by air
plane. All of them were cei-
tain that . they . didn't catch
fish because of the actions of
the Game Commission.
A SURE CURE
A sure cure for the type
of ignorance displayed by
many of the critics would
be to spend a day with one
of the resident biologists of
the Oregon Game Commis
sion and to experience some
of the problems, they have
to deal with every day. This
was my good fortune the
first of the week when I
spent a day with Cole
Rivers, the fish biologist for
Jackson and Josephine
counties. .
SCIENCE VS. GUESSING
One of the first reactions
I felt was how in the world
do you decide where to start
in trying to solve some of
these problems. Most of the
biologist's work is problem
solving because he knows so
little about the habit of fish
and their reactions to man's
manipulation of their habitat.
Sometimes we forget that this
field of work is less' than
twenty years old in Oregon
and that the guesses that most
sidewalk biologists think will
solve all problems won't work
for the man who can't afford
guessing. If he tries something
he has to do it as scientifical
ly as possible in order to
know what will and won't
work and why. This takes
time and is hard on the sports
men who want their answers
now.
BIG AND SMART
One of the most interest
ing things I experienced on
this field trip was watch
ing the removal of trapped
summer sleelhead to a tank
truck for transportation to
the Butte Falls hatchery.
These fish are bypassed into
a trap when they pass over
the counting board at Gold
Ray dam and this fisherman
got quite excited when he
saw the size of the fish.
Statistics show that the
average size - of summer
sleelhead caught on the
Rogue is about 16 inches.
The fish in the trap were all
larger than this and the
biggest was a 28 incher that
would pull the scales down
to 9 pounds quite easily.
These fish averaged about
22 inches and most of them
were in the five pounds
category. I asked Cole about
the size difference between
the fish caught by fisher
men and the ones in the
trap and he says that fisher
men just don't seem able to
hook into the big ones.
WARNING
Since these fish are to be
used for attempts to restock
the Rogue with summer steel
head I would think this a good
time to pass on a warning to
fishermen. If the fish pass on
their characteristics of being
hard to catch we are either
going to have a lot of summer
steelhead some day and also
a lot of frustrated fishermen
or we're going to have to be
better fishermen.
WILD FISH
It was quite exciting to
watch Cole get into the trap
and try to net these wild
fish. The net was made of
rubber in order to avoid
harming the fish and the
cramped quarters and fast'
rushes of the fish made for
- much splashing . and near
misses. When a fish was
netted it was put into a
small tank that contained
an anesthetic which knocked
the fish out long enough to
enable their being carried
to the waiting hatchery
truck. We all hoped they
had a safe journey and
would live to fullfill their
destiny of replenishing the
river with many large, fast
and smart fish.
ROGUE CHINOOK
While watching the salmon
moving up the ladder and
across the counting board I
asked Cole about the differ
ences between individual fish.
Some seemed much fatter
than others. I was told that
the heavier fish were the true
Rogue spring chinook while
the others were the results of
various plantings of fish from
other rivers. Looking at these
monsters made it easy to see
why fishermen came from all
over the world to catch them
and easyv to have reason to
fight for their continued ex-istance.
THE ANGLER'S LOG
The hot weather has slowed
things up here and there but
there are still plenty of fish
being caught and many, many
more there for the catching.
Diamond lake - Fishing is
good. Best catches are being
made trolling flatfish or flies.
Some limits are being, taken
and the largest fish so far
has been a 9 pounder 28
inches long.
Fish lake Has been very
good. Anything in 'the tackle
box seems to do" the job and
almost everybody is limiting
out. Boats and cabins are
available;
Four Mile lake Has been
fairly good. Kokanee are be
ing caught in water about 50
feet deep. Best method seems
to be stillfishing using a piece
of worm on the shank of the
hook with a cerise single egg
covering the bend and the
barb. Rainbows and brookies
are being taken trolling the
edges or by fly fishing early
and late.
Klamath lake - Fishing has
been good. ' Many large fish
are being taken. Frank Logan
of San Diego caught a 9V2,
7V and 7 pounder on an
Andy Reeker. John Driskell
of Brookings latched on to a
9 12 pounder ' using a A.R.
Perch and catfish up to a
pound are still . available.
Boats and cabins available by
call. .
Lake of the Woods - Has
been only fair. Some big fish
have been caught by stillfish
ing with single eggs.
Willow Creek - Has been
slow. Best method is flies in
late afternoon. Some fisher
men are having good luck
and are limiting out. Some
success with FF & flatfish.
Water is clear and. swimming
is good.
THE OPTIMIST'S CORNER
There are those who see
nothing but black clouds on
the horizon for the sports
men of Oregon but my feel
ing is one of optimism so
long as we have men like
Cole Rivers who are willing
to take long hours, little
pay and a lot of unjust
criticism in return for their
interesting work of trying
to provide us with better
fishing and hunting. The
success of their work also
hinges on how many of the
sportsmen of , Oregon be
come willing to see beyond
their own individual needs
to the point where they will
work for this belter hunting
and fishing.
GOOD LUCK!
Jack Curtis Hurls
A Wenatchee Win
By United Press International
Thirteen was the lucky
number f&r the Wenatchee
Chiefs Thursday night.
Jack Curtis was credited
with his 13th win of the sea
son as he twirled a neat five
hitter to lead Wenatchee to a
6-1 Northwest League base
ball victory over Yakima. The
win moved the Chiefs to with
in a half game of the league
leading Bears.
Curtis gave up the Bears'
only run in the first inning
and showed them zeros the
rest of the way. He struck out
eight and walked three.
Wenatchee hit the scoring
column in the third inning
when Jerry Mason hit a two
run double. Two runs in the
sixth inning and one each in
the seventh and eighth merely
insured the victory.
Other action saw Eugene
defeat Lewiston, 3-2, and Tri
City take Salem, 5-3.
, Eugene's John O r s i n o
tripled in the bottom of the
ninth inning and then raced
home on Mat Matlock's single
to give the Emeralds their
win over the Broncs. Lewis
ton had tied the count in the
top of the ninth with a two
run rally.
Gene Calder went; the dis
tance for Eugene, getting win
number 12 against seven de
feats. By defeating Salem, Tri
City moved to within a half
game of climbing out of the
league cellar. A two-run
homer by Mac Schmidt in
BARROW JOINS CATS
Fenelon Falls. Ont. - (UPD -
John Barrow, former Uni
versity of Florida tackle, has
signed a 1959 contract with (
the Hamilton Tiger Cats, a
Canadian professional foot
ball team. Barrow had been''
reported heading for the De-.'
troit Lions of" the National
Football League before com
ing to terms.
NO CENTS TO IT
Tampa. Fla. - (UPD - Police
insisted that John J. Eden
field, 43, pay his $15 bail on
a drunk charge by check. The
only cash Edenfield had with
him was 4,000 pennies, col-,
lected from the vending ma
chines he operates..
the third , inning was a big
blow for the Braves. Tri-City
won it in the fourth frame
when Twink Pederson
doubled aid later scored on a
sacrifice fly.
An Open Letter
to our Customers and Friends
Having anticipated the possibility of a steel strike,
which started at 12:00 o'clock midnight on July 14, 1959,
we have done everything' possible to procure adequate
stocks to care for the needs of the area we serve. However,
should it be prolonged, as many think.it will, inventories
will of. necessity be drastically cut. ' ' . . ..
We have had the pleasure of serving industry in this
area for 10 years, and will do everything possible to take
care of your steel requirements. Even though steel pro
ducts will become short in supply, we will maintain our
present prices unless there is a nation wide increase.
If you have a need for steel products, please call
Moore Steel Service Company Incorporated, 741 South
Grape, Medford, Oregon. Phone SP 2-7197.
Yours very truly,
R. E. Mencke
V. P. and General Manager
W $cnz9j
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