(Columbia Daily Tribune, April 21, 1954)
If Coach John Simmons fails to get a quorum at the Missouri Tigers' practice session today, he'll probably take it in good stride.
Two Bengal teams exhausted themselves yesterday afternoon in manhandling a hapless Sedalia Air Base outfit, 24-1, in a weird orgy that included everything but suspense.
Even Simmons' attempts to show mercy proved futile. In the fifth inning he replaced every man in the lineup except catcher George Gleason and the Tigers' second-stringers staged an eight-run outburst in the seventh for the benefit of the few hardy souls who were still in the stands.
Things got out of hand more quickly than in Monday's game, which the Tigers won, 11-3. The Bengals took a 3-0 lead in the first inning, then sent 11 men to the plate in both the third and fourth as they built up a 18-0 margin.
Missouri's 24 runs came on 13 hits, 11 walks, five errors, 12 stolen bases, and assorted wild pitches, passed balls, and other Sedalia misfortunes.
Outfielder Jerry Schoonmaker hit his third homer of the season in the fourth and Jack Gabler, who replaced Buddy Cox at second base, hit a round tripper in the seventh. In three official times at bat for the season, Gabler has two doubles and a homer.
Norman Stewart, Tom Saunders and Bert Beckmann did the pitching for Missouri and held the airmen to three hits. The lone run came off Saunders in the sixth on John Mancuso's double and Charles Kreuger's single. Stewart was the winner.
Ball the Same, Just Better Hitters Today
By Whitney Martin
Mickey Mantle hits the centerfield wall 470 feet from home plate at Yankee Stadium.
Duke Snider's blow bounces off the railing in the upper stand, 393 feet away, at Ebbets Field.
Willie Mays punches the ball into the upper-center stand at the Polo Grounds, well past the 400-foot mark.
So it won't be long now before we get the annual accusation that the ball has been hopped up, and if it isn't all rabbit at least has been dipped in a rabbit stew.
It could be we have more young men who can hit the long ball today. The young fellows are bigger than their dads, that's all.
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