REB RUSSELL

THE LAST ONE FOR 86 YEARS
Reb Russell shuts down the Babe and the Sox

July 13, 1918 ...  Powerless before the curves and hesitation ball of Reb Russell, a member of that select southpaw circle, that invariably has something on the Red Sox, the home team was whitewashed today 5 to 0.

Babe Ruth went hitless. He must be in a batting slump.  He has been lambasting the ball to every corner of the ballpark since the Red Sox have come home, but could not slide a hit of any sort through the slick defense that the White Sox offered.

Everybody in the big crowd was waiting for him to slip one over, but he was up four times, and on the first two occasions grounded out. The next time Russell struck him out and his effort on the last trip was a long high fly ball to Eddie Murphy.

Joe Bush, pitched for the Sox and was rammed hard. Chicago got 12 base hits while Russell was holding the Fenway boys to only seven scattered singles. Russell had swell control and did not issue a pass. Only one of the Red Sox got as far as third-base and only three of them second. Russell's hesitation, or slow ball, crawled up to the plate tantalizingly and proved effective, yet a fine assortment of books and other things helped his work. He clearly is as good as ever.

In the third inning, after one was out, Sam Agnew and Joe Bush singled, and it looked like the Red Sox were starting something. Eddie Collins came to Reb's rescue however, making a sensational one-handed stop of a ball that Harry Hooper was shooting toward right, and throwing the Red Sox captain out of first. The base runners advanced, but the side went runless, as Dave Shean drove along fly to Shano Collins.

What appeared like a prospective Red Sox rally was snuffed out rapidly in the eighth inning. Joe Bush singled to center and advanced when Swede Risberg fumbled Harry Hooper's bounder. As Dave Shean smashed a liner to left, Bush started for third. But Liebold pulled down the liner and doubled up Joe before he could get back to second.

Buck Weaver scored the first run for the visitors in the fourth. He singled to open the inning and took second when McMullen laid a nice bunt down the third base line that stayed fair. The babe lost the throw from Everett Scott in trying to completed doubleplay, Weaver scoring as Babe was pursuing the ball.

The White Sox scored two in the fifth, when Nemo Liebold started it off with a single. He was forced at second by Eddie Collins and moved up on Swede Risberg's singled to center. Sam Agnew tried to pick Collins off second, but made a low throw and both Collins and Risberg advanced one base. A single to center by Shano Collins scored them both to make it 3-0.

Russell's double over Harry Hooper's head and Murphy single, gave Chicago a run in the seventh and in the eighth, with one out Risberg singled, Shano hit one by Bush and Weaver's hit drove Risberg home for their fifth run.

The Red Sox have won five out of seven games played this week and have now beaten the White Sox eight out of eleven times the season.

Former Red Sox pitcher Dutch Leonard took the Wilmington, Delaware nine to camp today, working on the mound for the Fore River Shipyard in a Steel League game. He allowed only five hits, striking out eight and shutting out the visitors 7-0.