SCHOOLBOY JOHNSON

. . . was a young diamond tyro on the Dodgers team. A truculent, credible, uncertain boy, he antagonized the pros on his own and opposition teams. Only the daughter of aging Roy Tucker, a savvy Dodgers team-mate, understood that it was fear and inexperience that dictated the belligerence, the sulks and sparking temper which imperilled every game. Speedy Mason, whose great baseball career was waning, overlooked the insults of Schoolboy, his roommate, to groom Schoolboy for the crucial inning which meant the pennant for the team. In the tightest inning of the big game, Speedy Mason's efforts and his girl's faith help Schoolboy toward a performance seasoned with superior skill and cool judgment. The romance between the cantankerous rookie and the level headed daughter of a veteran Dodger, is tender and ironic, while the sports story is taut. Another home run for John R. Tunis, who has been a baseball story champ for a long time.