Sport: Equinoctial Climax

(See front cover)

Crack! Thrown by the Boston centerfielder, the ball hit the catcher's mitt in the same split-second that Travis Jackson of the New York Giants slid for the plate. An instant later, a cloud of dust, settling slowly in the bright September sun, revealed the emphatic figure of Umpire George Magerkurth leaning toward the plate with his hand pointed toward the ground, palm down.

Loudly questioned by the Boston crowd, the Boston press and the Boston team, which swarmed angrily out onto the field, that gesture last week was highly significant. It...