Part 14 (1/2)

=238. Football.=--The following is a typical football story:

=ARMY DEFEATS NAVY=

It was just as the gray cloaked lads from West Point

chanted in lugubrious measure before the game:

Go-oo-od Night, Nayvee!

Go-oo-od Night, Navy!

Go-oo-od Night--Na-ay-ve-ee!

The Army wins to-day!

They put into the chorus all the pathos, all the

long-sustained notes, all the tonsorial-parlor

chords of which it is capable, and those, as you

know, are many.

And the Army boys, sitting in a fog which in hue

just about matched their capes and caps, called the

turn correctly with their vocal prediction.

It was ”Good Night, Navy!” to the tune of 14 points

to 0.

The youngsters from the west bank of the Upper

Hudson were triumphant in their twentieth annual

battle with the mids.h.i.+pmen from Annapolis by two

touchdowns and their concomitant goals, one in the

first period of play, the other in the third. The

count of games now stands ten for the Army, nine for

the Navy, and one tie.

President Wilson, in a topper that got wet, and with

a beaming face that was sprinkled with mist and

raindrops, watched the fight and stayed until the

final wild whoop from the last departing cadet had

sounded through the semi-darkness that fell upon the

Polo Grounds along toward 4:30 p.m.

Mrs. Edith Bolling Galt, who soon is to be Mrs.

Wilson, was present with her winsome smile and her

white furs and her lavender orchids--fortunately,

you could see her even through the haze--by the

President's side.

And then there were some forty thousand others,

whose ranks in life ranged down from cabinet

officers and generals and admirals to ordinary

civilians, who dug as deep--some of them--as $20 a

seat for the privilege.

Yet, do you suppose that President Wilson or any

official was the hero of the day?

We are as loyal a Democrat as anybody else, but NO.

Or do you fancy that the former belle of Wytheville,

Va., who is within the month to be the First Lady of

the Land, was the person toward whom all eyes were

directed during most of the afternoon?

There were considerable numbers of field gla.s.ses

focused upon the white furs and the lavender

orchids and winsome smile. But again the reply

is emphatically NO.

The leading character, the person who ought to

figure away up in the top of the headlines, the one

whose name was spoken more frequently than any

other, was a rough, rugged, short, stocky, right

half-back named Elmer Oliphant, who, according to

Army statistics, is twenty-two years old, stands 5

feet 7 inches in alt.i.tude, weighs 163 pounds, and

hails from Indiana.

Ollie was the boy. Before the first period of the

game was more than half over, there was a fumble by

a Navy back and an Army man fell upon the ball only

eight yards away from the goal line of the

mids.h.i.+pmen.

There was the crash of an Army back against the Navy

line, and just a little weakening. There was another

impact of a cadet against a wall that was almost but

not quite solid. There remained about two or three

yards to go.

Ollie was hurled in. He took the ball, sought coolly

for the weakest spot he might find in a line that

was almost impregnable at the moment, and then,

instantly finding what he wanted, twisted his way

backward through left tackle and fell across the

chalk mark for a touchdown.

The way the rest of the Army boys sank their fists

into Ollie's broad back when he got up, you'd have

thought he'd be in no shape for any other position

than lying flat upon a stretcher. But he came calmly

away from the tumult of congratulation, and as soon

as he could kick the mud from between his

shoe-cleats he booted the ball over the cross-bar

for a goal.

Throughout the rest of that period, and throughout

all the next, we may skip Ollie. All he did was run

around ends for distances varying from five to

twenty yards, and plunge through the Annapolis line

with from two to four men attached to his neck,

arms, legs and back, and tear up, despite these

handicaps, more earth than one of those tractor

ploughs the Flivver Man is going to put on the

market after he settles the European war.

Jump to the third session of the game. This was

scarcely under way before a long forward pa.s.s from

the Navy was grabbed on the Annapolis 45-yard line

by McEwen, the agile West Point center. He ran it

back twenty-five yards and when the ball finally

came to rest on the muddy field with half a dozen

Middies piled atop of Mac, it reposed just back of

the Navy goal-line.

Gray dominated throughout the day, physically as

well as sentimentally. If ever there was a sodden,

cheerless, disheartening afternoon for the battle of

the two arms of the service, yesterday was the one.

Luck is with the boys, usually. The golden suns.h.i.+ne

usually glints off the gold of braid and b.u.t.tons.

The nicest looking girls that ever a.s.sembled within

the confines of any particular area of s.p.a.ce turn

out and smile and put lofty notes into the

atmosphere with their giddy gowns and hats. There's

snap and verve and pepperino in the very air.

But for the first time in a long while the weather

forbade all this sort of thing yesterday. From early

morning a fog-blanket, wafted in from the Atlantic,

hung over the town. Now and then it rained. And when

you thought maybe it would clear off it rained

again. The good old golosh was brought out of the

spare bedroom closet and placed upon even the

fairest of feet. The old brown raincoat was dragged

forth into the light of day and placed above the

gayest of garments.

No girl was so foolish as to take a chance on the

ruin of her apparel by doing without a moisture

shedder of some sort. And not a general or admiral

or member of a governor's staff or other person

holding the right to wear a uniform was so

intensely proud as to expose his ornamentation

uncovered and take a risk at pneumonia.

It was, as a matter of fact, a pretty drab-looking

crowd that began to file into the Polo grounds a

little after noon. You can't get much local color

out of a gum shoe and a mackintosh....

=The Game Play by Play=

It was 2.15 when the navy squad ploughed through the

mud to the center of the gridiron. The Navy stands

upheaved and the mids.h.i.+pmen sent their battle cry

ringing across the field. Almost on the heels of the

Navy squad came the Army players and a great shout

went up from the Army stands. Each team ran through

signals for a few minutes and then the Navy won the

toss and chose the east goal.

Coffin put the ball into play at 2:20 when he kicked

off to the Navy. Craig caught the ball on his

25-yard line and ran it back ten yards before he was

hurled into the mud. Davis tore off seven yards

through the right side of the Army line and Westphal

skirted the Army's left end for ten yards and a

first down.

Here the Army forwards held and crushed the Navy

back a yard. On the next down the mids.h.i.+pmen punted,

but gained only five yards. Oliphant tried an end

run from a kick formation, but failed to gain, and

the Army punted, Coffin driving the ball to the

Navy's 43-yard line.

Westphal fought a path for five yards, but then the

Army defense held, and Von Heimberg kicked to

Gerhardt on the Army's 10-yard line. The cadet

quarterback flashed back thirty yards before he was

driven out of bounds and brought to earth. A stab at

the line failed to gain for the cadets and Coffin

punted to Craig.

The ball sailed far down the field and the Navy

quarterback had to run back a few yards to get under

it. But he did not get back quite far enough. As the

ball dropped he saw he had misjudged it and threw

his arms up to grasp the pigskin. His fingers

clutched at it, slipped off, and the ball dropped to

the gridiron as the Army forwards swooped down the

field.

Capt. Weyand was in the lead and his greedy fingers

s.n.a.t.c.hed the ball before Craig could get his

bearings. It was the Army's ball and only eight

yards from a touchdown. The mids.h.i.+pmen chorused to

the Navy line to hold. And the line did its best,

but its best was not good enough to throw back the

Army's battering attack. Oliphant jammed his way two

yards and on the next play drove through the

desperately fighting Navy line within a few feet of

the goal line.

Here the Navy showed a flash of power that sent the

mids.h.i.+pmen to frenzied shouting. Oliphant on his

third smash into the line was hurled back for a yard

loss. The next try made the fourth down and with the

cadet band blaring and the cadets shouting

themselves hoa.r.s.e Oliphant made his fourth drive

against the Navy forwards.

It was a lunge that carried the concentrated power

of the Army eleven yards behind it and it spelled a

touchdown for the cadets. Oliphant with several Navy

players clutching him stormed well over the line for

the first score of the game. He promptly kicked the

goal from touchdown and the scoreboard read: Army 7,

Navy 0.

This was the signal for the Army to break into the

song, ”Good Night, Navy.” They were still singing

when Coffin kicked off for the Army....[28]

[28] Joseph J. O'Neil in the _New York World_, November 28, 1915.

This story may be examined critically--and imitated--for its excellence in centering the reader's interest upon the football hero, Oliphant,--a stroke which gives the article almost a short story unity of impression.

The writer's s.h.i.+ft from the game and the crowd to Oliphant is somewhat rough--note, for instance, ”We are as loyal a Democrat as anybody else, but NO,”--but otherwise the story is good.

=239. Getting Players' Names.=--When reporting a football game, one can best follow and take notes on the plays by knowing the players by number. In big games this is made easy by the numerals on the football men's backs. On the smaller elevens this is not done, a difficulty which the reporter can overcome, however, by numbering the positions according to the regulation lineup. Thus:

5.LE RE.11 2.LHB 6.LT RT.10 RHB.3 7.LG RG. 9 1.FB 4.QB 8. C C. 8 QB.4 FB.1 9.RG LG. 7 3.RHB 10.RT LT. 6 LHB.2 11.RE LE. 5

Then in taking running notes during the game, one has to write only, ”4 around 5 10 yds.,” ”2 through 7-8 to 20-yd. line,” etc., filling in the names of the players after each half.

=240. Basket-ball.=--The accepted method of reporting a basket-ball game is much like that of football. Because in basket-ball the scores run high and the relative standings of the opposing teams are constantly s.h.i.+fting, it is customary in detailed accounts to give the exact score of each team at the end of every quarter. The following is a terse story of a game:

=BOYS' HIGH WINS CITY t.i.tLE=

The Boys' High School captured the city basketball

champions.h.i.+p of the Public Schools Athletic League

by defeating the Bushwick High School on the

former's court yesterday by a score of 18 to 17. It

was the second defeat sustained by Bushwick, the

other reverse being administered by Eastern

District, which, however, was downed by Boys' High.

The ending was a sad one for the Bushwick team.

The Bushwick team showed good sportsmans.h.i.+p by

failing to enter a protest when it was alleged that

the final whistle was blown ten seconds too soon.

The matter was put before Mr. Aldinger, the referee,

who decided the game officially ended.

Boys' High came through with a strong finish. At the

opening of the game it scored four points before

Bushwick finally entered the scoring column. The

game was bitterly fought until the end of the first

half, which found Boys' High holding an average of 6

to 4.

In the second half Bushwick launched an attack that

soon placed it in front by a score of 15 to 9. Boys'

High then carried the fight into the enemy

territory, and, with successive field goals by

Bolotovsky, Gindee and Bonoff, the score was tied at

15-all.

The score then seesawed until Bolotovsky shot the

winning point with a free goal from the foul line.

The line-up follows:

BOYS' HIGH BUSHWICK

Fd.g Fl.g. P.

Fd.g Fl.g. P.

Bolotovsky, rf 4 4 12

Robinson, rf 2 0 4

Gindee, lf 1 0 2

Edelstein, lf 2 3 7

Bonoff, c 2 0 4

Cherry, c 3 0 6

Brown, rg 0 0 0

Dorff, rg 0 0 0

Ratner, lg 0 0 0

Billig, lg 0 0 0

----------

----------

Totals 7 4 18

Totals 7 3 17

Referee--Aldinger, H. S. of Commerce. Time of

halves, 15 minutes each.[29]

[29] _New York Tribune_, March 4, 1917.

In reporting a basket-ball game it is difficult to record the plays accurately unless one knows the contestants or they are numbered. The men s.h.i.+ft their positions too quickly and constantly. To be accurate, the reporter should have a seat next to the scorer or else between two students or friends of the opposing players, so that whichever side makes a basket or an error, the reporter can get the player's name instantly.

=241. Track.=--Reporting a track meet is easier than baseball, football, or basket-ball since the events are run off slowly and all the results are announced to the grandstand. The following story of the 1917 meet of the Intercollegiate a.s.sociation of America at Philadelphia is a good ill.u.s.tration:

=RECORDS MADE AT INDOOR MEET=

Cornell and Yale, as usual, shared the top honors at

the third annual indoor track and field meet of the

Intercollegiate a.s.sociation of America, held last

night before a crowd of 6,000 persons at the

Commercial Museum in this city. The feature event of

the early part of the program was a three-lap relay

race between the Ithacans, Pennsylvania and State

College. Crim, who ran anchor for Cornell over the

last 538 yards, beat Scudder, of Penn, by an inch,

the Quaker falling under the tape exhausted. In this

event Cornell hung up a new record for the

collegiate indoor meets by covering the three laps

in four minutes, twenty seconds, two seconds better

than last year, when Penn won.

In the six-lap relay race, where each of the men ran

1056 yards, Yale romped home an easy winner, John

Overton beating Marion s.h.i.+elds, of Penn State, with

yards to spare. Pennsylvania, the third team

entered, finished in that position.

Yale sent an army of star timber-toppers down for

the fifty-yard high hurdle event. John V. Farwell,

captain of the Eli's track team, equaled the

American amateur indoor record by covering the

distance in seven seconds.

Richards, of Cornell, won individual honors in the

sixteen-pound shot-put with a throw of 42 feet,

8-3/10 inches, while Cornell's team average was 40

feet, 2-3/10 inches.

The Cornell entries in the late events swept

everything before them. Coach Jack Moakley's

long-distance runners won the twelve-lap relay in

the fast time of 22 minutes, 7-2/5 seconds, beating

last year's record of 23 minutes, 13-4/5 seconds.

The Ithacans also cleaned up in the running broad

jump with a team average of 20 feet, 9 and 1/16

inches. Culbertson carried off the individual honors

with a leap of 21 feet, 3 and 3/4 inches.

The graduate relay race proved the most interesting

event on the card. When the anchor men of Penn,

Dartmouth, and Cornell started on the last four laps

Riley, of Dartmouth, was leading ”Ted” Meredith by

fifteen yards, with Caldwell, the former Ithacan,

trailing five yards in the rear of Meredith. Penn's

former captain brought the crowd to its feet by

overtaking Riley in the last ten yards. No time was

taken. Summaries:

Three-lap relay race--Won by Cornell (Shelton,

Windnagle, Acheson, Crim); second, Penn (Lennon,

Walker, Dorsey, Scudder); third, Penn State

(Whiting, Krall, Enoch, Cottom). Time, 4 min., 20

sec. (New indoor collegiate record).

50-yard hurdles--Won by Yale (Rodman, Davis, Offutt

and Farwell), 14 points; second, Cornell (J. M.

Watt, Cleminshaw, Pratt and Elsas), 10 points;

third, Princeton (Crawford, H. R. Watt, Erdman, and

Buzby), 6 points.

Six-lap relay--Won by Yale (Rolfe, Ireland, Cooper

and Overton); second, Penn State (Shea, Foster,

Whiting and s.h.i.+elds); third, Pennsylvania (Norriss,

Price, Scudder and Humphreys). Time, 9 min., 59-4/5

sec.

16-pound shot-put--Won by Cornell (Richards, 42 ft.

8-3/10 in.; Gillies, 39 ft. 11-1/2 in.; Howell, 41

ft. 5 in.; Schoof, 36 ft. 10-7/8 in.), team average,

40 ft. 2-3/10 in.; second, Princeton (Sinclaire, 44

ft. 9-1/2 in.; Cleveland 41 ft. 1-3/8 in.; Nourse,

34 ft. 8 in.; Ginnert 35 ft. 1-1/4 in.), team

average, 38 ft. 6-8/10 in.; third, Penn (Wray, 30

ft. 10-1/4 in.; Paul, 32 ft. 3-3/4 in.; Royer,

31 ft. 5-5/8 in.; Swann, 32 ft. 2-3/4 in.), team

average, 31 ft. 6-5/10 in.

Running broad jump--Won by Cornell (Culbertson, 21

ft. 3-3/4 in.; Richards, 21 ft. 1/2 in.; Shackelton,

20 ft. 10-1/2 in.; Harrison, 19 ft. 9-1/2 in.), team

average, 20 ft. 9-1/16 in.; second, Pennsylvania

(Jones, 20 ft. 10-3/4 in.; Bertolet, 20 ft. 7 in.;

Buckholtz, 20 ft. 1/2 in.; Walter 19 ft. 9 in.),

team average, 20 ft. 3-13/16 in. No third team.[30]

[30] _Philadelphia Public Ledger_, March 4, 1917.

=242. Golf.=--In reporting golf matches probably the best method is to lead with rather a full summary--a half-dozen paragraphs if necessary--telling the results, the character of the playing, the kind of weather, the condition of the links, and something about the compet.i.tors, then to follow with a detailed story of the game hole by hole. In the following story note that the length, the par, and the relative standing of the players is given on each hole. Note too that a numerical summary is made every nine holes.

=EVANS WINS GREAT MATCH=

Charles Evans, Jr., of the Edgewater Golf Club,

twice winner of the Western amateur golf

champions.h.i.+p, to-day defeated Ned Sawyer of the

Wheaton Golf Club 2 and 1 in the semi-final match

for the great All-Western t.i.tle. To-morrow Evans

will meet in the 36-hole finals James Standish, Jr.,

of the Detroit Golf Club, whom he defeated for the

same t.i.tle last year at the Kent Country Club.

Standish won his way into the finals by defeating

H. P. Bingham, of the Mayfield Club, to-day in a

lop-sided contest, the match ending on the thirtieth

green, 7 and 6.

The Evans-Sawyer duel to-day was a grueling struggle

and from all points one of the greatest in the

history of the Western cla.s.sic. It sparkled like

carbonated water as compared with the rather flat

matches of yesterday.

Fought in balmy weather under almost perfect

conditions, the contest afforded, from start to

finish, plenty of thrills to the gallery of 2,000

followers. Old timers conceded it the best match

ever fought on Ohio soil. Each player had 74 in the

morning, while Evans had approximately 72 in the

afternoon.

Fourteen of the thirty-five holes were won under par

figures, ten were won at par, and two were ties

under par, leaving only two holes at which both

players were really ragged.

Sawyer shot remarkably fine golf in the out round of

the morning and at the tenth hole was 4 up, but from

this point Evans began to whittle down the lead.

Although Chick got on even terms four times, it was

not until the sixteenth hole in the afternoon that

he led, and the next hole saw him winner.

The score by holes follows:

=Scores by Holes=

=Hole 1 (385 yds., par 4).= Sawyer pulled his drive

into a trap from which he dug only to drop into

another at the left of the green. His chip shot hit

the bank and he was just on the green in 4. Evans

was 60 feet from the pin on his second, but his weak

approach putt gave him a 5. Sawyer took three putts

and counted a 7 for the first hole. Evans 1 up.

=Hole 2 (310 yds., par 4).= Evans pulled his tee

shot, but got a fair lie. His approach pitch was

short. Sawyer got 250 yards on his drive, pitched

eight feet short, and holed an uphill putt for a

win, 3-4. All square.

=Hole 3 (445 yds., par 5).= Two wonderful wooden

shots landed Sawyer eight feet from the pin, where

he missed his putt for a 3 and kicked the ball in

for a 4, one under par. Evans pulled his drive to

the rough from which he made a woeful pull with his

cleek to the weeds guarding the right of the

fairway. He was 20 yards short of the green on his

third and lost, 5-4. Sawyer 1 up.

=Hole 4 (170 yds., par 3).= This hole was halved in

3, the features being Sawyer's 30-foot, downhill

putt and Chick's miss of a two-foot putt. Sawyer 1

up.

=Hole 5 (325 yds., par 4).= Evans was wild again

from the tee, his drive being sliced to the brook

where he got a lie on the slaty bottom. He banged

out a high shot with his niblick, but went over the

green to the rough and was short on his return.

Sawyer was fifteen feet from the hole on his second

and won, 4-5. Sawyer 2 up.

=Hole 6 (515 yds., par 5).= From the high sixth tee

Evans pulled a low drive to the trees. He made a

great out with his mas.h.i.+e, being lucky in escaping

the trees. Sawyer lined out two of his regulation

wooden shots and was twelve feet from the flag on

his second. Evans heeled his long mas.h.i.+e shot to the

right of the green, from which he missed his four

and conceded the hole, Sawyer being dead in 3.

Sawyer 3 up.

=Hole 7 (310 yds., par 4).= Evans left his unruly

driver in the bag and played a cleek shot for the

seventh hole, Sawyer outdriving him forty yards.

Chick's pitch took a bad bound, but stopped eight

feet from the hole. Sawyer's pitch ran entirely

across the green. Evans's putt just trickled into

the cup, winning for him, 3-4. Sawyer 2 up.

=Hole 8 (145 yds., par 3).= Both pitched to the

green. Sawyer putted dead and laid Evans a dead

stymie. In attempting the five-foot slanting putt,

Chick knocked Sawyer's ball into the hole, losing

2-4. Sawyer 3 up.

=Hole 9 (435 yds., par 5).= Both got straight drives

into a driving wind at the long ninth. Two perfectly

played iron shots met with unmerited punishment,

both b.a.l.l.s touching the top of the hill and running

over the fast green into a trap. Both missed rainbow

putts for fours and halved in 5. Sawyer 3 up at the

turn.

Cards:

Evans 5 4 5 3 5 5 3 4 5--39

Sawyer 7 3 4 3 4 4 4 2 5--36

=243. Tennis.=--In reporting tennis matches one may use the following as an acceptable guide. The summary by sets at the end of the story in all probability was obtained from the scorer.

=JOHNSTON WINS CHAMPIONs.h.i.+P=

William M. Johnston inscribed his name upon the

cla.s.sic national tennis singles champions.h.i.+p most

impressively yesterday, using a forehand stroke that

left no dispute as to his right to the t.i.tle. The

young player, who two seasons ago was hailed as the

successor to Maurice E. McLoughlin, made good the

prediction by the score of 1-6, 6-0, 7-5, 10-8,

while thousands cheered the vanquished McLoughlin

and the new holder of the highest honors of the

American courts. It was a memorable battle and an

inspiring scene at the climax on the field of the

West Side Tennis Club, at Forest Hills, L.I., when

the two men fighting for a sporting honor, and

fighting with all that was in them, almost collapsed

at the end, and hoisted on the shoulders of their

comrades, with the cheers of the 7,000 spectators

ringing in their ears, were carried from the field.

While the homage paid to Johnston for winning one of

the greatest matches the All Comers' tournament has

ever known in its thirty-five years was sincere and

true, still on all sides there was regret that

McLoughlin, the hero who overwhelmed Norman E.

Brooks and the late Anthony F. Wilding in the great

Davis Cup matches last year, would not have the

permanent possession of the All Comers' Cup on which

his name is twice inscribed.

It was not the same McLoughlin who stood in the

court yesterday that overwhelmed the famous

Australasians a year ago. Time had taken something

from his game, and as ever youth must be served. In

this instance it fairly leaped to its reward. Except

for the first set and the briefest of intervals

thereafter, Johnston was always the master of his

mighty adversary. He knew the game of his opponent,

and as in the ancient days when Greek met Greek, it

was the dynamic power, resourcefulness, and stroke

of Californian against Californian, with no quarter

asked or given. Two months before the two had played

for the Exposition champions.h.i.+p at San Francisco,

and at that time McLoughlin had carried the match

and t.i.tle after five of the hardest sets which the

tournament produced. Then ”The Comet” was on his old

field of asphalt with the ball bounding so high that

he could bring off his overhanders and where such a

thing as ground strokes were unknown.

Probably never in all the years of the historic All

Comers has a player displayed such phenomenal

command of the ball with a forehand stroke. There

were many competent judges present yesterday who

declared that its equal was not to be found on the

courts anywhere....

It was a stroke that stood the test, for no less

than eight times in the fourth set was Johnston

within a point of claiming the All Comers as his own

when McLoughlin made thrilling stands as of old, and

pushed the victory on a little further. When he

moved up to the net in the ever-flas.h.i.+ng rallies all

the power and certainty of Johnston's forehand came

into action. Alert, with the eye of an eagle that

saw every move and the flight of the ball as

McLoughlin drove it at him with all his might, the

younger player whipped the returns into the corners.

He was like a cat on his feet, quick and sure, never

making a false move. There were times when he

nipped the best drives that the Comet sent over, and

turned them back for pa.s.ses. Repeatedly McLoughlin

overhanded the ball for what to him seemed a certain

ace, so that he relaxed and dropped his racquet to

rest, as if the point were finished. Johnston made

his recovery, however, and sending the ball back

found McLoughlin off his guard and so scored the

point.

The cross volleys into the corners, the spots that

had proved so profitable against Williams on the

previous day, were the chief bit of manoeuvring

that electrified the crowd. As Johnston played it,

it was as irresistible as trying to check the march

of time. He sent the ball into the left-hand corner

of McLoughlin's court like a bolt of chain

lightning. In order to play the ball with any

success McLoughlin usually danced around it for a

forehand shot, which put him wide of the court.

Calmly stepping in to meet it, Johnston crossed with

ever-increasing pace into the opposite corner. It

was run, run, run for McLoughlin if he wanted the

ball. He was on the defensive, and it was a

position, as in all of his matches, in which he does

not scintillate. So relentlessly was the younger