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1312JDNAHYEAH
FDR CHAMPION
FIGHTERS
L
By Ed. W. Smith.
year 1912 will ro down
I into sporting history as one
*■ of the most disastrous ever
know n as far as the upste of pugll
istic idols, champions and near
champions is concerned. Two
world's champions had their titles
taken away from them and eight
more champions of restricted ter
ritory were upset and beaten, al
though some of them did not lose
their titles through the defeats.
When the word “disastrous" is
used it Is merely from the view
point of the defeated ’ men. <>f
Course the year will be found en
tireh enjoyable by the fortunate
men who upset th' champions. But
the defeat of a champion usually is
disastrous to the general betting
public, which invariably makes it a
point of backing the man on top.
Wolgast Leads Disaster.
The biggest upset of the year, of
course, was the trimming handed
nut to Ad Wolgast by Willie
Ritchie, the San Francisco stat.
Little less surprising was the de
feat of Ahi Attcil at the hands of
Johnny Kilbane for the feather
weight title.
Then there was the defeat of
Georges Carpentier, tin French
middleweight star, w ho claimed the
championship of Europe, at the
hands of Billy Papke.
This followed the defeat by Car
pentier of Jim Sullivan, the Eng
lish middleweight champion.
Matt Wells, champion of Eng
land's lightweights, w«is compelled
to hand over his title to Freddie
Welsh, from whom he won it n year
ago.
Jim Sullivan, champion of Eng
land. succumbed to Jack Harrison
in a battle for tin English middle
weight title.
McGoorty Whips Two.
Harrison came to America seek
ing fresh honors, but was knocked
out In a punch by Eddie McGoorty. ,
Arthur Everndon lost his title as
welterweight t hamplon of England.
Pave Smith, Australian middle
nnd light-heavyweight champion,
was knocked out in less than two
minutes by Eddie McGoorty .
Digger Stanley was beaten for
the bantamweight championship of
England.
Billy Wells. English heavyweight
(hampion, was knocked out by Al
Palzer in New Ymk. W i lls, how
ever, is still ehamtii'in of England,
as is Jack Harrison. I'nder the
rules prevailing in England no
body but. an English man tan win
and hold one of the Lord Lonsdale
belts, emblematic of the titles in
the different (lasses in that eouii
try
Year Is at an End.
Since th- r. an no moic I, _ lights
scheduled betwet li now and the
first of January It I- safe'to cull
, the fifetic year at an end
In discussing the change of own
iiship of titb s. one can not f« • 1
anything but ( latlon, no mate r
how one may stack up in tin ’H it
ter of sentiment or friendlim ss for
this man or that one. The one
point that stands out more slur ply
than any other is that a constant
change of title is an cm client thing
for 'he game of boxing.
it serves as a matter of , imotr
ag( cent to tlie y oung boxer coming
up and shows him that there al
ways is a (han’e it hl will attend
■ aiefuily to his Knitting and not
stray Hom tin- l» ;it<n path of so
b’iet.t and endiaKH
Public Likes Changes.
It st i inula to. th< |iuldl< . v ich
"■U'i- to,, i. am g. tii' iit of a linan
'■‘■d c 'o, 11 ' I" •■ : tigilisiic em-.-un-
S ay- si 'in f aiog
Crackers, Pelicans, Lookouts
And Barons Will Be in Pennant
Hunt in’ 13; They Spent Money
By Percy H. Whiting.
r T~s HE teams that will make the
race for the Southern league
pennant in 1913 are Atlanta
(don't smile). Birmingham. New
Orleans, and probably Chattanooga.
These arc likewise the ones which
will probably be In the hunt the
tear after and the year after that.
Os course, not alt of them will be
In the hunt. But one or two of
them will be. And most of the pen
nants will be divided among these
teams.
The reason is just this: Those
.ire the teams which spend money
I’m players." And in the long chase
they will take a majority of the
pennants.
Time was yt hen anybody, with a
team of kids, could win tiie pennant
in this league. Newt Fisher did it
twice running, with nothing at all
to help him but Inis big catching
mitt and Fid Abbatticeliio.
Times have changed now Every
thing costs more. Newt Fisher used
to have a little old ball park In
X'gshvllle that he mostly patched
together himself at odd times. It
was the one dry goods box stand
of the league. Every winter Newt
would buy another consignment of
goods boxes, haul them down to the
park himself, get out his trusty
saw and hammer, and tinker away
all winter. I'sually ho built a lit
tle addition to the bleachers. It
didn't cost money, except for the
nails, and now and then there was
need for it.
A park liki that wouldn't attract
n crowd of boy- for u grammar
school game now. Parks of today
must tie handsome, big structures.
The mod'-m ones are steel and con
crete. They cost a keg of money.
Ball players could be had for a
song tin years ago. Now they cost
thousands. Railroad fares haven't
varied much, but players today ex
pect to travel as luxuriously as rail
road presidents. And ns for ho
tels -they are more expensive now,
and the ball players demand that
they stop at t he best.
So it costs money to run a ball
team, more than fans dream.
Os course. It stands to reason
that the tennis that spend the most
money will year in and year out.
get the best teams Os course, it
doesn't always follow. The last
two Atlanta teams cost a mint, and
both finished well, you all know
where But in a long siring of y ears
tile expenditure of that amount of
momy will bring a team that will,
ts not win pennants, at least stick
up around the top.
THE t- :i!Vb that snrib’.ing th<
inonex sos yem after
\t.u, in At''<ni;». I‘.irmingiia i.. Nr\\
f’rbans nix' :ii present. <‘haita-
The Ytkin’a club !.. ■»
''pent mono. And as a result tin*
Stand consolidated standing for thr*
i if. oi ih< ami' 1 giv< > it -<■< ond
place.
The New <>t leans club bus been
another willing spender. It has fin
ished first thtii times in twelve
years. and ha- been consistently in
the running.
The Birmingham club was not al
ways run on its present lavish
scab But after It got going it
linished first, fifth, lust seventh,
second, third and first.
Last year it was the willingness
o shoo; a couple of thousand at
■me clip which gavi the Batons
tie i pennant The I'inelntiatl club
pat Almeida on the market. The
Pi ice was steeii, hut that didn't
hot lo t Itu-k Wood wai li
• Buy yto.< ~ ' >... ml. Mo ,
I
THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24. 1912.
addition to the Baron team that
made a pennant possible. Without
Almeida’s batting the Batons would
hardly have finished better than
third.
Since O. B. Andrews has had the
Chattanooga elub. he lias shown
himself a good speqder. And thus
far it. hasn't netted him anything.
The average standing of the club
since he has had it has been a shade
worse than fifth. But if he sticks
at it long enough and if he will be
content to sign the checks and to let
the managers manage, he will begin
to make a showing.
♦ ♦ ♦
ixt<’W, consider the case of Mem
’ phis. Back in the old days a
game lot of spenders owned the
elub. And after two failures It won
the pennants of 1903 and 1904. The
following year the backers, tinder
the direction of Lew Whistler, went
the limit. They spent a keg of
money, going further over the sal
ary limit titan any Southern league
club ever went, before or since. The
money was injudiciously spent,
however, and the Whistlers did
not even get in the first division.
Then the old backers, sole at this
fact and wearied of a tight with tlie
papers, sold out. Since President
Coleman has been in charge the
money does not appear to have
been lavished on the team. Every
body speaks of Mr. Coleman as a
good spender and all that. Bitt the
team doesn't Show it. He has a
good manager. He has the same
chances at a lot of players that
other managers do. Hut he doesn't
get them. In consequence, the Tur
ties haven't been in the race since
1908, and never w ill be again until
some money is turned loose
The Mobile team, under the wise I
direction of Mike Finn, pulled one
of those occasional miracles last
year and made a good race with a
cheap team. It is done now and
then. Finn’s affiliations with the
Giants helped him. In the long tun,
however, the Mobile team will not
be heard from often. The city is
small, the baseball owners are not
good spenders, and you can’t make
bricks without straw (or at least
they say you can't. I never tried.)
It takes money to buy winners,
however, and Mobile isn't given to
spending money for baseball.
The Montgomery club has been
an In-.ind-outer. Some year money
has been spent for it. More often
It has not. The backets of the club
have found, to their not inconsid
erable sorrow, that the Montgom
eryites will not support a winning
team. And now the franchise is
on the market If the team goes to
Little Hock, it will be a steady
loser, sot they don't believe ill
spending money for ball clubs over
in that burg.
Nashville is anothi r town wh .-ii
isn't destined to have a club until
something is done to ease a little
momy out of the pocketbooks of
the baseball folks. Baek In 1908,
a year of miracles .which found
Memphis third. Montgomery fourth.
Mobile fifth. Atlanta sixth and
Birmingham last. Nashville won
a pennant. Bill Bernard did it
with a cheap team. How he did
it nobody pretends to say The
next year the Nashville team made
a good race with a cheap team.
The last two years it has not been
dangerous and owed what little life
it showed to the superlatively good
managing of Bill Schwartz Some
day they will wake up to thetn
selvi s in that town and spend
some money When they.do. they
will discover that it's a good ball
town and deserves every cent they
spent on it.
INTERNATIONAL OPENS APRIL 16.
N'FA\ VUKK. Pc. J* The Imernato’o
al b ague's 1913 «<•.<s. n w ill ..neo April
-i lull w I! I-e Adopted at A
eeiing ■■ be he’d in .laiiuarv.
LARRY LAJDIE ED
OUITOASEBALL
IF PAY IS CUT
C, LEVELAND. Dec. 24. —Larry
Lajoie, one of the greatest
ball players that ever graced
the diamond, may quit the game
for which he has done so much.
The mighty second baseman had a
contract with the Cleveland Naps
which expired at the close of last
season, and it is stated here that
the management of the club intends
to cut Larry’s salary.
Prominent baseball "fans" in this
city who are close friends of Lajoie
say that he would not stand for a
reduction in salary. Larry would
retire from the game rather’than
play ball for less money than he re
ceived last season.
Lajoie is well off financially, and
he does not have to worry a great
deal about the high cost of living.
Larry has been classed with the
leading men in the game for many
years and has always received a
fat salary. He has saved his money
and has invested It in safe business
enterprises. Tlie result is that he
is now able to laugh at the powers
that be in the Cleveland club
it is rumored here that Ole < tie
son, who covered shortstop last
year, will take Lajoie’s place at
second base if the big Frenchman
refuses to report.
$15,000 BID: $20,000
ASKED FOR BILL TEAM;
MTTLTE ROCK, ARK . I'er. 24. Little '
Rock business men and baseball enthu- |
siasts. at a mass meeting yesterday, an- (
thorized President \V. \l KaFanaugh. of.
the Southern league, to offer $15,000 for.
1 the league franchise, held b\ Richard i’ll- |
Ills, of Montgomery.
i President Kavanaugh secured an option .
|on the Montgomery membership, but it |
was unanimous:.' decided at the meeting;
that the price asked- .$20,000 was ex- •
uessive becaust of the few players re
tained by Montgomery.
Assurances have been given bj the
other clubs in the league that the trans
fer of the Montgomery franchise to Lit
tle Rock would he agreeable.
SEWANEE ELEVEN WILL
PLAY TECH AND GEORGIA
SEWANEE. ’I’KXN.. Dec. 24 The Se- •’
wanee fotoball schedule for 1913 follows: I
October 4 Morgan prep school at Se- !
wanee.
October 11—Universitx of Tennessee at :
Chattanooga
October IS Georgia Tech at Atlanta.
October 25 University of Texas at Dal
las. Tex. (probable).
November 1 University of Chattanooga
at Sewanee.
November 8 Universit.s of Georgia at
Sewanee
November 15 University of Alabama at
Itirmlngha m
November 27 Vanderbilt at Nashville
RICHIE RECEIVES SI,OOO
BONUS FROM CUBS OWNER
(’lilUA’lo. Dec. 34. I'itchei I >ius •
Richie, <»f the Chicago National league ,
club, will receive a t’hristmas check fur
SI.OOO from the club for winning more ■
than 6«» per cent of his games last sea-
; «op. President Murphy promised Richie j
<SOO if h< would exceed that average in
1911, hut Richie missed the mark Vo a I
few points. The offer was repeated a> .
the beginning of last season, in addition
o the .<sot‘ that Louis failed to obtain in
1911.
Richie is visiting his teammate, .lames
Lavender, at Montezuma. Ga.
HIGHLANDERS PICK UP
THREE N. Y. SEMI-PROS.
NI’.VV YORK. Dec. 24 Secretary Davis,
of the New York American league club,
has announced that three young semi
professionals. I Finley, r. Martin and
.1 Orton, had signed contracts for next
season. Finle.v. of this city, and < u ton,
from lersev Citj . are infielders, and Mar
tin. of Brooklyn, is h pitcher The trio
will get a trial <ni the spring training
trip and will probably be farmed out for
proper seasoning
BRITTON GETS ONLY DRAW
IN BATTLE WITH AHEARN
XTW Yt’RK. I A i. .id i\h.-
tin best that .1..' . Britt.ill. . CliicHß...
could crot in t•- ten-r.iutul bout with
Young (’ . art lit ...kit it a
Ust, .azzilin.- •’Ji"
“Man Can Be Taught Football
InTwoSeasonsjßaseballTakes
[_ Vastly Longer/' Says Heisman
By .J, W. Heisman.
THE varsity football season is
over for another year, but
this does not mean that the
colleges have shut up show and
are peddling no more football
wares. On the contrary, there is
hardly a college in rhe South that
is not busy with its training of
class teams, and every Saturday
witnesses the completion of a
couple more rounds in the Intel
class series of each college.
As there are about five class
teams each year to one varsity
team it follows that while interest
in class ball is not so intense or
high strung as in varsity ball, yet
it Is more widely diffused. Also, it
may be taken for granted that dur
ing thisj class season a far larger
number of students are making a
personal study and living to mas
ter the science of football than is
the case during the regular varsity
season.
For this reason 1 will write
briefly of the elements which enter
into the development of a success
ful football player. Later I shall
treat the subject from the stand
point of the team. These articles
may not be of much interest to lay
men. but they should be of some
slight value to participants in class
football games.
They Have to Begin Some Time.
1 find that many well built fel
! lows are diffident about coming out
I for football, on the ground that
they never played before. Tiny
fol get that everybody had to make
a start once upon a time, and that
with a very large number of our
1 best players that start was never '
I made until after the man entered
college, playing first, perhaps, upon
his class team.
Now, it takes a deal longer time
to become an expert baseball play
er than to become a good football
player. Many young men know
j how long it takes to develop base
[ ball skill, but they don't know; that
they can nearly all become fair
I players with one season of football
.- "scrubbing," and good ones with
two seasons. That is why they
I haven't the heart to come out for
, the game. Any well built man i.-
justified in going In for class foot
ball. even if he has never tackled
the game before.
t will now set down a table show
ing the natural elements which en
ter Into the composition of foot
ball players. Counting a finished
player (a rtira avis. Indeed! as be
ing possessed of a total of 100
points of playing excellence, we
may assign to each element a !a-
I the value about as follows:
Experience . 30
Natural athletic ability 15
Grit 15
Weight 15
Speed 15 15
Ruggedness 10
Total 100
The question of general intelli
gence and mental adaptability en
ters in. to be sure, but I have con
sidered it to be included In expe
rience and natural athletic ability.
Weight Is Not All.
It is generally supposed that any
heavyweight can become a good
football player How fallacious this
supposition is may be seen by re
fe ring so. a moment to the above
table A perfect mark 'tom the
standpoint of weight would count
for but 13 points out of a total of
JOO. If a man has had no expe
rience whatever we must lop off a
full 30 per cent of his chances for
becoming a varsity player in Ids
first y—i.. Anu then again, there
■c plenty of men who have played
'■ • -itba" ■•■■ ■ some time who weigh
t-plenty. who have undoubted g-q
and ruggedness, and who may even
have a fair amount of speed. And
yet they never make the varsity.
Why? Because they were born with
no talent whatever for athletics;
they have no natural athletic abil
ity. To the eye they may look just
as well as a Jim Thorpe or a
Briekiey; but the fact remains that
they are not men of athletic mold,
and so we have to pass them up.
Natural ability includes a man’s
mental and physical aptitude for
the game. There are different kinds
of athletes. Some excel at tennis,
some at baseball, others at track
work. Each game has its peculiari
ties, and in football some of these
are not easily mastered.
Ordinarily, a man w ho has a fair
amount of speed and has mastered
The elements of baseball to a rea
sonable degree quickly learns how
to straighten out his football kinks.
But he improves more rapidly still
f he knows anything of boxing
and, particularly, of wrestling.
What “Ruggedness” Means,
By ruggedness is meant a man's
ability to stand punishment and
come back tor more, it also means 1
a more or less natural immunity
from injuries. No man can be
come a great player who is always
getting hurt, m> matter whether
these regrettable accidents can he
said to he ills ow n fault or not. To
be laid up most of the time on the
hospital list means not only that
a man's tire and "pep" arc bound
to be sapped in the end. but that In
is of no real use to his team be
cause so seldom available. Football
"ruggedness" calls for a hardy con
stitution, much power of endurance
and great vitality. It also takes
the mental noise that disregards
trifling injuries and which ran sup
port even great pain with fortitude.
Football takes a "husky." and a
husky’ is something more than a
mere "big fellow I have seen
some grand "LITTLE huskies."
Grit counts for quite as much as
any tiling else except experience:
and 1 don't know but I have given
it too low a valuation. With no
grit at all. one could get no further
in football than he could if pos
sessed of no weight at all. Most
players that we see on varsities do
have grit (else they would never
have been able to make their var
sity). and so we don't have so many
opportunities to compare and con
trast players with one another in
this regard as we have when
matching up their speed, weight
and e.xperiem • . But let a fellow
get out on the Held with "cold feet'
.mu most inexperienced girl in
tin- grandstand can tell what's
lacking in him almost as well and
as quickly as can the .ouches—
that s a -ufti; ii iit indication liow I
necessary it is that I. is ingredient
should not be lacking in the player's
composition.
Weight ang Sneed Help.
Tile value of speed, indeed the
utter necessity for it in football. I
presume every one can comprehend
for themselves. And weight, it
must not lie overlooked, is a most
valuable asset, other things being
equal, the heavier man must always
get the place in foothall
Much more might l>. said on
every one of these subjects, but the
above is sufficient to indicate to a
novice what lie needs to make good
in the game. If he has only grit,
natural athletic ability and some
ruggedness in i'.is makeup, he can
safely undertake tie sport, fm
speed, weight and . xp< l ienee may
all be artificially and subsequently
acquired. Indeed, they generally
are acquired by steady participation
in tin- gam- . Ami persistency f n
tiie game is bound also to in. -i.-a-so
nd , nprox. tin- oth. : tin -. ■■ i. t ;.
uro ' .-I. m itts as w< 'l.
'PITCHERS FAVOR
NEW BITING
SYSTEM
By Harry Glaser.
NEW York; Dee. 24.—Bar
Johnson’s announcement tin
the American league will
adopt a new method of compiling
pitchers’ records is being highly in
dorsed by the twirlers, many of
whom have long protested against
tlie system in vogue. Just what
system will be'employed to rat'
the boxmen is not known, or at.
least has not been divulged by tit.
American league chieftain, who in
tends to seek the advice of expert
statisticians in iinding a suitable
method.
That th<- present system fair
short of giving a true, rating has
long been admitted and deplored by
baseball men throughout the lanil
There have been numerous si’lienie
devis"d to displace it. but tlie best
by far seems to be the one recently
tried by Secretary John Heydler. o
the National league, as i suppit •
meat to the old method. In whirl
tiie percentage is based on gam-
I won ami lost.
This now plan gives the pitcher
rating on tim average number r
rims e.ii n I oif him. Thor,, is s '
another figured on the pernntam
of hits allowed per inning, but ■
tile two tlie first mimed seems !■
l» the better ami this will prob
tblv be adopted.
Seeretdry Hey tiler's double rat
ing was for file purpose of cow
parison Iretyyeen -ystems, and "I
showed clearly that t!’" gootl pile. -
• 's with weak teams suffered in
prestige according to the old metbo
A ompu'alive record of '
American league pitchers wot. ■
have slioty it ti nt tlie Yank pit'
ir< suffered in tin's respect mot
thsin tiiose of any other team '
past season. This was particular
true concerning Ford, Mcfonne'
ami Warhop. although nearly all " f
the staff had days when the team
kicked the game from under the ■
and for which they wety charg'd
with a demerit in the record.’.
No sot of tivirlros yvere rat'd
ytorse than the Yankees in 1912. a.-
though it is admitted generally by'
baseball men that hoy are bnxni' ii
of no mean ability. Not one of
them had a percentage of .500. am!
the three leaiting members. F"-
McConnell and Wnfhop, yvere cred
ited with ty inning about one-third
j of their g.nnt s.
Figured on tin- basis of (.tilt'd
runs allowed by them, they won!''
have been classed with the stats of
tlie winning teams, as the poor
playing of tlu b teammates, will'
■ illy marred then records, v
not affect their standing.
New System Welcomed.
Big George McConnell will t: o'
It v' Iconic the nett sy stem at"
F" 'I -md W arhop, too. prefer t"
r il' d that way. McConnell t"
part iti lit only ganm < •)f tin -■
tvas credited with winning old.'
eiglit. TO say that six of
twelve loss. - were in no way (lit'
to his work is a conservative (s'
mate, not did he gain many, if
any. of the tight victories so
yvhieh la- Is credited that were un
deserved or due ’ entirely t"
good playing of his teanmlat' -■
Tots- Warhop finished the '
yvitli a percentage of .345, beilis
charged yvith nineteen losses
twenty-nine games. Rated by atty
other system. Tots could not suf
ft i mucii yt tn-se, and it is appar
ent to any one yvho lias folio"'*'
Ills yvork the past year closely
that he deserve.- to lie listed mm
furthe- up, as iu doubt le-s ""0
be by tlie neyv method. The sici
applies Io Ford ami others of '
Vankei team, is well as t" '
yilct'ei -of tli< ofhe r Weak mid '
"ig' idzeil teams that . ni'-ig'd !■'
. t lie peirtiant mi t .