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GICBGIAX ®o® GOWW 5 HRB? Mutt and Jeff Are Full of the Christmas Spirit :: ;; ;; ;• ;; By “Bud” Fisher r r l " i —. r——. , . AQouv -T. ) (BEHOOFS U* To ’ . *** Ycu T“ e I C*M j / se^.v,e«TA . rn € (Sonma owe. / • L™*** ,T *• . s r —... . -q'f USTBeew I SPt«. (T ano & Nfc ni 6 ? .!■ • % ** ' n Ovv f ♦ * WAPP> | ' Soiabth.ng AND J J < - ) \ 7__ J ' I ■■•■--—• ' «£. /Ww ■&' y-£ y >», u.ji, M .<* *?** ■ •?a /Strk ■ r •■■' Ivtfi m -BlKt JHHk . 4'* z W Wfl TW lH jUn ' U? ~ ftflfepiM"" JPIr **lH > i >r k-JsUB ..... ■t • / ;> sl 7w " X£y**T’</9^y' ! ___^S L———- |H^-- i ’ ~~~ —— -.1 I -,. ———— ■ .11—..1 . [ C J 9Ji T .yr** o« 1912JDNAHYEAR FOR CHAMPION FIGHTERS By Ed. W. Smith. rpHE rear 1912 will go down I Into sporting history as one of the most disastrous ever known a.t far as the upste of pugil istic Idols, champions and near eharnpinnr is concerned. Two world’s champions had their titles taken away from them anti eight mope 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. Os course the year will he found en rirely enjoyable by the fortunnte men who upset the 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 u|>set of the year, of course, was the trimming handed out to Ad Wolgast bj Willie Ritchie, the San Francisco star. Little less surprising was the de feat of Abe Attell at the hands of Johnny Kilbane for the feather weight title. Then there was the defeat of Georges Carpentier, the FYanch middleweight star, who claimed the championship of Europe, at the hands of Billj' Papke. Tills followed the defeat by Car pentier of Jim Sullivan, the Eng lish middleweight champion. Matt Wells, champion of Eng land’s lightweights, was compelled to hand over his title to Freddie Welsh, from whom he won it a year ago. Jim Sullivan, . hampion of Eng and, succumbed to .lack Harrison in a battle for the English middle weight title. McGoorty Whips Two, Harrison came to America seek ing fresh honors, but wae knocked out In a punch by Eddie McGoorty. Arthur Evorndon lost his title as weftarwaight champion of England. Dave Smith, Australian middle ond light-heavyweight champion, was knocked out in leas than two minutes by Eddie McGoorty. Digger Stanley was beaten for the bantamweight championship of England. Billy AV ells. English heavyweight hampion, was knocked out by Al Palser in New York. Wells, how - ever. Is still champion of England, as if Jack Harrison. I’nder the rules pi*ei ailing in England no i>ody but an Englishman can ti'ln and hold one of the Lord Ixmsdale belts, emblematic of the titles in the different classes in that eoun irx Year Is at an End. Smee there a . no more big tights ,<-)iodu’ed between now and the (1-st of January. It is .-ofc to call lho fist :■• year at an end. In ills •u-sirir the change ~r own ■ship of titles, one can not fee 1 anything but elation, no matter how one i • i «sack up in t c mat I.’ of sentiui.-'iit or riendlin. -s for this man o that one. T:« one point that stands out more sharply i han «n\ other Is tuat a constant change of tit', is an xeellent thing for the game of boxing. I: serves as a matter <>f • i cour agi nent to the young boxer coming up and shows him tha there al ways is a chan • if he will attend carefully to his knitting and not stray from lb. beaten path of so brie'j ami endfator. Public Likes Changes. I: stimulates the publi. . wl.ivh ■ i ris th. encourage, ent <>f ,< fir.an naturr to a.i pug.ii tic . iicoun- I he-..- - ij. soniethinc r. ( w to look forwa to It iy :i |, Ia 11 a g>r< «a i ■ • w.v l* i Crackers, Pelicans, Lookouts And Barons Will Be in Pennant Huntin’ 13; They Spent Money By Percy H. Whiting. r|x HE teams that will make the j race for the Southern league pennant in 1913 are Atlanta (don't smile), Birmingham. New Orleans, and probably Chattanooga. These are likewise the ones which will probably be in the hunt the year after and the year after that. Os course, not all 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 are the teams which spend money for players. And in the long chase they will take a majority of the pennants Time was when anybody, with a team of kids, could win the pennant in this league. Newt Fisher did it twice running, with nothing at all to heli> him but his big catching mitt and Ed Abbatticchlo. Times have changed now. Every thing costs more. Newt Fisher used io have a little old ball park in Nanhvillo that be mostly patched together himself at odd times. It was the one dl*y 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. Usually he built a lit tle addition to the bleachers. It didn't cost money, except for the nails, and now and then there was neeei for it. A park like that wouldn't attract a crowd of boys for a grammar school game now. Parks of to’dby must be handsome 1 , big structures The modern ones are steel and con crete. They cost n keg of money. Ball players could be had for a song ten years ago. Now the) cost thousands. Railroad fares haven't veiried much, but players today ex pect to travel ns luxuriously as rail road president And ds so ho tels —they an more expensive now. and the ball players demand that they stop at the best. So it costa money to run a ball team, more than fans dream. Os course, it stands to reason that the teams 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 finlsh<wl—well, you all know where. But in a long string of years the expenditure of Hist amount of money will bring a team that will, ts not win pennants, at least stick up around the top. M »’• 'J' HE teams that air spending the money foi players your after year, are Atlanta. Biriningham. New Orleans and. at present. Chatta nooga The ttlnn'c i lul> has .ihvai spont money. And ns .< result the grand consolidated standing for the life of the league gives it •> coin! place. The New Orleans elnh I n- been another willing spender. It ba fin is'ned first three tinu hi twohe years, and ha- been consistently ill the running. The Birmingham chib was not al ways run on its present lavish scale. But after it got going h finished first, fifth, last, sex.utli. second, third and first Last year it was the willingness o shoot a eouf it of thousand at one clip which can the llarons their pennant. Tie Cincinnati club put Almeld.: on the imnket. Tie ptlci 'ias «te p. hut tliai didn't hot:: . Iti.-k \\ oo a ar. "Buy ll'vi'i l„ ' ' ■ -I y.t . Mo'.yy b.mgo 11 >. I I I ... 1 ... r THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN AND NEWS. TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24, 1912 addition to the Baron team that made a pennant possible. Without Almeida's batting the Barons would hardly have finished better than third. Since O. B. Androvs lias had the Chattanooga club, he has shown himself a good spender. And thus far it hasn’t netted him anything. The average standing of the club since he has had It has been a shade worso 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. * ♦ » lurOW, consider the case of Mem ' phis. Back in the old days a game lot of spenders owned the club. And after two failures it won the pennants of 1908 and 1904. The following year the backers, under the direction of Lew Whistler, went the limit. They spent a keg of money, going further over the sal ary limit than any Southern league club ever went, before or since. The money was injudiciously spent, and tije Whistlers did not even get in the first division. Then the old hackers, sore at fhls , fact and wearied of a tight with the 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. But the team doesn't show it. He has a good manager. He lihs the same chances at a lot of players that other managers do. But he doesn't get them. In consequence, the Tur , ties haven’t been In the race since 1908, and never will he again until some money is turned loose. The Mobile team, under the wise 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 uftiltations with the Giants helped him. In the long run, however, the Mobil< 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.) Il takes money to buy winners, however, and Mobile isn't given to -pending money for baseball. The Montgomery club has been an in-and-outer. Some year money lias been spent for it. More often it has not. The backers of tile club have found, io 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 t-ittle Rock, it will be a steady loser, for they don't believe in spending money for ball clubs over in that burg. Nashville is another town which isn't destined to have a club until something is done to ease a little money out of the pocketbooks of the baseball folks. Back In 1908, a .vet) of miracles which found Mem).fils third. Montgomery fourth. Mobile fifth, Atlanta sixth ami l.«■•. Xa -h\ 111® aon . pennant. Bill Bernard did It with a cheap team. How he did It nobody pretends to say. The ! next year iht Nashville team made i good race with a cheap team. I'h« ast fKo years it lias 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 them selves in that town and spend some money. When they do. they will discover that it's a good ball town and d« sc \e- .very cent they -pent on it INTERXATIOXAL OPENS APRIL o I Nl-.W Y'.ltK 1 if. 2‘ The Ititerr.ation I '• -.-,.5. . v j|| Xvi-tl l.i i." s. !i>. itle -will Is ad.vne-1 at a LW ME TH OUITBASEBALL IF W IS CUT CLEVELAND. 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 mfleh. 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 t he management of the club Intends to cut Larry’s salary. Prominent basebajl “fans” in this city who ar® 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. The result is that he is now able to laugh at the powers that be In the Cleveland club. It is rumored here that Ole Ole 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 LITTLE ROCK. ARK., Dec. 24.--Little Rock business men and baseball enthu siasts, at a mass meeting vesterday, au thorized President W. M Kavanaugh, of the Southern league, to offer 515,000 for the league franchise, held by Richard Til lis. of Montgomery. President Kavanaugh secured an option on the Montgomery membership, but it was unanimously decided at the meeting that the price asked —$20,000 -was ex cessive because of the few players re tained by Montgomery Assurances have been given bv the other clubs in the league that the trans for of the Montgomery franchise to Lit tle Rock wrnuld be agreeable. SEWANEE ELEVEN WILL PLAY TECH AND GEORGIA SEWANEE. TENN . Dec 34 The Se wanee fotoball schedule for 1913 follows: October 4—Morgan prep school at Se wanee. October 11—University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. October 18- Georgia Tech at Atlanta. October 25—University of Texas at Dal las, Tex. (probable). November I—University of Chattanooga at Sewanee. November B—University of Georgia at Sewanee. November 15- University of Alabama at Birmingham. November 27—Vanderbilt at Nashville. RICHIE RECEIVES SI,OOO BONUS FROM CUBS OWNER CHICAGO, Dec. 24. —Pitcher Louis •Richie, of the Chicago National league wlub. will receive a Christmas check for s 1.000 from the club for winning more than 60 per cent of his games last sea son. President Murphy promised Richie 8500 if he would exceed that average in 1911. hut Richie missed the mark bv a few points The offer was repeated a the beginning of last season, in addition to ttie SSOO that Iznils failed to obtain in 1911. Richie is visiting his teammate. James Lavender, at Montezuma. Ga. HIGHLANDERS PICK UP THREE N. Y. SEMI-PROS. NEW YORK. Dec. 24.-Secretary Davis, of ttie New York American league club, has announced that three young senil professlonals. J. Finley. I’. Martin and .1. t'rtiin. ha<i Signed contracts for next season. Finley, of this city, and Orton, from Jersey City, are infielders, and Mar tin. of Brooklyn, is a pitcher. The trio will get a trial on tn» spring training trip and will probabl) be fanned mtr for proper seasoning, BRITTON GETS ONLY DRAW IN BATTLE WITH AHEARN XEM YORK. Dec 21 A draw was the he-- , that Jack Krittoi . .f Chicago Could get in his tou-rom,.' bout with Young Ahearn. Bim.khii p a fa-ft. da .Tine tight “Man Can Be Taught Football InTwoSeasons;Baseball Takes . 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 the South that Is not busy with its training of class teams, and every Saturday witnesses the completion of a couple more rounds in the inter 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 this class season a far larger number of students are making a personal study and trying to mas ter the science of football than is the case during the regular varsity season. For this reason I 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. I find that many well built fel lows are diffident about coming out for football, on the ground that they never played before. .They forget that everybody had to make a start once upon a time, and that with a very large number of our best players that start was never 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 how long it takes to develop base ball skill, but they don't know that they can nearly all become fair players with one season of football “scrubbing. ' and good ones with two seasons. That is why they haven't the heart to come out for the game. Any well built man is justified in going in for class foot ball, even if he has never tackled the game before. I 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 lara avis, indeed) as be ing possessed of a total of 100 points of playing excellence, we may assign to each element a rela tive value about as follows: Expedience 30 Natural athletic ability 15 Grit ! . 15 Weight 15 Speed 15 15 .Ruggedness 10 Tetal 100 The question of general intelli gence and mental adaptability en ters in. to be sure, but 1 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 p ayer. How fallacious this supposition is may be seen by re ferring for a moment to the above table. A perfect mark from the standpoint of weight would count for but 15 points out of a total of 109. If a man has had no expe rience whatever we must ’op off a lull 30 per cent of his chances for becoming a varsity player in hts first yei. \nd then again, there e plenty of men who have played lootbal. 'Vine time who weigh a-plonu who have umlmibi ■ ' 2 it 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. Io the eye they may look jyst as well as a Jim Thoipe or a Brickley; 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 who 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 if he knows anything of boxing and, particularly, of wrestling. What “Ruggedness” Means. By ruggedness is meant a man’s ability tq stand punishment and come back for more. It also means a more or less natural immunity from injuries. No man can be come a great player who is always getting hurt, no matter whether these regrettable accidents can be said to be his own fault or not. To be laid up most of the time on the hospital list means not only that a man's fire and "pep” are bound to be sapped in the end, but that he 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 poise that disregards trifling- injuries and which can 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 anything 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 as sessed of no weight at all. Most players that'we see on varsities do have grit (else they would never have been ab|e 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 experience. But let a fellow get out on the field with “cold feet” and the most inexperienced girl in the grandstand can tell what's lacking in him almost as well and as quickly as can the coaches— that's a sufficient indication how necessary ft is that this ingredient •hould not bo lacking in the player's composition. Weight and Speed Help. The value of speed, indeed the utter necessity for it In football. 1 presume every one can comprehend for themselves. And weight, it must not be overlooked, is a most valuable asset. Other things being equal, the heavier man must always get the place in football. Much more might be 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 his makeup, he ean safely undertake tiie sport, for speed, weight and experience may all he artificially and subsequently acquired Indeed, they generally are acquired by steady participation In. the game. And persistency In the game is bound also so increase and improve the other ■ r.-. nat. nr,,: . ’.merits .s v PITCHERS FAVOR NEW RATINE SYSTEM By Harry Glaser. NEW YORK, Dec. 24.—Ban Johnson’s announcement that the American league will adopt a new method of compiling pitchers’ records Is being highly in dorsed by the twirlers, many O s whom have long protested against the system in vogue. Just what system will be employed to rat<- the boxmen is not known, or at least has not been divulged bj the American league chieftain, who in tends to seek the advice of expert statisticians in finding a suitable method. That the present system fell* short of giving a. true rating ha’ long been admitted and deplored by baseball men throughout the land. There have been numerous scheme? devised to displace it, but the best by far seems to be the one recently tried by Secretary John Heydler, o the National league, as a supple ment to the old method, In which the percentage is based on games won and lost. This new plari gives the pitcher a rating on the average number of runs earned off him. There is still another figured on the percentage of bits allowed per inning, but of the two the first named seems to be the better and this will prob ably be adopted. Secretary Heydar’s double rat ing was for the purpose of com parison between systems, and It showed clearly that the good pitch ers with weak teams suffered In prestige according to the old method A comparative record of the American league pitchers would have shown that the Yankee pitch ers suffered in this respect mor than those of any other team the past season. This was particularly true concerning Ford. McConnel and Warhop, although nearly all of the staff had days when the team kicked the game from under then and for which they were charged with a demerit in the records. No set of twirlers were rated worse than the Yankees in 1912, a though it is admitted generally by baseball men that they are boxmen of no mean ability. Not one of them had a percentage of .500. and the three leading members. Ford McConnell and Warhop. were cred ited with winning about one-ihh'd of their games. Figured on the basis of earned runs allowed by them, they wou !n have been classed with the stars of the winning teams, as the poor playing of their teammates, whl really marred their records. wou!<' m»t affect their standing. New System Welcomed. Big George McConnell will glad ly welcome the new system and Ford and Warhop, too. prefer to ' rated that way., McConnell took part in twenty games. Os these li’ was credited with winning only eight. To say that six of twelve losses were in no way <iu f to his work is a conservative es'-> mate, nor did he gain many. r any. of the eight victories for which he Is credited that were un deserved or due entirely to t' l ’’ good playing of his teammates. Tots Warhop finished the season with a percentage of .345. being charged with nineteen losses in twenty-nine games. Rated by an) other system. Tots could not su - fee much worse, and it is appa' ent to any one who has folio"’’ his work of the past year clos 1 ' that he deserves to be listed mu further up, ip he doubtless wor be by the new method. The sai applies to Ford and others of Yankee team, as well a.- to pitchers of the other weak auu c • iganizc-'.l teams that engi'S ,( ‘ 112'. twunuut race.