Chapter IX: Part III: , Chapter XVI. In holiday celebrations also the feature may be (2)

Text size

| =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 midshipmen 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 glasses |
|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 altitude, 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 |
|midshipmen. |
| |
|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 pass 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 sunshine |
|usually glints off the gold of braid and buttons. |
|The nicest looking girls that ever assembled within |
|the confines of any particular area of space 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 midshipmen 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 midshipmen 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 |
|snatched the ball before Craig could get his |
|bearings. It was the Army's ball and only eight |
|yards from a touchdown. The midshipmen 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 |
|midshipmen 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 hoarse 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 shift 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 shifting, 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 TITLE= |
| |
|The Boys' High School captured the city basketball |
|championship 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 sportsmanship 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 shift 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 Association of America at Philadelphia is a good illustration:

| =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 Association 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 Shields, 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 Shields); 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 competitors, 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 |
|championship, to-day defeated Ned Sawyer of the |
|Wheaton Golf Club 2 and 1 in the semi-final match |
|for the great All-Western title. To-morrow Evans |
|will meet in the 36-hole finals James Standish, Jr.,|
|of the Detroit Golf Club, whom he defeated for the |
|same title 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 classic. 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 mashie, 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 mashie 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 balls 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 CHAMPIONSHIP= |
| |
|William M. Johnston inscribed his name upon the |
|classic national tennis singles championship most |
|impressively yesterday, using a forehand stroke that|
|left no dispute as to his right to the title. 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 championship at San Francisco, |
|and at that time McLoughlin had carried the match |
|and title 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-flashing 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 passes. 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 |
|player forcing the former champion and veteran that,|
|even when he had glowing opportunities to make the |
|point, McLoughlin put his racquet to the ball too |
|soon, and so piled up a total of 42 nets and 38 |
|outs, as compared to 37 nets and 26 outs for his |
|rival. That was chiefly where the difference stood, |
|for on actual earned points by placement Johnston |
|only had a tally of 53 to 51 for the Comet.... |
| |
| =First Set= |
| Points Games |
|Johnston 2 0 3 0 5 4 2--16 1 |
|McLoughlin 4 4 5 4 3 6 4--30 6 |
| |
| Double |
| Aces Places Nets Outs Faults |
|Johnston 6 8 11 12 6 |
|McLoughlin 9 10 9 7 1 |
| |
| =Second Set= |
| Points Games |
|Johnston 4 4 5 4 6 4--27 6 |
|McLoughlin 2 2 3 0 4 0--11 0 |
| |
| Double |
| Aces Places Nets Outs Faults |
|Johnston 3 8 3 4 0 |
|McLoughlin[31] 3 2 5 6 1 |

[31] _New York Times_, September 8, 1915.

=244. Boxing Matches.=--News stories of boxing matches are but a combination of the methods of writing football games and golf matches. The first part of the story of a boxing contest should be a full general account of the fight, the fighters, the character of the boxing, the weight, height, and reach of the pugilists, their methods of attack and defense, the crowd, total and individual receipts, the exact time of the beginning and end of the fight, etc. The second part, like the golf report, should be a detailed running story of the fight by rounds. The following story of the Willard-Moran match at New York in 1915 may be examined as an example:

| =WILLARD WINS ON POINTS= |
| |
|Jess Willard, the heavyweight champion pugilist of |
|the world, hammered and pounded Frank Moran of |
|Pittsburgh for ten rounds in crowded Madison Square |
|Garden last night, but with his advantage of fifty |
|pounds in weight, six inches in height, and six |
|inches in reach, the Herculean Kansan could not |
|knock out the courageous Pittsburgh boxer. |
| |
|Willard had every advantage throughout the bout |
|except one flash in the seventh round, when Moran, |
|with teeth set and the fire of anger in his eye, |
|made a wonderful rally and showered Willard's jaw |
|with hard blows just before the bell sounded. |
| |
|The champion hit Moran hard enough and often enough |
|to knock out half a dozen men, and after the bout he|
|said that the only reason he was forced to let up |
|and not use his famous righthand punch was because |
|he broke his right hand in the second round and was |
|afraid to hit hard after that. It was in whipping a |
|vicious uppercut for the chin that Willard smashed |
|the hand against Moran's elbow. At the time, Moran |
|was groggy, and although the seconds in the |
|champion's corner yelled for him to tear in, Willard|
|had to stand back. |
| |
|When the champion's glove was removed after the |
|bout, the hand was badly swollen, and he was rushed |
|away from the Garden to be attended by a surgeon. |
| |
|The crowd that witnessed the bout was the largest |
|ever seen at a glove contest here. The Garden from |
|the floor to the upper gallery was jammed until |
|there was hardly room to stand. Although women |
|spectators were encouraged to see the bout, few |
|responded, not more than 200 being seen in the arena|
|boxes. Well-known men in all walks of New York life,|
|however, were grouped about in evening clothes, and |
|gave the boxing match as much tone as a night at the|
|opera. A few of the women spectators wore evening |
|clothes, but the greater part of them were clad in |
|the smart new spring suits which fill all the city's|
|finery shops. |
| |
|Financially the bout was a huge success and a |
|tribute to the enterprise of the Western promoter, |
|Tex Rickard. The receipts amounted to $150,000. Of |
|this Willard got $52,600, including $5,100 for his |
|share of the motion pictures. Moran got $23,500 for |
|his share. It was an enormous remuneration for both |
|men for their forty minutes in the ring. |
| |
|This first appearance of the new champion in the |
|ring since his defeat of Johnson in Havana a year |
|ago had set the town talking, and prominent men in |
|New York and other cities did not hesitate to pay |
|$25 a seat to see the bout. As Willard was such an |
|over-ruling favorite the betting was perhaps the |
|lightest ever known in a bout in which a champion |
|has taken part.... |
| |
|It was 9:40 o'clock when Willard hopped into the |
|ring and got a big cheer. He was soon followed by |
|Moran, who had even a greater reception. While the |
|two contestants were waiting nervously in their |
|corners the announcer, Joe Humphries, had the |
|proudest moment of his career when he gathered the |
|great figures of the fistic world into the same |
|ring. Jim Corbett, Bob Fitzsimmons, Kid McCoy, and |
|John L. Sullivan all stood together and shook hands.|
|The reception to John L. must have made the |
|white-haired old man's heart warm, for the old |
|timers in the crowd who remembered when he could |
|beat anything in the ring cheered him until they |
|were hoarse. |
| |
|In the champion's corner were Tom Jones, Walter |
|Monahan, and Jack Hemple. In Moran's corner were |
|Willie Lewis, Bill McKinnon, and Frank Kendall. |
|Willard's weight was a big surprise. When he |
|stripped off his green bathrobe the champion weighed|
|259 pounds, which was ten pounds more than his |
|handlers said he weighed and twenty pounds more than|
|when he defeated Johnson in Cuba. It was just 9:55 |
|when "Old Eagle Eye" Charley White called the men to|
|the center of the ring and said, "Be good, boys, and|
|break when I tell you." ... |
| |
| =THE FIGHT BY ROUNDS= |
| |
| =First Round= |
| |
|The men met in the center of the ring. Willard |
|blocked Moran's left to the head and they clinched. |
|Willard missed a right and left that slid off |
|Moran's shoulder. Willard landed lightly with the |
|left to Moran's face and followed with two more. A |
|left jab was all that Willard used in the first few |
|moments. Then Moran landed a left to Willard's |
|chest, and rushing in close tried to get to his jaw |
|with two blows, but failed. Moran was wary and |
|covered up as he came in on Willard. He also missed |
|a left swing that was wild by several inches. |
|Willard sent a left to Moran's head that jarred the |
|challenger, and he tried to come back with blows to |
|Willard's head, but failed. Moran could not reach |
|the jaw of the champion. Willard missed a right |
|lead, Moran stepping in close and evading the blow. |
|One blow that Willard landed clean, a left to the |
|head, made Moran wary. Moran could not get any blows|
|to Willard's face. |
| |
| =Second Round= |
| |
|Willard met Moran three-quarters of the way over the|
|ring and they clinched. Moran landed a left to |
|Willard's head after they broke and then they milled|
|in the center of the ring, neither doing any |
|particular damage. They were chary of doing work for|
|the next several seconds, Willard waiting to have |
|Moran lead. Willard pushed aside Moran's guard and |
|led with a left to the head which was blocked. |
|Willard forced Moran around the ring and battered |
|him on the head with rights and lefts. The |
|challenger was almost pushed through the ropes. |
|Moran missed a left lead that was blocked by |
|Willard. Moran feinted and made a wild hay-making |
|swing that missed. He then struck one blow to |
|Willard's chest that had little force behind it. |
|Moran led with his left and reached Willard's |
|stomach, but the champion did not mind the blow |
|seriously. Two right swings by Moran pounded on |
|Willard's shoulders and the champion retaliated with|
|a light left jab to the face. Both were perspiring |
|from the intense heat of the big arc lights. Willard|
|seemed to toy with Moran in this round, not exerting|
|himself to take the aggressive....[32] |

[32] _New York Times_, March 26, 1916.

=245. The Unwholesome in Boxing Matches.=--One caution should be given in writing about boxing contests,--the need of presenting the wholesome rather than the unwholesome side. A report of a bout may be written in such a way as to appeal to the barbaric nature of one's readers, to make them revel in the mere drawing of blood rather than in the skill, the dexterity, the generalship of the contestants. The difference is in the reporter's point of view and depends not so much upon accuracy of presentation as upon his purpose to choose those wholesome details that have been successful in retaining pugilism as an American sport despite its many undoubted accompanying evils. In the following extract, for instance, the appeal is unhealthful; it savors rather of the Spanish bull-ring than of a legal sport in the United States:

|What a fight it was! One worthy of Mars himself! The|
|stage setting was complete to the minutest detail. |
|There had been quite enough smashed noses in the |
|preliminaries to whet the appetite for action to its|
|keenest edge. And the main event was put on so |
|quickly after the semi-final that this lust for |
|battle had no chance to cool. Moran led with a |
|snappy left hook that drew blood from Coffey's nose.|
|With this first faint scarlet trickle the gallery |
|gods went wild. A second quick jab gashed an old |
|scar above Jim's left cheekbone and covered his face|
|with blood, to the delight of Frank's friends in the|
|center box. |

=246. Automobile Races.=--Stories of automobile races follow closely the types of sporting news stories already examined. The following may be taken as an illustration:

[33] _Milwaukee Journal_, August 8, 1915.

=247. Billiards.=--In billiard matches the chief thing to note, in addition to points already mentioned in other sporting news stories, is the scoring of the individual runs. If it is necessary to write up the individual innings, the same style is used as indicated in golf and racing stories.

| =HOPPE OUTPLAYS YAMADA= |
| |
|Boston, Oct. 21.--Willie Hoppe, the champion, led |
|Koji Yamada, his Japanese challenger, 1,000 to 743 |
|points at the close of their second night's play for|
|the 14.1 balkline billiard championship at |
|Convention Hall this evening. Yamada's total |
|to-night was 396. As was the case last night, both |
|men played carefully, which accounted for the long |
|time necessary to finish the game. |
| |
|Hoppe's high run was 104, and came late in the |
|contest, his average being 19 6-26. Yamada's best |
|run was 82, and as it came soon after a run of 75, |
|it enabled him to take the lead from the American |
|for the first time in the match. His average was 13 |
|22-25. |
| |
|Yamada in the first half of the game gave a pleasing|
|display in which for the first time he showed |
|brilliancy at the masse. Hoppe was not up to form |
|during the early innings and got his points only by |
|hard struggle. Both players had a good deal of open |
|table shooting to do. The score: |
| |
|Hoppe--49, 30, 2, 31, 3, 0, 22, 5, 23, 24, 4, 0, 8, |
|0, 17, 7, 55, 0, 44, 11, 104, 31, 0, 24, 5, 7--500. |
|Average, 19 6-26. |
| |
|Yamada--9, 2, 1, 45, 30, 0, 75, 0, 45, 4, 2, 82, 0, |
|1, 31, 1, 0, 0, 9, 2, 3, 0, 1, 7, 3--347. Average, |
|13 22-25.[34] |

[34] _Atlanta Constitution_, October 22, 1915.

=248. Obtaining Information.=--In reporting games and contests one will have little difficulty in obtaining all needed information. Tickets are provided gratis and admit always to the best seats, known as the press seats, or the press-box, where all the newspaper men are grouped together. If the contest is an outdoor meet, the press-box is usually on the top of the bleachers. Here are installed telegraph and telephone wires, the papers often having private wires from their offices to the field. If the wires have not been installed and it is necessary to report between quarters or halves, or inning by inning, one should have the local telegraph company provide at least two messengers to take the bulletins as fast as one writes them. And one's notes should be so taken that the bulletins may be given the messengers within a few seconds after it is possible to report.

=249. Personal Opinion in Sporting Stories.=--On page 165 mention was made of four kinds of sporting news stories, and the reader's attention was called to the fact that three of the four--those dealing with athletic events before their occurrence, those dealing with the same events afterward, and those relating to sports in general--vary somewhat from the normal type of newspaper story. This variance lies in the fact that the three are hybrids, partaking of the nature of both the pure news story and the editorial. In an earlier chapter we have seen that the purpose of the news story is to present news; of the editorial, to interpret. We have seen that the avowed purpose of the editorial is to influence opinion. And so with these three types. They may be either presenters or interpreters of sporting news, or both. In the following story the writer is bent on telling the lineup of the Michigan team for the game against Cornell, the condition of the men, etc., but he is also bent on proving to his readers that Michigan has a chance to win,--which makes his story half editorial and half news.

| =MICHIGAN HAS A CHANCE= |
| |
|Ann Arbor, Mich., Nov. 5.--(Special).--We might lead|
|this story with something original and say that both|
|teams were awaiting the whistle. Instead, we will be|
|unique and assert that Michigan has a chance to win.|
| |
|A victory over Cornell would make a success of a |
|season that has a good start toward being a failure.|
|Michigan's chance for victory depends on its line. |
|There is grave doubt in the minds of some that |
|Michigan has a line. Yost believes it has, because |
|he has seen his center, his two guards, and his two |
|tackles charge and block in practice. He hasn't seen|
|them do anything in games but look sick. But he |
|knows they can do something else and he is wondering|
|if to-morrow will be the day when they prove it to |
|the public and to Cornell. |
| |
|If the Michigan line should play tomorrow as it |
|played against the Aggies and against Syracuse, the |
|best back field in the land would be null and void. |
|But if the Michigan line comes to life, performs as |
|it has done when Assistant Coaches Schultz, |
|Almendinger and Raynsford were scrimmaging against |
|it and using all the words they knew as lashes to |
|drive it to action, then Cornell will find itself |
|up against the toughest foe it has faced this year. |
| |
|Yost admits he has a good back field. His |
|combination of one senior, one junior and one |
|sophomore--Catlett, Maulbetsch and Smith--would, he |
|believes, gain acres of ground against any team in |
|the country if the line would give them half a |
|chance. |
| |
|Smith, to be sure, is in bad shape. He is going to |
|start the game, but few expect him to last through. |
|Bay City gave him to Michigan, and before he was |
|hurt he showed enough to convince his coach that he |
|has the makings of another Galt. |
| |
|He is of the versatile type, and besides being a |
|good ground gainer himself, he is of great |
|assistance as an interferer and a handy man on |
|defense. He backs up the line when the other side |
|has the ball. At present almost everything ails him,|
|save possibly barber's itch and the h. and m. |
|disease that helped make Niles famous. |
| |
|Maulbetsch, Yost says, is a better defensive man |
|than last year. As for his plunging prowess, he is |
|probably just as classy as ever, but a man can't |
|plunge very far when two or three opposing linemen |
|are sitting on him, as they were in the M. A. C. and|
|Syracuse games. |
| |
|Catlett is a streak of speed, and since this is his |
|third year of varsity football, he is playing more |
|intelligently than ever. Roehm, the quarterback, was|
|one of Hughitt's understudies last season. He is |
|light, but fast and willing. |
| |
|Thus in the back field we have a good all round man,|
|a wonderful line plunger, a speed demon, and an |
|agile, hard worker. All of which assets won't be |
|worth a yesterday's transfer unless the line |
|holds....[35] |

[35] Ring W. Lardner in the _Chicago Tribune_,
November 6, 1915.

=250. Advance Stories.=--The details which one may include in advance stories of athletic meets are innumerable. Some of the more important particulars, however, are predictions of the outcome, the effect of the contest on future events or on the rank of the teams, names of the players and the officials, absence of important men, opinions of the men, their trainers, or their followers, weak spots in their play, local or national interest, time and place of the contest, ways of reaching the field or grounds,--in fact, any details that will interest one's readers in the approaching game. Such preliminary writeups require good reporters--men who can observe closely and analyze carefully, and hence can give their readers reasonable predictions of the success of the teams in which they are interested. The following may be taken as a typical preliminary story:

Previous Next

Comments

News writingChapter IX: Part III: , Chapter XVI. In holiday celebrations also the feature may be (2)

0%34 min left in chapter