New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1886-12-12
SPORTS IN THE OPEN AIR.
r,sropy RULES AND RECORDS OF
1nD ATHI.ETlCS

an nv HxSRY HALL syo PIP Soo. Ne"-i''A' 1000
=. ...sd o.ten 70 be said of tho Americans as
.,,. that they ~cre too much after the fashion OF
-. d.u Jack who worked excessively and played
~, little: that IN converting wilderness INTO tine
.h,s of AutsrprIse aud thrift, they had sacrihce"
h..,,b and the qualities of refinement ana culture
,h,ch can only be attained when leisure and ma
xerial progress are already secured. lhere are
wavs and ways Of urging this point against u.s. ana
the writers who have scored IL most enec'iSe'y
have not allowed their sympathies TO run away
With their appreciation of the situation Bat now
.v.r stinoinr MAJ have been the sensation caused
nv the fine sand of Dckens's and Mrs. Trollope's
.atire in tho eyes of those at whom 1t was nrst
thrown il has long since been conceded that their
ra,,leries served useful purpose. They may nave
.,emed uucalled- FOR, uukind and even ungrateini'
lint in the phrase of the day, they bracea us no.
The irritation they created acted as tonic. Inc
records furnished by the newspaper press during
the last twenty years show how surprisingly gen-
eral and rapid has been tue growth in America OF
nil those delights aud entertainments winch aHoru
an essential relaxation to the busy minus anu oou-
les OF an enterprising people.
rur TRIBUNE Book of Open-Afr Sports was IN
some measure suggested by this fact. In his short
and pertinent PREDATORY note, Mr.. Hall recalls the
circumstance that no less that 500 columns OF IHE
Tp,nuyEs space during the summer or 1886 was
devoted TO tae collection ald presentation OF thls
class Of news When one Insiders that great
newspaper aims to present the daily history OF 'he
whole world, he may catch some idea OF now gen.
erai and profound must be the public interest
winch justfes the exclusive use OF SO mncn space
md the employment of many expert writers ID the
portrava of this one class of news 1t Is an inter-
est of recent de velopmeut. and the OBVIOUS result
of our material prosperity. 1t Is not connned Z"
INV class of games The American disposition 10
make use # open-air exercises has been thoroughly
comprehensive. This is the more remarKaoie Ill
view Of its recent manifestation. score of years
ago game Of baseball or lacrosse cross country
ran. a football match or yacht race would have
been matter of little concern to those who were
not narr,cipapts in the explanations of the soort
ar their imme date friends. How co nplete has been
the change since those daysi The races which de-
eide the yachting championship OF the world To-Day
call forth an immense feet of yachts and steam
boats presenting marine spectacle OF magnincent
proportions and beauty. Ths races between the
pur,ta, and Sir Richard Sutton's queenly Genesta
were witnessed by at lie ist 40 1000 people, An ordi-
nary assemb age on the occasion OF spirited pass
ball match is 10000. Crowds OF similar proper
lions assemble to watch the struggle OF lntercoi-
leg-ate football teams, and the boat races AT New
London more than TAX the utmost resources OF 'ha'
quiet Nsw-England town.
1t is little remarkable in view OF these circum-
stances at once startling and significant. that the
work undertaken by The TRIBUNE has been so long
deferred. Unul this book appeared. ieplete with
lust that information of which great oody "i the
public has so long felt the need there was no avail
able record OF open air amusementS Dry ana tecn-
meal treatises upon this sport or that nave OF
conr,e been Issued ron time to time In the form
of textbooks. But thew are useful only 10 actual
players and 10 the public less interesting than
Choclaw grammar The book we are considering
aims to be more than all such treatses could be- IL
embodies in a single oume the valuable data Goa
corning every recognized athletic sport, tracing
its historical development. citing It's finest repre-
30 tations defining its rules with clearness, pre-
c,sion and authority. and accomplishing the pur-
nose of O preceptor while. at thu same time. 1T
satisfies the curious and enhghtens the general 10
ou,rer. Such book must in he nature OF things
And a large con >ttuency and accomplish usefni
ends While sports remain popular. and the
Invaluable service of athletic exercises IN the
invigoration and de velopment of the body con-
t.cue to be reco gnized this book can scarcely ial
70 win large measure of pubic esteem.
II is grateful to observe that the day is far dis
tant when the people of this country Will be likely
IN forye the re alton of physical strength 10 men
tal activity Athletics as science which every
hay and girl should learn as they learn the latitude
of the acc they 1--we n the letters of the language
they sneak the composition of the air they breathe
and the water they drink. is just Ill It's infancy
Our common schools only beginning to lncoTpor-
ate calIsthenics ip their daily work. branch OF
stndy winch will soon take its proper rank.
College faculties no longer frown upon students
organizations for athletic work, but they are stu
long way from affording them that proper regula-
ton which Will extend their benefits to all the stu
dents 1t is all we'll enoug to have college ciuo
of chaupiou oarsmen or football klcKers but the
work of the gy mn asum has not Yet reached that
shape which will insure muscular training to every
voung man OF young woman the roll of
a college In fact those who most need
of physical strength and endurance have the
least attention gwen them. The time
NAV come when Latin aud OieeH
will not he on the list of pulsory studies but II
certainly must come when ample. systematic ply
scal activity will be regarded Of the first neces
sity in the education of both men and women.
The observations upon this subject with which
Mr. Blake the author of that useful work, How
to Get Strong" introduces the Book o; Open-A
Sports. are well worth a careful perusal. He pre-
sents this accurate picture OF tAe distress winch IN
attention to proper physical exercise is sure to oc
casion:
No part of the body feels the improvement more
than The nerves. We Americans, city folks al
least give the nerves a terrible ordeal First we
do little or nothing to develop the BODY IN youth
Then we keep the head and nerves on the stretc c
avg honrs a day. Then, at fourteen or fifteen when
the body is growing fast and great care should be
taken 10 make 1t both grow and develop well: we
frallv and often wholly unframed, into store. OF
bank. or telegraph Office, where the head must De
fept on the stretch ten hours day. IL the young
man mil through TO manhood the ten hours never
shorten and the strain mind and nerves steadily
intensifes Is it odd that he is tired al night
fhrae honrs more with cards and music, talk and
'nub,ic entertainments some diversion which is al
WAYS only mental or emotional. he finishes up the
frcsb has been breathed over and over by hun
dreds of human beings. aDd is sometimes thick
with smoke aud even redoeDt OF beer besides 1 ne
Ill do Iato Ip-