New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-09-02
THE ATHLETIC CHAMPIONSHIPS.
PREPARATIONS FOR THE BIG MEETING At THR
MANHATTAN GROUNDS


MANHATTAN GROUNDS.
Preparations going rapidly forward at Manhattan
Field for the first championship meeting Of the Met
ropolitan Association OF tn Amateur Athletic Union,
which Will be held there Saturday, September H.
beginning at 2 O'Clock In the afternoon. There has
been lot OF croang about the folly of holding such
an important meeting grounds, and tho usual
talk about the time needed by the tracks for settling
and the roughness of the freshly sodced nfcld but
unless something unforeseen happens tho cnder paths
Of Manhattan Field will be really what is called fast
before September IL.
feature Of the coming meeting viii be the manner
Of running the quarlermile dash. Croaler should be
particularly careful in their remarks about record
breaking at the Metropolitan Associations first cham
pionshp meeting for the quarterme race to be run
with the aid OF the 220-yaM straightaway, so that
Instead of tho finishing right In front Of the grand
stand, tape will be stretched the far straight, as
1t is called on horse tracks. This will give DOwnee
and Remington almost good chance Downes
had on the London Athletic Clubs track at Stamford
Bridge where the first ESQ yard of the quartermile
course is straightaway. The start will be at the Cliff
in the beginning Of the 220yard sraghaway, and the
finish will be near the clubhouse at the northeast
corner of the grounds Bruce, the trackmaster, has
been arranging the three jumping spaces at the grounds
the last week; they are the running high, the running
broad and the pole vault The special excellences Of
these Jumps are the fine take-os that have been pre-
pared The running broad jump, which for obvious
reasons is the nearest TO the grand all being In
the ineld close to the finish OF the 22Oyard straight
away has a 4oyard cinder path on which competitors
NAV .ather Roadway for their springs Bruce, the
groundsman has soft dug-np earth landing places be-
yond the timber confines Of the jumps, and he has
besides nut in pretty Innovation for the broad jump
He has sodded the ground beyond the timber take-oh
OF the broad Jump for twelve feet-no matter VINO
pretends to be athlete at all would ever tmnk OF
starting with less than twelve feet at the running
1AC Of 4hn In nm
beyond this little green plot no has had 12-foot
hrass ruler planted so that athletes may tell at a
glance while practising just how far they are Jumping
Rruce's scheme may be all right, this making OF the
broad-iump limit twentyfOur feet, for the amateur
records are Reber Of st. Louis, 23 feet lncheS AZ
Conand % feet 1-S inches, and NJ w. Ford 70 1eet
Q inches: but a letter from France received IN tms
itv last week saws that Victor Mapes, the younger
brother Of the last unfortunate victim to the sea
mss has been jumping twenyfour leeO Ill pracuoo'
This seems as absurdy extravagant tale as "ouu DC
q rumor that Nelson Allerton or sunol was Totuns
miles in private training practice in about two minutes
butthe informant Of The Tribune reporter seemed 10
stocp in the account Of young Mapes's wonderful
oonq The only possible exception that could be taken U
the grounds chosen for the coming championships Is
that there is deceptive angle for the hhsh Oh Ihe
o2oyard straightawsy, sure to make trouble "lch
couM have been avoided had the cliff been dug lh'o
little further The finish, too, OF this 22o IS ulho
short for sprinters In full to pull up In.
There are eighteen competitions IN this first cham
nonshIp meeting of the Amateur Athletic Union Asso-
clatlon They are: l00-yard run, 22o-yan rum 44o-
ward run ss0yard run, onemile run, flve-me walk
tree-me walk. twomie bicycle, pole-vault 1or heehV'
runnng high-3ump, running broadjump. throwing SIX
teennoppd hammer throwing fftysix pound weight ior
distance putting slxteen-pound shot, 120yard hurue'
ton flights feet inches high 220-yard hurdle, ten
lights o feet 6 inches high; Individual tugofwar,
unlimited weight.
One object of the meeting is to weed out and throw
aside the men of limited ability whom it would not De
worth their clubs while to send to the Amateur Atm
Ietc Unions open championships which are to be held
at St. Louis on October 8. Another and an exactly
opposite reason for the holding Of these championships
here is TO give local men chance TO WIN tophes anu
honor increasing the interest In the entire system Oh
amateur athletics safe and general remark 10 MAKE
about this years athletic championships Is thae the
average ability will be higher than before There VIII
be fewer stars but there will be almost no unworthy
entries at the coming meeting H. h. Williams OF
Yale champion hurdler, and "Jim Lee OF Harvau an
other great hurdler will not compete, blows which, wln
the withdrawal Of Victor Mapes, would cripple any but
great meeting. Williams is the holder OF the 10
yard hurdle record of the world having run this race
in as seconds at the Intercollegiate Championships
on last Decoration Day. He has decided TO accept
place as schoOlteacher in Ncw-YOrk State. Lee, OF
Harvard having been graduated will go into business
in this city. He holds the intercollegiate record Oh
22O-yard hurdng, "a As seconds.
This years competitions at Manhattan Field VIII
probably narrow down to duel between tho two cham
pon athletic clubs the Manhattan and the New-l orA
with an occasional plum in the shape OF trophy
pcked of here and there by New-Jersey athletic club
a staten Island athletic club a Long Island, New
England, a Buffalo a Phadelphld champion. An
Interesting struggle viii be the onemlle run, @hcn
will Olave for competitors among others l. +, conner
and A. b. George, Of the Manhattan Athletic CinD'
Woodbridge Of Princeton; Lloyd, Of the prospect iar
rers j. Reid ard Wells, Of Amherst. Conner IS eA
pected by most experts TO win. running hlgh Jump
cracks as Nckerson Of the Newl ork Athletic Cup
record feet IL inches quarter Inch higher than ne
Is tall; Edward, Of the New-Jersey Atllctc Cup
record feet IL lnch Ha0ck, OF the Manhattan VINO
has done over six feet and Fearing of Harvard repre-
seutInp the Boston Athletic Association. Copeland.
Ford T. J. Ramsdell, of Princeton; possibly DOhm
r w Gof of the Manhattan Athletic Club, PuHer Oh
the New Jersey Athletic Club, and o. l. Welgano ana
y T Lee of the New York Athletic Club, are among
those expected to do we'll in the running broad jump
The sixteen pound bammer-thTowlng comPeun9n VIII
fhe record for throwing from sevenfOOt circle, now
representing the Xavier Athletic Club and Queckborher
the ManhataT athletic GaW Tdns5d VINO bca5 nSg G
a few days ago for the hurdles. In which races-hlgh
and low-he Will meet among others SchwegleI Puner
Kangaroo" Barnes. to say nothing OF j. Mooney
will be full Of interest for it s likely that the BerHele
Athletic Club will have In a. Nlllie Mlhuc; why H0
seconds: C. NJ Hendee and possibly Louis II. Han,
jr. The Murphy brothers, W. F. and G. NJ to6eiheT
with IIoyland smith, a. A. Zimmerman, W; CamPoen,
Athletic Club. The Murphy brothers ran first and
second al The amateur athletic championships at
Washington last year Jherc is % a1s Mn no
in the one-niic run and Benson. Splinter from the
same city. -, .,,- ,,, u.oo |