The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-12-27
Basket Ball at
the Rink
DID NOT SUIT.
Games We're Rough and
Delays We're Frequent.

During one of the very frequent waits
at the rink last evening, somebody
started up that familiar and rather sug-
gestive air, I'VE won't get home until
morning" The crowd of $50 basket
ball rooters there assembled was quick
to see the point, and soon everybody
with the exception of the few young
women who sat in the front row, was
whistling the tune.
For a Catholic total abstinence gath
ering, it may not have been the most
appropriate tune imaginable. At the
some time, it sized up the situation to
a r. 1t was after II o'clock before
lights were out" and the evening of
The fun was supposed to begin at s
o'clock, and as four halves, each of 20
minutes duration, were to be played,
you can figure it out for yourself
whether the people got more of basket
ball or of waits for the money they had
invested at the door.
1t was the opening night of the en-
bryonic league among the temperance
societies of the town, and as an open
ing attraction, likewise a holiday at
traction, a double-heaIer had been
billed. The Lyceums were to play the
st. Anne's, while the ST. Stephens and
the Father Mathews were also to try
named team had the better players and
won in hollow fashion, the Lyceums by
a score of II to > and the st. Stephens
by the score of 10 to 6.
II the league is to be blessed with more
than passing existence, the individ-
ual teams must play a better and a
different game of basket ball than they
offered last evening. The crowd was
clearly disappointed and dissatisfied, as
was shown by the comparatively large
proportion that left after the close of
the first game. Between the waits and
the sort of game played. it took a man
Of more than the usual amount of cour-
age or love of basket ball to stay it
through to the finish.
Both games were roughly played.
Referee Parker did not begin to call
half the fouls, and yet the scores show
that there were % free tries for goal
IN account Of illegal playing. Some of
the players showed practically no
knowledge Of the game. They kicked,
tackled, ran with the ball, used both
hands, and did other things. AS for
Foley and DOran, they did not play
basket ball at all, but spent most of
their time smuggling everybody within
reach. The ball itself was under reg
ulation size, and, what was more, was
only half blown up. The public will
not stand for that sort of work.
AS for the delays, they We're wholly
nexcusable. The crowd spent more
time looking at a vacant playing sur
face and watching the electric lights
sputter and flicker than it did watching
basket ball. Through some oversight,
the managers failed to take out the ne
cessary license and there was conster-
nation and surprise in camp when, a
few minutes before 8 o'clock, Officer
Brown appeared at the door and in
formed the managers that it was a
ase Of no-lHense, no game A hur-
ried conference with Lieut.. Johnson at
station l and with Chief brennan over
the telephone patched up matters. and
a half hour later the game was started
W tn the understanding that a license
should be procured the first thing this
morning.
With two sets of teams taking turns
playing their halves, it would seem as
though, unless there were not enough
suits to go around, that one-half might
Immediately follow the termination of
he preceding half. And yet the waits
We're each of more than Is minutes in
ength, and the bothersome ball caused
other and lesser waits.
Some of the tries for goal were really
laughable. The ball would touch the
ow ceiling almost before it had left
the players hands, and bound back or
off to one side, sometimes going yards
wide of the basket. The men evidently
had been doing their practice in goal
throwing out-of-doors with heaven for
their canopy, and forgot that about five
feet above them there was a roof.
The best bit of basket ball playing
seen during the evening was in the sec
2nd half of the st. Stephens Father
Mathew game, when more than half the
people had left the rink. Dorman, Hea-
ey and Magee gave several very pref
ty exhibitions of passing the ball and
worked the ball on long passes down to
The vicinity of the goal HeaIey and
Magee, however, did not have their
goal-throWtng eyes with them and
missed several opportunities to fat an
already large score.
The lineup of the teams and the
summaries were as follows