The Topeka state journal., 1899-12-07
SPORTING NEWS.
Chicago Claims Western Su-
premacy on the GridirOn.
Iowa and Kansas Must Be
ReckOned With.
TO IOWA'S CREDIT.
Is a Drawn Battle With Windy
City Team.
Kansas Football Players Wanted
In the East.
TO IOWA'S CREDIT.

St Louis, Dec. Notwithstanding
all talk to the contrary from Chicago,
next Saturdays game between Staggs
Chicago MarOOns and Pat O'Dea's Wis
consin Badgers will not quite or entire
ly settle the football championship of
the west. Iowa and Kansas, especially
the Hawkeyes, must be reckOned with
before any championship is settled in
the West. Iowa has to her credit
drawn battle with Chicago that the
Windy City aggregation must wipe out
before her claim to the western cham
piOnship Will be acknowledged, even If
she does win from Wisconsin. If there
is such thing as having the best OF
a draw, Iowa certainly had it over Chi
cagO, as she crossed the Maroon
goal line while Stagg's men were COM
PEELED to kick their only goal from the
field. The only correct solution of the
Western football championship problem
is now impossible for the simple reason
that Iowa and Kansas will hardly play
again this season. Their teams were
disbanded after Thanksgiving day. In
order to solve the championship prob
lem it would be necessary to have a
decisive game between the Jayhawkers
and the HaWkeyeS. The winner of the
battle would then have to play the Win
ner of the Chicago Wisconsin game
The team that came out on top in these
two games would have an unc1Ouded
title to the Western football champion
ship.
Smith, the three Jayhawker stars, of
the Missouri Kansas Thanksgiving day
game, a local football enthusiast said:
Big corn crops and great football
players go hand in hand in the sun
flower state. Every time they have
big corn crop out there you can bet all
sure to produce football phenoms ga
lore. Take the year '94, for in
stance. That summer they har-
vested more corn than the farmers
Fa EOn fGTs
and Van DuZer played football in '94
with the Baker college team. They We're
gridirOn stars of the first magnitude,
as all who remember their phenomenal
work with the Northwestern when the
Chicago team played Missouri in St.
Louis in '95 can vOuch for. Northwest
ern heard of the great work of Potter
and Van Duzer out in Kansas in '94
and brought them to CHICAGO the fol-
lowing year. Van Duzer and Potter were
probably the best pair of half backs
ever seen in the West.
This year they harvested another
record breaking crop of corn, and
what's the result? Another bunch OF
football stars. too. Wilcox, who tore
NIissouri's line TO pieces all by himself
on several occasions, is certainly a
wonderful football player. Ad Hill was
about the first Missouri player to real
ize the mischief that Wilcox was cap
able of doing, and threw himself in
front of the Kansan until Wilcox had
him cracked wide open. After wilcox
would smash a hole through NIissOuris s
line. Tucker, the liveliest of the Jay
hawker backs, would come rushing
through for ground gains galore.
look for one of the Chicago or Eastern
teams to draft Wilcox and possibly
Smith and Tucker from Kansas. Penn
sylvania especially has a hankering
after Kansas and Nebraska stars. Os-
good, the best half back Pennsylvania
ever had, originally came from Nebras-
ka Outland, the captain of the 98
Pennsylvania eleven, was drafted from
Kansas