New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-02-26
DEFINITION OF THE AMATEUR.
VARIOUS OPINIONS FROM DIFFERENT
BRANCHES OF SPORT
MITCH TROUBLE AT TIMES IL Separation" TIE
FRO" FROM THE SIMON PURE
T1rE OLD SPORT sAYs-BBrTiN'
IN AMATEUR CONTESTS.

N AMATEUR CONTESTS.
Tho definition of the amateur has been inuc"
s,.ossod in the sporting world and II VIII con-
tinue 10 be until some wise sporting MoseS -
,,o,.orod who will be able to draw line pc
tn.oor the "simon pure" and the pro that can
not be defaced. While the suggestion nus '''
beon made Il might not be bad idea TOT t"0
,,rtirg associations Of the country lhcluu"e
,bo Amateur Athletic Union. the lnterco''es'"''
Athletic Association, the League OF America"
vyboeIrnen and the organizations which co'''''
sbootinq golf. baseball and other sports 10 co''''
together at some future date and draw w an
amateur rule which would fit persons III All
branches OF sport, from the coiege "'''''e .,
the less aristocratic member OF
club on the East Side
As outdoor and indoor sport becomes more
popular each year the trouble In separ"''"e '''0
professional from the amateur becomes nv
difficult few years ago the amateur was VI.
competitor who did not in any way receEe any
a,,o,,cta1 consideration for the work he ola on
the track or field or in the roped arena. Inc"
the conditions became such in certain pIahchcS
Of snort that the leading spirits cohceNeu '"e
idea of the semi-professional, man VINO re-
caivad directly or Indirectly a salary or money
consideration for representing some cruz VI 10
eociation The introduction OF the SeH'-PiN
fessional caused the trouble, ana uh'l TIC -
eliminated the work Of separating the wv
classes will be difficult and intricate proplelh
Baseball was probably responsible TOT '"e
i,troduction of the middle class in sport. Some
of the large athletic clubs found that "oui'
no an almost impossible task to maintain their
baseball and football teams so long as 'heS
stuck strictly 10 the amateur rules. IL pecail''
difficult to secure hrst-class pitchers ana ca'o"
ars for tie baseball teams and still more
troublesome to keep together strong ioo'
taom Then some well-to-do member or the
club would take hold Of the situation. lie was
interested in the success Of his club and did not
want some rival organization to beat MS pet
team. He perhaps knew of some young man
who v.as q great pitcher or halfback as the
case might be. who could be secured for MS
80, hut tho ncrson was poor and could not
afford TO devote all OF his time to any particular
o,,,b Tben the clubman Of means secured
,loco for the athlete at a remunerative salary
,-boro h,o duties were such that he would be
ob1a 20 cot q leave Of absence whenever the clup
nod on in,nortant game on hand or course MS
work for the corporation where he was en-
nlovod was Of secondary considerations Theh
other clubs followed suit. and mythicai places
were manufactured for star athletes on every
hand Few Of the important clubs IN the as
trict remained out Of the scramble for the de-
s,.abIe athletes. The next step. paying man
q stimulated sum every time he donned cluD
uniform. was short.
The League Of American Wheelmen' WHOSE
rules to-day are probably stricter In regard 10
amateurism than most OF the ORGANIZATIONS zen
into the trap and the leaders of the organiza''o"
have been sorry for it ever since. When cycle
racing became popular a few years ago the
manufacturer took a lively interest IN the
ga,nc and IL was not long before he began 10
see that popular and speedy riders cou'u ~
much to bring his particular bicycle pelo'e 'n'
publio The result was that Wheei WAS se"1
10 the promising amateur. and later some agent
Of the maker sought an interview Win '"c
rider with the usual result He was promised
stated sum whenever he finished hrst III
race. and an agreement was made that he was
10 lose no opportunity TO praise the ruinins
qualities Of that particular wheel whenever 'he
occasion presented Itself
The evil became so general that the League
Of American Wheelmen found that II had us
hands more than full IN separating the proles-
sional the ecmi-professional ana the amateur
At an ill-adyised moment the organization ior-
mulated the famous class decree. placing inc
man who rode for cash prizes IN one Glass; '"o
son,i-professional in what was called 'Ciass H.
and the amateur pure ana simple was cdle"
"Class A" man. OF course. the scheIie ulu "o'
work and after years trial 1t was anahuoheu
Then all the Class men were turned BACK ih'o
the amateur class but OF course they ulu Ho'
remain there long. for they had been real pro-
fossiorals all the time. Now, the amateur ru'-
,res NJ the League Of American Wheeimen are
,robablv enforced with more severity than ale
the rules Of any other organization in the coun-
try
There are those who have maintained for
many years that there can be only TWO cIasseS
IN snort. the amateur and professional Others
sa, that q man IL an amateur SO long as he
does not make his living from some branch OF
snort The question has been a troublesome
one for the college and sporting world for a long
time and until the aforementioned sporting
Moses energies from his place OF concealiheht
and pens rule TO separate effectively the ''asSeS
the difficulties Will continue. The facuIueS At
the various colleges have given much atteh-
lion to the training-tablcs and the expense ac-
counts Of their sporting branches. Al '"e "''''-
,,g ~ the intercollegiate Athletic Association
held at the Fifth Avenue Hotel yesterday the
eligibility Of college athletes caused the lveliest
discussion.
The recent challenge Of an amateur billiard
Jet after the end II the Class \ tournament
at the Knickerbocker Athletic Club, 10 play
one Of the competitors for wager OF SIoV"o
caused considerable discussion When McCreery
issued the challenge to play Mullen. many
thought that he angry at the fact that ne
had been beaten. and that no more would be
heard OF the offer 20 wager such sum on the
result Of another match. At first the offer sa-
vored much of professionalism, but since then
the leaders in the sporting world have discussed
the matter from different standpoints and have
come 10 the conclusion that even an amateur
can wager sums Of money upon himself or
unon the feats Of others without inJuring his
amateur standing
The facts are that betting is INDUCED IN IN
-. o,.orv branch OF sport and these cOndi-