The age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1897-1902, 1899-10-01


come up to the expectation of their friends
in the winning of college games. but at
the same time enough records have been
broken by Yankee athletes to make up to
some extent for the disappontments
caused by the poor showing made by me
American university team on the other
side. In addition to this there is a crumb
OF comfort that may be derived from the
fact that athletic managers all over the
country seem to have taken our few de-
feats this year to heart. They are sur
prised that we have made such a poor
showing in our own games, not to mention
thos@ which were played abroad. and they
arc liking every effort to better the stand
ing Of the men under them. This fact is
particularly true in respect of Yale while
the methods adopted by trainers at nearly
every college of note show that they have
discovered the cause of the failure and are
preparing to remedy the defect as soon
as possible. AS the result it is not too opti-
mistic to look on the bright side of the
matter and to feel that the future has
comfort in store for Us and that the year
That is coming will develop men who will
prove their claim to the laurels that were
once worn so proudly by our athletes.
Those who are interested in out of door
sports often ask If 1t is true that our ath-
letes are showing such great improve
ment over those of the old days This is,
of course, partly matter of opinion. In
some respects we are constantly improving.
New records are being made every year
and old worlds records are being broken
and yet there are some achievements that
1t does not seem possible to equal. Among
these feats there are few that were made
years and years ago. In cycling and swim
ming and jumping new records are made
each year to be supplanted within another
twelve months, but there are fields of sport
In which the achievements of our fore
fathers promise to outlast the century
In 1868 Deerfoot ran II miles and $40 yards
In sixty minutes, and it was more than
thirty years before the record that he es-
tablished was equalled. when. in 1897. r. i.
Bacon effaced it by 273 yards Another
record that stood supreme for more than
thirty years was Kettledrum's 243 for the
Derby course in 1861. In 1896 Persimmon
beat 1t by the narrow margin of one second.
NO man has yet succeeded in surprising
G. Stewards wonderful achievement of 200
yards in 0:1915. which was made more than
hdii d century ago, anu WeSthalfS record
of OILS for $50 yards has never been equall-
ed by a professional and only twice by
amateurs. Thfrty-six years ago two great
records were made Lang ran two miles in
9:11h and White five miles in 24:40, neither
OF which have ever been rivaled
Among other running records that still
survive after more than quarter of a
century of contests are Nuttall's 500 yards
In lib; Richards three-quarters of a mile
in 1907; Hewitt's half mile in 1:35Ia; Walshs
500 yards in 100A, and Butterys quarter of
a mile In DASH. In the case of the last
two records they have been recently beaten
by amateurs but never by professionals
More than eighteen years ago Myers made
his record of 1000 yards in 2:13. In 1882
Phillips covered 120 yards in OIL As. A
similar condition of affairs exists in re-
gard to records for walking. There are
nine professional records that have sur
vived more than fifteen years. Perkins
mile in 1923 was made nearly twenty-five
years ago and no amateur has yet equaled
Griffith's twenty walk in 24752
which was made in $780, or Sinclairs fifty
miles in ", made in 1879.
1t would be possible to go on almost in
definitely calling attention to great
achievements performed by athletes who
won their laurels before the present gen.
Grafton of contestants were born and yet
there are new branches of sport in which
new records are made with surprising fire.
quency, while in these the records that
stood as amazing achievements a half a
century ago would look small indeed as
compared with those of this day. In fact,
II We place one sport against another we
will find that there are better athletes to-
day than there were generation or two
ago, and that while there were men who
surpassed in some particulars in other re-
spects the history of athletics has been
long triumph of great achievements.
tc Il OF rhn
still holds the worlds record for the
long jump. Several months ago it was
announced that Newburn, the Irish
jumper, had beaten the record by an
achievement at Mulingar, but as the per-
Torrance was rejected by the Irish Attn
letic association on the ground that 1t
had been made on down grade, New
burns record remained at "a feet one-half
inch. which left Kraenzlein's performance
of "a feet AZ inches undisputed as world
record.
There is probably no better all round
athlete in this world today than this
man kraenzlein. He holds a good half
dozen of the worlds records and his work
on the cinder path is just as good as that
in field sports so that he has come to be
regarded as the most marvellous athletic
phenomenon that has ever competed in
public. When the cable announced that
Newburn had beaten his long jump record
heart of every American lover Of athletics
but now that the Britishers performance
has been explained, we can understand just
how it was accomplished and we rest Sc
cure In the faith that Kraenzlein will yet
be able to keep the laurels upon this side Of
the big pond" i.
The worlds record for throwing the
hammer also rests secure on this side
providing Flanagan does not lose his
strength. A few months ago 1t looked
as If his standing record might be touch
ed by Kiley in Ireland, so the American
thrower went into practice and last July,
at the st. Augustine athletic games in Bos-
ton he surpassed his own previous achieve
ments and made the worlds record secure
by making a throw of 164 feet inch, sew
eral feet further than any of his previous
The performance of I. K. Baxter, of the
New York Athletic club is another bright
attainment that will offset many fall
ure. AS a high jumper he is a wonder and
he has already broken the worlds indoor
record by his jump of feet 49, inches. AS
he is still a very young man, however, and
as, like KraenZlein, he has never abused
himself, there is a promise that his per-