The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-01-26
REVIVAL OF HOCKEY
/.
OWN CITY LEAGUE COMPELs IN.
TEREST IN GREAT ICE
GAME
COVERED Kinks ARE NEEDED
Guaranteed Protection From Wealth.
Fl er, Spectators Would Turn Out in
Large Numbers-Chance for
Enterprising Promoter.

y Winnipeg, city famed for its hockey
feams, curriers', skaters and oarsmen, has
tduSt added another Eastern scalp to its
kloelt by successfully defending the STAN
hey cup, emblematic of the hockey cham
Epionship of the world, against a team as
Egood as Eastern Canada can produce
fTTor nearly ten years this prairie city has
had things about its own way on the ice,
talthough the Twin Cities have furnished
ISkaters that are equal to their own Nc
kCupcgh, and sportsmen all over the coun-
TRY have the highest respect for the VIM
Enipeggers both as sportsmen and enter
SalnerS. The question at present upper
Emost is, since the East cannot furnish
Ehockey material good enough to carry
away the trophy, why should the West
mot have a try?
/ Hockey has been Systematically neglect
led in the Twin Cities for years, and
principally because the people have not
kbeen given an oportunity to see what a
[royal game it is. This year, however,
kthere has been revival, and a good
tE1zed league has been formed to compete
hor The Dunbar cup, "a handsome trophy
donated by P. j. Giesen, of the Clarendon
motel. interest in the games has been
twell maintained and before the present
season is over, a healthy boom should
Have been inaugurated. There is no game
jim existence which combines rapid move
ment with consummate skill as well as
Public begins to realize this, the game
will jump into popularity.
A St Paul enthusiast in discussing the
situation yesterday said: What we need
ITO awaken interest in the game is two
large covered Kinks, one in each Of the
Twin Cities. Let some enterprising cap
Stalist invest in two Kinks which Will
present sheets Of ice, say 210x190 feet, pro-
wide plenty Of comfortable seats. advertise
The games we'll, and you will see hockey
Hboom that viii take both cities by storm.
EWatching even a well played game on
ian open rink is not a pleasant task in
Ethis latitude, and even the keenest en-
kthusiasm is not proof against freezing
fleet and benumbed noses. But ma large,
lWeu lighted, covered rink the case is
different. The spectators are comfortable
land can admire the movements of the
Eplayers before them. and I defy even
Football to arouse the enthusiasm that
hgood hockey can. There is more agility,
tquicker thinking, and even greater skill
Than is required in football. The element
fof brute strength does not enter into the
tRame at all, and when both goals can
be in danger two or three times inside
of a minute what more exciting form
9of sport can he asked?
| Il am SURPRISED that this matter has
not been taken up before. There is money
i'm it for the first one to try it. In Win
nipeg four years ago such a rink as L
with several others which had been pop
hlar for years, and the investment has
proved a big winner. The rink need not
he idle between seasons, either, for in
The summer tennis, indoor bicycling and
Theatrical entertainments can be utilized
to keep the place going
Will Take Some Time.
"a s'Then as to the class of hockey that
could be furnished it stands to reason
that we could not expect to beat the Win
a1ipegers for at least two or three years
In Manitoba hockey players commence
their training from the time they are big
enough to grasp a bent stick and sprawl
about on frozen ponds on vacant lots;
when they grow older any budding talent
is quickly observed and carefully foster
ed and that is how the Stanley cup has
found an abiding resting place with the
Victoria club. Every player on the team,
with the exception Of one or two, was
born in the town, and most Of them have
been members of the club for from three
to ten years.
In this part of the country we have
skaters who are as speedy as the Mani
tobanS, but they have not the trick OF
handling their sticks, and the thousand
and one points that go to make up the
finished expert are unknown. But we
can develop talent of this sort; we have
a season almost if not quite as long as
that in Winnipeg, and once interest is
properly awakened we shall have players
growing up in all parts Of the city. The
first thing to do is to get the Kinks, and
the rest will follow. I feel confident, and
so do others who have given the matter
any study, that with proper facilities
there are hockey possibilities in the two
cities that are undreamed of. Already in
the Eastern states they are producing
teams that hold their own with the best
of the Ontario and Quebec aggregations.
New York, Pittsburg, Boston and Phil
adelphia have clubs that would given
even the Winnipeggers a good game, and
why then is the West tagging in the
rear? We have every natural advantage,
and the movement only awaits a good
Start to become popular and successful"