The St. Louis Republic., 1903-09-21
Local Coaches Discuss Means of
ArOusing Interest Here
in the Game.
TWO PLANS ARE ADVOCATED.
Doctor Todd Believes in Bringing
Important Teams Here
Murphy FayOrs Local
Championships.

| Local football coaches and managers
are unit in believing that some steps
| should be taken to arouse local interest
in the game, pointing to the immense fol-
| lowing the sport has i'm the East and the
| poor crowds it draws here as a basis for
| argument.
| 1t is likely that the Christian Brothers
| College will take some step to remove
! this feature next season. if Doctor Todd's
| suggestions are followed. The doctor be-
| lieves that games with the more impor-
tant teams IF this neighborhood would
| awaken general interest in the sport and
| would stimulate the students at the local
| colleges to turn out more generally for
| practice.
| THE boys seem willing to turn out and
| fight hard for positions when a big team
| is scheduled TO play their eleven,'' he
said, but they also seem to hold back
when the game is to be with some minor
team. This applies to all colleges here
IF some of the leading teams were
brought here for early games it would
result beneficially to the sport. Michigan
could hardly lie brought here but teams
like Wisconsin and Minnesota might come
for an early-season game. If local
eleven could defeat them, that eleven
would be factor in Western football
thereafter
Illinois might be brought here. That
would arouse interest in the game. OF
course, the trouble with local colleges has
been lack of money for their athletic as
sociations. Railroad fares mount UP in
bringing a big team here, ard the eleVens
have not been able to afford such engage
find that it pays"
W. n. Murphy, manager of the St Louis
CnlVerslty team, has always been an ad-
vocate of local championship matches and
thinks that series of mdtcnes between
st. Louis elevens for the title Woull boost
the sport greatly.
IF the teams can run on sucn A basis
next year they will arouse general inter-
est here and do the game good. I.cok al
High and Smith and the attendance they
draw Thanksgiving Day. 1t shows what
out out f%'''' for. want ana "ha' 'ney VIII turn
What We need to stir up interest here
is an intercollegiate league of the local
colleges, Missouri and Rolla, to play for
the state and st. Louis championships.
If We can make some such s.rrange gements
next season, the sport will be on first
class basis
When the Yale football eleven takes the
field for its first game, next Saturday, the
heaviest team which ever was put on the
grfdiron at the start of the season will line
up. - Neeh 5 pTdcllce mas Deen heid with
the most meager and unsatisfactory re-
suits OF any similar period In years. The
practice has been short and light every
day because of the warm weather, and
scrimmages have been impossible There
have been no iine-ups, although a couple of
back fields have been formed for signal
practice
Practically all the veterans have re-
turned, and the coaches are trying 10
settle the proposition of distributing the
heayy men,. At the outset 1t looks as IL
the three places in the center of the line
might be filled as follows: Center Smith:
guards, Cartwright and Bloomer or Kin
ney.
Smith was center rush on the fresh
man eleven last fall and has practiced
during the spring and summer at snap
back work, securing a perfection in his
technique which starts him in at the fall
training IN the best shape of any of the
candidates Cartwright was on the fresh
man team last fall but was crippled Just
before the Harvard and Princeton '0S
games by sprained ankle. He Is a
Hawaiian. like Guinea, the 250-pound CEN
ter or fve years ago. Bloomer is the
tackle OF three years ago. grown twenty
pounds heavier, and, as Kinney Shevlin
and Hogan will try for the tackle posi-
ti9ns, he will be tried at guard.
the sridiron next Saturday against Trinity
the eleven will be made up as follows:
Ends. Captain Rafferty,. Hare and Shevlin;
tackles, Kinney, Hogan, Stubbs, Phipps;
guards. Cartwright, Bloomer, Roraback;
center, Smith and Morton; quarter backs
Rockwell, Stillman; half backs, Metcalf
Owsley, MacMahon: full backs Bowman
and Farmer.