The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1903-04-02
Htbletic$ in Southwestern Minnesota.

sGG&@GGG&@GG@G GG@GGGGGGGGGGGGg
millionaire and is profigate in his al
lowances.
Running horses was very popular
sport in the early days, especially in
l.. Saturday afternoons were set
apart by the business men as sort of
trading and racing day; and the mer-
chants would offer prizes in the form
of merchandise, in various amounts.
This invariably drew large number
Of farmers to town to participate in
the sport, and enhanced it's standing as
a trading point. The farmer who didn't
own a "runnin' boss" was conspicuous
by his absence. The "hoss" might be
blind, spawned, curbed or afflicted with
the stringhalt, it was all the same; if
he could not win in the fast race, he
was entered in the slow race. This
consisted in the farmers exchanging
mounts, and each riding the others
horse to win, the same as ia an ordinary
race; the last horse in being the winner.
This always created a great deal of
amusement: especially if one of the
horses happened to balk, which was
not unusual.
Sunday afternoons the younger
generation would ride into town
with their bronchos, and arrange a
similar program, interspersed with
foot races, wrestling, boxing and
jumping contests. Among the hardy
young manhood here represented,
you could find a foeman worthy of
your prowess. These young giants of
the prairie needed no weeks of prepa-
ration; they were always fit. There was
no class or weight distinction. The
light 130-pound man often went against
the heavyweight with his 200 pounds,
and not infrequently was the victor.
The turf was the floor of the ring, or
constituted the mat on which these
contests were decided. The old time
ring wrestle was very popular, and the
two victorious men usually decided the
contest by bout at side-hold, back k-hold,
collar-and-elbow or catch-as-catch-can
l have witnessed feats of jumping that
would greatly surprise many college
athletes, one of the most popular being
the running high jump, in which the
contestants would leap over an average
sized horse; and this without spring.
board. Several of the men could do
better than 13 feet in the standing
broad jump Sawyer and Strickler set
ting the mark at IL feet ~ inches and
IL feet 81 inches, respectively.
However, many of the old timers
have passed away, and most of us have
entered the ranks of the has-beens.
New conditions prevail and the rising
generation has, in great measure dis
carded the old games and sports. Base
ball, football, lawn tennis and golf in
summer, with boxing, wrestling, hand
ball, club swinging and dumb-bell hand
ling, in winter, now constitute the prin-
cipal sports of the athletically inclined
Among these later sports, the great
national game is perhaps the most popu-
lar. 1t has taken such firm hold on the
country people of Southwestern Min
nesota, that no settlement is worthy of
recognition unless it boasts baseball
team; and for the edifcation of those
not familiar with the sporting procliv-
tiles of farmer John," shall tell of a
few games that came under my imme-
date observation. When the craze first
struck Southwestern Minnesota, Sc
ries of games were played; not under
any real schedule, but in a happy-go-
lucky western style. By common con-
sent, the Lakeield Stars and the Win
dom Owls were placed in the lead for
championship honors. The Stars then
defeated the Owls on the Window
diamond, and were in turn defeated on
their home grounds. This resulted in
the arrangement of a game to take
place at Lakefeld in thirty days, for
800 side.
Window, in the meantime, proceed
ed to "cinch" the game by import
ing players from outside towns and