Omaha daily bee., 1905-12-03
SPORTING GOSSIP OF WEEK
Who Will Coach Nsbraska's Foot Ball
Team Next Season.
ARGUMENTS FOR AND AGAINST BOOTH
Many Good Reasons why the Present
Coach should he Retained ~ He
VIII Undertake the work
Another Year.

braska and the principal matter considered
Is whether Coach Booth has outlived his
usefulness during the five years he has
been the mentor of the foot ball squad
at Lincoln. 1t is always a question for
athletic associations of universities to de-
eide whether IL will be better to retain
an old and experienced coach who has
been tried, or to get new blood who will
jump in, with more enthusiasm. Pew coll
leges make contract for more than one
year with coach, and each fall the same
proposition must be faced. The oldest
argument is that a coach has been out
of the game for year and will not be
as good as one who has just finished a
successful season on one of the leading
teams This is all bosh. Because a man
is not playing is no sign that he is out
of touch with the game. A player learns
more points of the game himself tho min
ute he tries to teach some one else. 1t
is the same in any line. A person may
belong to a Bible class and think he is
learning something, but let him try to teach
that Bible class and he will find that he
must learn a great deal more and will
learn IT, and so 1t is in foot ball. A coach
surely knows more of the game after a
season spent in coaching than he did the
year before when he had just graduated
from college. And so 1t follows there is
nothing to the argument that a man Just
out OF college is better posted in the game
than the old coach. That argument is all
bosh
The only argument that will stick is that
after a coach has been at a place too
long his opinion may not be respected as
much as II was at first. He has not the
control Of the men that he had at first
This may be true in the case of Booth,
for It is known that the men were with
out discipline on the morning before the
game at Minneapolis Instead of having
them together in a room where they would
be forced to rest in anticipation Of the COM
ing battle. the players were permitted to
roam all over town and to circulate among
the rooters If the smoke-filled lobby of
the Ryan hotel. No player can do his duty
to his college who is dead on his feet from
having tramped over a city all morning,
when he ought to be at rest, and It is the
duty of the coach to see that the rules
are enforced. II Booth has reached the
stage where he has no control over the
men in such matters it is time he pulled
out and made room for some new man
who can hold the men together better.
-
Booth was UP against it on several prop
osltions this fall. In the first place the
conference rule barring freshmen shut out
the chance of his getting good material.
even II he did scour the country. and so
many vacancies were to be filled that It
was nigh onto impossible to fill them satis-
factorily with the material at hand. Two
Of his best players were barred by the rule.
Booths men looked dead on their feet,
especially in the Minnesota game. They
had been keyed up to the top notch for the
Michigan game ana looked overturned for
the rest Of the season. This may be said
to be the trainers fault, but the coach In
a western college is practically the head
trainer. II a man is overtrained It is his
duty to give him the needed rest.
The faculty and undergraduates are TAX
ing a greater interest in the team at Lin
coin than ever before, In spite OF the fact
that winning team was not to be had
from the bunch of available material. The
student body Is criticizing Booth for the
defeats by Michigan and Minnesota. This
is not right in the case of Michigan. for
what team has made a better showing
against Michigan except Chicago and Wis.
consn. Nebraska's showing in the FIRST
half was better than that OF Wisconsin
Michigan scored on Wisconsin in the FIRST
half. but came no where near scoring or
Nebraska in the first The athletic board
at Lincoln attaches no blame whatever &c
Booth for the defeats OF the team by thes,
larger colleges. Minnesota has a team con.
sidered by some to be the best OF all and
the way she swooped all over Northwestern
bears out that claim.
Booth has settled In a lucrative law prac
tice in New York City and other reason,
than the money involved brought him t
Nebraska this fall II is admitted that tn,
present year has been disappointing to tn,
rooters, but a lack OF material fit for
first class team and bad weather ar,
largely responsible for the poor showlnl
made rather than any failure on the par
OF the coach. Booth brought out a gooC
team in 1900 when Nebraska was given
rank among the conference colleges. Gen
orally since Nebraska has had a good team
but this year the material was lacking ant
there was nothing doing when It came I,
meeting the big teams. Booth has proven
his ability to teach a team the science o
the game, and has brought out some stars
showing that he knows how to get the bes
there is in a man out OF him. and this 1
what a coach is supposed 10 be able TO dc
The athletic authorities, almost TO a man
seem 20 favor the return OF Booth. and h
will probably be asked 70 take up the rein
again next fall. II Booth does not tnteni
70 coach any more. the authorities shout
know It and should be scouting around 70
some OF the new men who are liable /
make the best coaches. It used to be
question of whether the Yale system or tn
Princeton was the best. but a new syster
has come in during the last few years an
that is Yost. Yost has a system and
turning out many coaches who are file
with his huTry-up tactics. Many OF thes
coaches are making good around the couu
try, something like twenty-three being en-
gagged this fall on the various eolleg
campuses. Nebraska is striving for a from
place In athletics and a competent coac
must be had
Nebraska made a glorious finish in foo
ball, even II two important games wer
lost during the season Michigan an
Minnesota have advantages which put ther
above the class OF Nebraska. The princips
OF these Is the large number OF feede
high and preparatory schools to draw from
The conference rule set Nebraska bac
more than almost any other college, be
cause Booth had so many places on hi
team TO NIL. One hard game against thes
superior colleges would be enough for on
season. Nebraska Is anxious for recogn