Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-01-21

crowded center. Harvard does not mention
any specific changes which might be good
except that officials should be more Ell
Client and numerous.
Ice skating at Cut-oT lake and Manawa
has had to take a back seat to the more
exciting pastime of Ice yachting, and the
splendid weather of December and this
year, TO date, has been a great boon to
this sport. During the past week the
warmer weather has been a sort of a set
back. but 1t has given the boat owners
an opportunity to overhaul their boats in
anticipation of the colder weather which
is coming, that is, II the ice man is TO
get in his work before summer. The whole
lawn in front Of the Manawa boathouse is
filled with boats which were being over
hauled and put in shape for the better
times. Match races will soon be the order
of the day. Many different types of boat
are to be seen and on the day Of the
grand competitions many surprises will be
sprung.
President II. c. Pulliam Of the National
League of Professional Base Ball clubs
does not believe that there will be any
material change In the playing rules from
those that prevailed during the last cham
pionship season. When asked whether the
game could not be made more interesting
by the elimination of the foul strike rule
so as to produce better exhibition of
batting, he said: 1T think II would be
suicidal to change the foul strike rule"
For an example, we will take the worlds
championship series of last year. There
Aot
in any Of these games, but there was an
extraordinary display Of pitching and ex-
cellent fielding. Not a single unfavorable
comment that heard was made as to the
batting. The games pleased everybody.
While there was slump In batting on
the American league. the same cannot be
said of our organization. We had twenty
one batsmen with averages ranging about
2so to 300 and over last year. against
about half that number the year before
No, 1t is not the foul strike rule that is
chiefly responsible for the absence of good
hitters, but II is the efficiency of the
pitchers, and the National league had with
out question the champion in Mathewson.
Patrons of the national game are as en-
thusiastic over skillful pitching as good
batting, and because a man who is known
to be reliable batsman has two strikes
called on him because of fouls. 1 cannot
see why the foul strike rule should be
condemned in consequence" President
Pulliam further said he would meet Presi-
dent Johnson of the American league at the
joint meeting of the schedule committees
OF the two leagues in New York, and would
then announce his staff of umpires. The
National league executive said It was I'M
true that he had difficulty in selecting the
proper men to oficiate as umpires.
.
The views OF Phil King, as published IN
the current issue Of the illustrated and Out
door News are unusually interesting, the
more so as there are few men better
qualified to speak on the subject. Phil
King was not only one of the greatest play
ers ever developed at Princeton. but since
he was graduated he has acted as coach Cor
Wisconsin, one of the strongest foot ball
universities in the west. His ideas and sug-
| gestions follow:
| ] am heartily in favor OF changing the
distance to be gained TO ten yards In three
to prevent the widening of the line Of de.
| Tense, which would be the case should the
above rule be adopted. Under the presen;
through. Make the distance greater and
we would have a gradual lengthening OF
| the defensive line, which would result in q
| against passing any rule that would re,
team, This. would add to the already
/ the first man who receives the ball from
the center to advance at any point in the
line would have tendency to keep the op
posing team from spreading Its line OF de
Tense, thereby making open play, such al
end runs. long passes and double passes
easier easier, Of Of, execution; Ten yards to b
for any team unless some other rule. sucf
as above, Is passed, which will give a team
an opportunity Of regaining the ball Ions
Another means of opening the game will
| be to require the side having possession o.
the ball to keep seven men on the line Of
scrimmage at all times. This would pre-
vent massing OF too many men at a gfver
point Another interesting change would b,
4 scrimmage only. This would aid end run
ming materially. Abolish the try at goa
after touchdown. This play is uninterest
ing. is an individual effort and often decide
the result OF the game. For example thu
I Pennsylvania-Cornel game OF last Thanks
giving day and numerous others; Team
ships won In this manner.
| / would define more closely unnecessar!
roughness. and: in addition TO dis9ualifca
offending side although. after all. the rule
can be enforced properly by competent on
Gals 40 nos aoc 20 rs sae munger src 81 ON
good ones Enlarge the duties of the lines
man by making him also judge OF all out
| side plays In scrimmages. This will permi
the umpire 10 watch more closely for hold
ing and unnecessary roughness
| Whatever changes the rules COMMITTEE
makes let II by all means simplify the rule
and uniform the penalties. For at presen
II requires a constant study TO memoriz
them. and venture 20 state that not NOR
than Is per cent of the players are perfect,
familiar with the requirements OF the penal
ties.
Alfred Vanderbilt has entered a 20-hors
power automobile, by all odds the mos
powerful machine OF its kind ever con
structed, in various events to be decides
at the -Daytona Beach carnival
Mr. Vanderbilt's entry disclosed the fac
that he is not only the owner but tn
builder of the new creation, which will b
a thoroughly American car, designed {
compete with the high-power machines nov
in this country or enroute from France
Germany Italy and England. Although
several members of the Vanderbilt famil
have been prominently identified with au
tomoblling. this lie the first case on recor
that a Vanderbilt has built car. w. X
Vanderbilt. the young mans relative. wa
one OF the very first to take up the spor
OF racing high-powered cars In this coun
| and hfa rafle record NJ 20 seconds