Omaha daily bee., 1908-11-27
THE STATE CHAMPION2
of Nebraska Cannot Decide
IN Best Foot Ball Team.
|vUE CLAIMS THE REMNANT
So Incomplete that ChnOs
Ens and the Matter Will
Come Up for Adjustment
THIS Winter.

This inter.
annual mixup over the state coll
: foot ball championship has again
to the front with several teams MAX
strong claims to the title Of state
lpion. This trouble comes from the
IF that there is no definite understand
as to the way the championship shall
awarded. An effort will be made this
ter to form an association along more
mite lines so It may be known just
at teams are in the state league and just
nat rules Of figuring the percentage will
govern.
The claims of Bellevue to the champion
ship are set forth in the following letter.
IN the Sporting Editor OF The Bee:
The foot ball season is come and gone for
the league of Nebraska colleges and the
rightful champion of the league will doubt
less be a matter of question in all circles.
Had Bellevue defeated Doane Saturday in
the game at Crete, It would have stood
the undisputed chamYion, but Bellevue
lost, and while It does not give Doane
the pennant,, Doane, having lost to both
Hastings and Peru, 1t does mix the matter
considerably.
The conSiution Of the state league
recognizes as eligible all universities, col
ieges and normal schools that wish to
comply with the requirements. This, In
It's results, is a mistake, principally for
the reason that it puts 50 many teams In
the league that no team can play the en-
tire list OF them. That fact is conducive
to many mistakes. One of the better teams
can play the weaker teams without loss,
while another, playing the three or four
other strong teams may be defeated at
some stage and. at any rate, has a hard
schedule. The initial object of the league
was to secure clean amateur athletics,
and that object has happily been realized.
As to this years champion team. Belle
vue feels that It will not be possible to
decide 1t satisfactorily to all. and does
not worry over the situation. The league
is not necessary to the foot ball career of
Bellevue and, in fact, has proven a poor
thing in several ways. As, for instance,
financially. The sltuation at present
stands as follows, and all who are inter
ested in the contest can draw their own
conclusions; There are five teams which
have pretty generally played the other
four, or three, namely, Bellevue, Doane,
Hastings, Peru and Grand Island. Grand
Island has lost all its games. Its per-
centage, II there could be such a way of
reaching the conclusion, is zero. Doane
has played Bellevue. Peru, Hastings and
Grand Island. 1t won two and lost two,
percentage 500. Hastings played Bellevue,
Doane and Grand Island. 1t lost one and
won two, percentage 6eS.
Peru Breaks Even.
Peru played Doane and Bellevue. 1t won
one and lost one, percentage 500. Bellevue,
like Doane, played the whole four. 1t won
three and lost one. percentage $50. The
colleges stand then as follows: Grand
Island, 900; Doane, 800; Peru. 800; Hast
ings, $50, and Bellevue, $50.
There is but one college in the league
that can demur to this decision; that is
Hastings. There are two small teams.
Wesleyan and Kearney, in this league.
Hastings has played these two teams and
defeated them, and may question why
Bellevue left them out Of this discussion.
1t is because Hastings is the only team
that has played them. and there is nc
question but that had Bellevue. Doane or
Peru played either OF these teams instead
OF giving the date to a stronger opponent,
they would have been victorious. Belle
vue tried to get a date with Wesleyan,
but could not. as the Wesleyan team wat
limited by its faculty in the number OF
games it might play and its schedule wa
full. More important, Hastings failed to
play Peru, playing instead the weaker
teams OF Wesleyan and Kearney. And
Hastings positively cannot claim the cham
pionship without playing Peru, for PERT
gave Bellevue much the harder gruelling
of the two teams. and while Bellevue won
over Peru, It did so at the loss of both
halfbacks, which weakened the team
terribly for Doane, a team which both
Peru and Hastings have defeated. Again
Bellevue defeated Hastings in a fair ano
square battle.
THE league constitution does not pro-
vide for the settling Of such cases and Il
probably cannot be done this year. II
should be a matter settled wholly accord
ing to certain rules which all concerned
had accepted, but such a set OF rules does
not exist. The matter, then, will probably
remain unsettled. No one from the Belle.
vue point Of view. which is here expressed
has a better claim than Bellevue. Certain
It is that while we always are ready tC
play Doane or Hastings, or any strong
contender, we will never enter upon an
other year with this matter so unsettled
The number of teams must be reduced L
only the strongest, which all can play
or a set of rules devised which will settle
the matter satisfactorily. The opinion Of
the writer practically expresses the senJl
men of the Bellevue student body.
JAMES @. PHELPS"
AMEs is THE CHAMPION OF IOWA