Evening star., 1909-04-11
WILL CROSS POND
FOR MORE GLORY
American Athletes of Every
Field of Sport to Invade +
England This Year. (.

American athletes and American sports
men, amateur and professional alike. will
be the central figures this year in the big
gest invasion of England that the sport
world has ever known. Nor will this In
vasion be confined to any one field OF
athletic activity.
There are national and international
titles to be decided on the other side. and.
American men-and one American woman
at laast-propose to have something more
than passive say In their distribution.
On the tennis courts and the golf links.
at EPSON and at the Queens Club. and
even in the prize ring. American-bred and
American-trained competitors will be
found busily engaged I'm demonstrating
anew to their English brethren-and sis
ters-that superiority in sport Us not en-
tirely on one side OF the water, and that
in more Instances than one to be an
American champion means to be worlds
champion. I
American devotees Of sport in former
years have crossed the water In quest or
added glory with more than merely
fair measure of success. American oars
men have rowed upon the classic Thames,
American-bred harness horses have won
the blues in the Olympia. college athletes
have triumphed over the English var.
sity men In dual games. Am ,rican girls
tennis and golf. Other branches Of sport
have likewise attracted the attention of
Americans. But the exodus abroad OF
former years, OF not even last season..
the stadium, does not compare. seither In
point of number or in diversity, with the
prospective invasion Of 1909.
Invasion Already On.
In some branches of sport the invasion
yc olr dx IN nft,a v.1n
plete. while in few instances arrange
ments are still tentative. depending en-
tirely upon the willingness, OF the Eng
lishmen to accept rather than to sidestep
implied challenges to compete In dual
combat against the pick of this country.
Especially is this last statement true In
regard to college rather than club or un-
attached athletes. asE
+ An idea Of the enormity OF this i'm
pending invasion can best be gained by
an enumeration OF some OF Its leaders.
In the first place the colors of at least
dozen of Americas foremost race horse
owners, headed by such men as James
r. Keene and August Belmont. whose
names are inseparably linked with the
running game on this side. will be seen
at all Of the principal courses, from New
market to Doncaster. The horse show
men like A. G. Vanderbilt, Judge w. H.
Moore and others-will again be in evil
dence in the great international show.
while Mr.. Vanderbilt will also represent
Americas coaching interests by his Lon-
don-to- Brighton enterprise during the
season. A team Of American polo play
ers, headed by Foxhall Keene. will tour
England during the summer. playing at
the various clubs and winding up in the
championship tournament.
In rowing it Is entirely up to the winner
of the Oxford-Cambridge race, the oldest
nxture IN amateur sport, to say whether
or not there shall be an international var
sity crew race this year. with Harvard
as the challenging eight. That $1,000
professional handicap is sure to attract
some American oarsmen. and incidentally,
Eddie Durnan, the Canadian champion.
himself an American in the broader In
depreciation Of the word.
Rests With Other Side.
And lastly. but by no means least. is
the contemplated trip Of the track and
| field athletes of Harvard and Yale In
the early summer. Here, again, as i'm
| the case Of an international VARSITY boar
| race. the decision rests with those on
the other side Of the water. II the Amer
ican collegians had their way the trip
| would be a certainty and, in fact, the
chances are that 1t will materialize. The
Oxford and Cambridge authorities are at
present cons dering the plan, and well in
formed insiders assert the reply will be
favorable.
And of all these contemplated invasions
| that of the American-bred running horse
to England's shores is the most impor-
tant. 1t was brought about. of course,
very largely because of the hostility
that the racing interests here have en-
countered, especially around New York,
with the accompanying loss of receipts
as best shown by the recent report OF
the New York state racing commission.
That, body asserts that where, a year
ago. the gross receipts were $5.000OvO.
last year the same figures showed but
s1.5OO.oOO. The ultimate result was the
cutting down of stakes and purses to a
point where 1t was no longer possible
to race horses with profit. In the last
few months 500 thoroughbreds, fit to
race in almost any company. have left
this country. the great majority of them
headed for England.
English turf followers. 1t might be re-
marked in passing, regard this invas on
in two lights. They welcome the adj
vent Of the American horsemen and their
horses, but fear consequences very SIM
liar to those in this country from those
who follow in the wake of the owners
the twc-spots of the turf, as 1t we're.
Already there is agitation against bet
ting n England, Bishop Hereford leading
in the campaign to destroy the starting
price offices.
1t is hardly to be expected that every
American who goes abroad to compete
afieid in England in some branch OF
sport can return victorious There are
certain to be defeats mingled with the
victories. But In the main the invasion,
according to every indication, will demon
state to England and to the world that
under fair and equal conditions America
holds the whip hand over England In
at least a majority Of the various branch
es of sport-Badminton, courng, curllag,
ETC., excepted.