Omaha daily bee., 1909-12-11
BENDER BASE BALL COACH
Former Foot Ball Star Not Likely Ia
Get Foot Ball Place.
WORK DURING EARLY SPRING
Protest Rises Because of Letter
Given sturteHneEger, SO D.
Elliott VIII BE Rewarded
with Honor.

LINCOLN, Neb.. Dec. O-CSpecial)-
Johnny Bender, former Cornhusker foot
ball hero and coach Of the Haskell Indian
foot ball eleven during the last season,
bwnl coach the Nebraska base ball oandi-
date next spring. The base ball committee
Of the Nebraska Athletic board this after
noon agreed to accept a proposition made
them by Bender and they ordered Manager
Eager to sign a contract with the former
~cornhusker. TIL committee had full power
10 hire a coach and their work Is final.
Bender, during his college career at Ne
braska was, in addition to being a foot
ball star. a base ball player Of high class
and was one Of the best catchers that ever
played on a scarlet and cream team. He
LED the Cornhuskers to many victories on
the diamond as well as on the gridiron.
In the last game Of the season In 1905,
which was his final year at this school,
johnny won the contest in the final inning
by driving a home run over the fence.
This game was played against Creighton
college OF Omaha, when that school had
one of the best university mines In the mid
die west.
Since his graduation from the university
in the spring Of 1905 Bender has been a
professional ball player. For part Of one
season he was with the Omaha Western
league nine. Later he went west and
played with the Pacific Northwest league.
His achievement there caused him to get
a substantial increase in salary after his
first season, He will play professional
base ball again next summer, probably go
ing west to Seattle.
Doesn't Get Football job.
Johnny Bender is an applicant for the
position Of Cornhusked foot ball coach, but
1t is not likely that he will be given that
Job. The board favors him for the base
ball task, but not for the gridiron job. A
movement is on among the alumni to get
the board to make Bender an offer Of
athletic director at the state school. Such
a position would keep him mere the entire
year and would permit him to coach both
base ball and foot bail. The C~ornhusker
board does not look with favor upon this
proposal.
At the next meeting Of the athletic board
on Monday evening a foot ball IN" will
be granted D.. Elliott, a player who was
in both the Denver and Haskell games.
At Denver he played the entire gam and
on Thanksgiving day was In the contest
for a half.
Elliott was not awarded a letter yester-
day when fourteen other players were
honored, because ne had not played a tull
half OF one Of the IN games. These
games were three-Minnesota, Iowa end
Kansas. Elliott did not take part in either
of these, but his work in the Denver game
was such that 1t is thought he should
have a letter.
When the board yesterday failed to re-
ward him a storm of protest broke loose
from the undergraduate body and the mem
bers of the board were severely criticised
for giving a letter to Sturteznegger. a man
who had not been in any of the big games
this year. sturteznegger. however, was a
fourth-year man who had done good work
during his whole career, while Elliott still
has two more seasons in which 10 play.
The board was criticized as d~iscrGmlnat-
ing in favor of Sturteznegger and It's mem
bers were the recipients Of many unkind
remarks yesterday. They informally dis
cussed the matter this morning and 1t was
decided that, In order to allay criticism
they would give Elliott his letter. Nobody
denies that Elliott is deserving of a letter,
but the board did not feel like stepping
over its rule in order to grant him the
honor this year when he would nave an
other opportunity to win his spurs next