Los Angeles herald., 1909-02-08
BASKETBALL IS
POPULAR SPORT
COURT GAME WITH SPHERE
LEADS IN WINTER
Los ANGELES HAS MANY FAST
FOLLOWERS OF BIG BALL
Team Play Is Uurged on All Auqreua-
tons as One Of the Most Essen
tIaI Points to Win
Victories

Basketball, king of amateur sports,
has gained such a strong foothoId in
the past few years in Southern Cali
fornia it is now recognized as our ma
tional indoor and outdoor game among
the colleges and high schools in the
south. The game is played everywhere
In America, from the Atlantic to the
Pacific, from Canada to Mexico; the
popularity of the game is ever on the
increase and doubtless in a few years
1t will be to live Americans in the
winter what baseball is in the sum-
mer, the acme of desirability. And it
Is a real American game. Full of ex-
c1tement and nervous tension, never
monotonous or tiresome, result always
In doubt, it is indeed a royal game and
deserves a leading place in the list of
great American sports.
In 1t, as in every game, there is but
one road to Victory-team play. The
temptation to the individual to try to
shlne is very great, but the player who
wishes to succeed must resist this
temptation and work with his team
mates. Many a victory has been lost
py some one player trying to make
grandstand play when he should have
passed the ball to some other player
nearer to the basket. Time and time
again this has happened and always
with the same result.
Such men as Hall of U. S. c. and
Boswick of the Spartans are considered
the best backs in this part of Southern
California. These players are looked
on as two of the best men represent
ing Los Angeles. Every newly organ
lied team should learn to play a fast,
passing game, as this style of play be-
W1lders their opponents, gives greater
opportunity for shooting and catches
the fancy of the spectators.
There are several fast teams con-
nected with the high schools and col
leges In this part of the state, and
from the showing made in recent
championship and match games bas-
ketball is here to stay. Class was
shown in the intercollegiate race be-
tween two of the fastest preparatory
schools in the south when Polytechnic
high school and Whittier high met on
the courts for championship honors,
which was won by the former.
Another championship event has
been started between college and Y. nj
c. A. teams in this neck of the woods
in the Mems Southern California Bas-
ketball league. President Boswick of
the Mems Southern California Basket
ball league has used his best efforts to
arrange "a schedule of games so as to
place the stronger teams in a class by
themselves in order that there will be
no friction between the respective
teams, and Furthermore the game will
be interesting from a players stand
point as well as to the public's side Of
view a5
The great fault the people in general
have against the game is the trough
mousse In which many teams indulge.
AS matter of fact, players are not to
blame as much as the officials The
rules, both amateur and professional
are strict enough, and if put in force
by the officials the public would see
by far faster and cleaner games.
A team composed of expert players
never INDUCES in trough house, play
ing, but depends entirely on a fast,
brainy, passing game, which will in
ninety-nine cases out of a hundred
land them winners.