New-York tribune., 1912-08-26
YOUTH WILL Be SERVED
Mere Boys Fast Driving Older
Athletes Into Oblivion.
TED MEREDITH AN EXAMPLE
Trend in All Walks Of Sport
Toward Overdevelopment
and Brief Career.


D,,rce NJ the roster of American cham
So in nearly every branch OF sport will
~, that youth has almost entirely sup
,,,ed maturity as the holder Of the
I.,,,,sr bonors. In recent years the trend
otbletics in this country mas been
..o-srd the rapid overdevelopmcnt of
,,,bful athletes instead of the gradual
,.ot,ring and training that ia the vogue
= o,ber countries, and which existed IN
his country up to the last few years.
auotbo,,se growth" Is the term that
u.,,bt most dttiugly be applied to tho
..ara of American athletics, which show
,pmber of worlds champions who have
no, vet reached voting age-sOmcthins
nnbeard Of a decade ago and unknown
sbroad. As a consequence American ath-
I.,ss decline early, their career as title
holder being usually brief and busy.
trainers and followers of athletes in
.verv branch Of sport have come TO the
raslizatlou in recent years that IF the
rroper amount Of strength and skill can
te injected into youth, his enthusiasm
.od the powers of recuperation and stam-
ina ueCulldI To- IildDuHtQ y tNtAA VIII AAititAt
an athlete of exceptional ability and pro-
y,ds the material for record breaking and
wonderful feats of skill.
AS a result of the American system
THIS country can show worlds record
bslders and Olympic champions in track
and field athletics still under the age OF
wisdom, baseball stars just out of the
ssh schools and hardly old enough 10
/. earning their daily bread, an open
seN champion just risen from the caddy
-.,ks. a billiardist who held two worlds
,bsmpions Just after becoming Of age,
, Trio Of remarkable tennis champions
Noteworthy for their youth. and stars in
every line Of endeavor who are young
enough TO be still at their studies.
Men who up 10 few years ago were
considered unbeatable have been forced
TO bow their heads in defeat to mere
Youths Il is the period OF youthful cham
Mons. and athletes burdened with years
contestants who would have been con-
sdered as only in their prime at their
present age. had they competed "a decade
aeo-are now ready FOR retirement.
No greater OF more recent example Of
this rise to power of the American youth
Of athletic tendencies could be cited than
the winning Of an Olympic championship
BY TED Meredith, the schoolboy, and the
smashing Of three worlds records-one
that had been the mark Of the best
athletes for a score OF years
Meredith is still only nineteen years Of
age. a student Of Mercersburg Academy
and was looked upon as too Young 10
take with the team when the first selec-
ton was made. At Stockholm he won
the S)l-metre race from the greatest field
Of half-milc runners that ever lived,
broke both the S0O-metrc and SSO-yard rec
ords and also set a worlds record in his
neat OF the 4o0-metro. which Reidpath
afterward broke.
on the same team with Meredith were
a number Of youths who are the rankest
novlccs as far as age IS concerned and
some Of them stu schoOlboys. Yet they
helped America 10 the greatest honors in
the athletic. world. Drew, Rice and Lip
pincott. the three sprlnters, one Of whom,
the latter. scored in both dashes. are still
under twenty years of age. John Paul
Jones. the holder Of the worlds amateur
mile record, is now only twenty-one, and
was less than twenty when he made his
record.
HORNE. the great high jumper. holder
of the worlds record. aud Richards, the
Olympic champion at high jumping are
both under age Berna and SIobino
and most Of the pole vaul,ers; Taoer. the
Brown University distance runner who
tied Jones in the intercollegiate meet;
Cutterson. the Olympic champion broad
jumper, and a host of others are mere
Youths. who have driven the veteran cam
paigners into oblivion.
Baseball furnishes the same tragedy OF
youth overcoming maturity. The greatest
pitchers in the two major leagues to-day
are classed among tho youth Of baseball.
Joe Wood. the sensational twirler Of the
Boston Red Sox, who IN point Of effective
ness outclasses any pitcher IN either
league this season. and Who has done
most 10 bring Boston 10 the championship
heights, is a callow youth Of twenty
three. Wood broke into major league
baseball when only nineteen.
Walter Johnson. Woods greatest rival.
who has already broken the American
League record for consecutive victories,
Is only a year older than Wood twenty
four. Johnson has been a star for sew
efal years, in fact since he was Of age.
He is now generally classed by baseball
fans as a veteran in service. though
mere youth. Rube Marquard, the great
southpaw of the New York Giants, who
squslled all major league records for con-
secutive victories this year with nineteen
straight. is only twenty-three years OF
age. The most sensat onal pitcher Of two
seasons is Alexander, who was secured
by the Phillies last year. This is only
his second year in baseball and he is but
twenty-five years old.
Ty Cobb the foremost player in the
game IS only twenty-siX years old ana
has been a star since he was twenty-five.
Joe Jackson, the Maps great outfielder,
has seen but twenty-four summers.
s'uny McInnes, the phenomenal hrst
hsseman Of the worlds champion Attn
kites, IS only twenty-one years old ana
rss regular with the Athletics at nine
zen Home-Run Frank Baker, TITS
&taker. Jake Daubert. Chief Meyers
seine Zimmerman and Eddie Collins
stand IN a class by themselves yet not
one Of them is many years past the twen-
v-one mark.
The tendency Of baseball IS to youth.
No more do the major league clubs re-
eiR their stars until they are nearer
iorty than thirty. In fact the player who