Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-03-04
WILL START BASE
BALL PRACTICE THIS WEEK
Local Institutions to Get Squads to Work in
Next Few Days-Some Irregular
tiles in Handicapping.>

who does the handicapping should be
familiar enough with all the men who
come under his jurisdiction to know what
advantage to give them in an event. and
If his Judgment fails in the award then
he himself is at fault, and it seems rather
an injustice that he should take from the
competitor that which has been fairly
won.
1t has occurred that high school boys
have been placed on the same mark with
university men, and high school boys who
were novlceS at that, yet 1t never &C.
CURED to any Handicapped to rearrange
things after the race had been han run
and it had been found that the schoolboy
did not compare in ability with his older
competitor.
One or two instances of the above took
place in the Georgetown meet. In the
open $50 Hovey. a local boy from the
Central High School, had only three
yards handicap on seven university men.
1t is not reasonable to suppose that the
boy who had done nothing in track as
far as open competition Is concerned was
as good as the men who represented
Johns Hopkins and the University of
Virginia, and yet men from those two
schools started on even terms with the
schoolboy, because handicap OF three
yards in a haf-nile race is practically
nothing. The high school boy was out of
the running before three laps had been
run. Beckett Of Virginia and Cathn OF
Johns Hopkins. who had just as much
handicap almost as had the Central lad.
got first and second places respectively.
and yet their handicap was not cut TO
give the boy runner chance.
In the mile-run open handicap 1t seems
ridiculous and impossible, but 1t neverthe-
less is a fact that Tyree and Foster OF
the Central High School started ten YARDS
behind Reside of Johns Hopkins and on
the same mark with two University or
Virginia men. Reside, who has been run
ming in open competition for quite while
and who is years older ana more eA,
perienced than the high school boys. 'haa
seventy yards handicap, while the Two
Central runners had but sixty. Allen OF
Virginia and Jones of Virginia also mad
sixty yards handicap. How 1t could nave
been figured that two high schooi boys.
paratively speaking, could overcome
ten-yard handicap on university man
and beat out two other university men
starting from the same mark. Is some
thing that cannot be understood.
These are simply illustrations OF the
irregularities in the handicapping in
the meets held in the South Atlantic
section and are given to show that
| once an advantage is given runner
over another it is never recalled. and
why an exception should be made Of
the pole vault in the Georgetown meet
lis something for which almost every
body is at a loss for an explanation.
One can hardly blame Foley. the Cen
trail High coach, for saying things
about the handicapping when his in
experienced boys are placed on marks
ten yards behind university men and
have to start on even terms with
others.
Notwithstanding the fact that the
Georgetown relay team was awarded
the race because Of disqualification
! in the meet Saturday night, there Is
no question that the Virginia four
showed its superiority There was
only one relay in which any decided
| advantage accrued to Georgetown and
that was when Davis. who ran second
for the Blue and Gray. closed up
much OF the gap that Todd had opened
| up on Eller.
There is no doubt that Todd ran inside
| the track in the Georgetown meet, and
| did when he passed Eller. but there
| is none who would question the ability
| of the Virginia man in the quarter, nor
| his superiority over Eller at that dis
| lance. He could have passed Eller before
| he did had it not been for the elbows of
| the Georgetown man, and when Eller left
| the pole a few inches on the straight
| away Todd was quick to shoot into the
gap offered him. Eller closed in before
| Todd got by: the result was that the
/ Orange and B'ue runner was forced in
| side of the track. Todd Is too experienced
| runner to have lost his head and en-
| dangered his teams chances Of winning
| by deliberately committing what he knew
was a foul.