Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-01-22

Yale ever won any intercollegiate cham
pionship.
1t is evident that Yale men feel that
track athletics are likely to suffer the
same lack of interest as brought the
crew TO such low point OF efficiency
Not since Mike Murphy left Yale the
last time have the Ellis been able to win
an intercollegiate track and field cham
pionship. They have been second num-
Der of times and have usually been
serious contenders for the championships.
But there has never been the same master
hand in charge that there was when
Murphy was at the New Haven inStitu-
ton.
Yale's success on the gridiron has been
SO continuous that the Ellis see no way OF
improving their present coaching system
In this sport. 1t Is true that the seasons
of 1910 and 1911, especially the former.
were disappointing. but this has been
ascribed more to poor material than to
the system employed. In rowing and
base ball Yale has completed a reorgan-
ization to the end that more efficient
work can be done. The installation of a
graduate coach in rowing is being await
ed with much interest. and the same is
true of base ball. The new advisory COM
mittee in track athletics has a big job
on hand, and is not likely to effect very
much Improvement during this season.
The Basket Ball Season.
Not since the intercollegiate Basket
Ball Association was first organized has
there been so good race for the cham
pionship as has featured the few weeks
Of the present season. Until the present
year either Columbia or Pennsylvania en-.
joyed SO much an advantage over their
rivals that one team or the other was as.
nf oh mi ~
season, or the two were so evenly
matched that they fought it out to the
bitter end, leaving the others far in the
rear. This year a new contender has
appeared on the scene in Dartmouth and
the Hanover men have displayed such
splendid team work that they have been
in the lead most of the time. The Prince
ton five has likewise shown splendid
form. Columbia. in particular, has had
lots of trouble to get well started, while
Yale lost the first two games on her
schedule
There is much difference of opinion
concerning the wisdom of making changes
in the basket ball rules. 1t Is getting To
be the fashion to make changes in the
basket ball code with as much frequency
as I'm foot ball. with the result that play
ers and spectators find it hard to keer
in touch with the many changes. The
principal change which the rule makers
made this year was that a player can
dribble the ball only with one hand This
rule has almost revolutionized this fea-
ture OF the game and has resulted in
calling an unusual number of fouls
If the fouls were for rough playing nc
objection would be made to their being
called, but since there Is a rule which
compels the officials to disqualify a man
when he has exceeded a certain number
of fouls. nearly all Of which are made
because of the change in the rules. the
innovation Is not meeting with much ap-
prevail For the good of the game il is
to be hoped that the rule makers will
not make the sort of farce of basket
ball that the foot ball committee almost
made of the gridiron game at various
times.
A New Spirit in College Base Ball.
A symposium recently condt:cted by the
Yale Daily News has brough. 60 light in
an emphatic manner the rapid change in
sentiment concerning certain features OF
intercollegiate base ball. Those who
wanted to see the college game improved
and placed on higher plane than pro.
fessional base ball have been advocating
two reforms in particular. One was the
employment Of the graduate coach and
the other the abolition of the foolish
practice of concerted cheering during a
game with the object in view Of rattline
the opposing team. II the vote which the
Yale paper took Is true criterion, as il
probably is, there is an Overwhelming
majority in favor of securing graduate
coaches.
College men seem to make a. peculiar
distinction between graduate and profess
sional coaches. While the impression is
coach is an amateur, the professional is
one who is paid. This definition fits the
professional, but it does not describe the
graduate. A graduate coach who will
train and develop a base ball team with
out compensation Is a rare individual.
To convey the proper impression a grad
uate coach should be referred to a
graduate professional.
The great difficulty in securing graduate
coaches has been to find men competent
been possible except to secure graduates
who. after leaving college, played profess
sional base ball with some of the big
leagues. Without this sort Of experience
no zach can develop team able to hold
it's own with nine instructed by plain
professional or a graduate professional.
There are now very few big universities
in the east which are not coached by col
lege men taken from the professional
ranks. 1t Is not always possible for a
certain institution to get a graduate pro-
fesstonal from its own university, but in
this case no university hesitates to take
the graduate of another institution. For
instance. the Harvard team Is now being
coached by Or. Sexton, who Is graduate
of Brown University. Similarly the Cor
nell team is under the direction of Dam
iel Coogan. who is a graduate of the Uni
yersity of Pennsylvania. The Pennsylva-
MIA team is being coached by Roy Thorn
az. graduate and formerly a member of
the Philadelphia and Pittsburgh National
League clubs. The reform referred to is
possibly valuable enough. but it will be
some time before very many colleges can
put Il into practical operation.