Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-06-23
WINNERS Cannot
YET Be PICKED
Races in Amateur Circuits
Too Close to Justify Pre-
dictions as to Outcome.
TEAMS ARE PLAYING
MUCH BETTER BALL
Working More as Units, and
Players Are in improved
Form-0ther Gossip.
BY n. c. BYRD.

d ~. d WI.
Every amateur league in the District
has teams in it that are more evenly
matched than those of last year. There
is hardly a circuit in which any club
has a margin big enough to warrant an
infallible prediction that 1t will be the
pennant winner. This time last season
there were several organizations in which
the championship was practically decid-
ed.
While there are several leagues in
which two or three teams are going out
in front by good margins. that is only
to be expected. There has seldom been
an organization of base ball clubs in
which there were not two or three that
proved their superiority over the others.
This is true of the local leagues. In
eacn two or three teams are making the
fight. but among these it is impossible
to foretell what will happen. Any of
them is liable to win, and it is very
that have ever come under the jurisdic-
ton of the, commission will he seen near
the end of the season.
The teams in the amateur circuits are
month ago. The players are working
more together. and they are also in better
condition. The one reason why the
amateur teams fail to show at their best
at the start Of the season is because they
begin playing without the least prelimi-
nary practice. College and school mines
never play a game until after they have
been working for two three weeks but
the amateur leagues begin play without
| the players having had any train
ing practice. The result is that the games
during the early part of the schedules are
not we'll played. AS the season grows
older the men get down to form and be-
gin to put up really capable article OF
ball Also. another reason why the clubs
are generally stronger after a month of
the season is gone is because they are
strengthened by the acquisition Of col
lege and school players.
! What is being done to have a success
full amateur day? Less is being heard of
that project now than at any time since
1t was mentioned last year.
There is no reason to believe other
than that the team that wins the cham
pionship in the Capital City League will
| finish first in the post-season series. OF
course. there are liable to be upsets In
that one of the winners from another
league will get the title, but it is hardly
likely that such will be the case. Either
Cornell or the Bankers will win the pen
nant in the Capital City circuit, and it
certainly seems that these are the two
strongest organizations in the city. On
paper, at least it would be a difficult
proposition to select two clubs of greater
strength from among the local amateur
players. When the post-season series
! finally comes off the possibility. Of course.
exists that one of these teams will not
be the final winner. One of them would
be more natural selection than any
of the others, though 1t looks very
much as if the championship of the city
is being fought for in the Capital City
League.
1t has been reported that the Cornell
and Columbia crews practically killed
each other off in the varsity race at
Pougskeepsie Saturday. 1t is said by eX-
perts who saw the race that Syracuse
should have finished third with Cornell
and Columbia first and second. 1t has
been confidently asserted that Cornell
and Columbia had faster crews than
Syracuse and had they not been so in
tent on each other they would have fin
iShed ahead of the other Fights. This
would seem TO indicate that the race was
won and lost on judgment alone and
that is as much part of competition as
Drawn and skill If Syracuse outgen-
eraled the two crews that apparently
We're mere capable, then the little lad
VINO Sdl III the stern u ttdl DUdt really
deserves the credit for the winning of
the event. 1t was his judgment which
regulated the stroke and gave his men
the pace at which they could best cover
the course. To him should go the palm
of victory.
After making every effort to attain
supremacy on the water, Yale has again
met with failure. its GreHs were dis
tanced in the recent races with Harvard,
even before II nat gone to the trouble to
import English coaches. Here is what a
northern rowing critic has to say of the
situation at Yale:
The earnest effort made by Yale men
70 build up crew strong enough and
fast enough to beat Harvard and to
break the long string of defeats has fail
ed, and the question naturally comes up
as to the advisability Of teaching the
English system of rowing when the con-
ditions here are much different from
those abroad. In this connection il may
be said that Yale has suffered not so
mucn in accent years, because Of any
particular system, but because of the con-
slant charges whick have been made in
tfe Cfort - ind Ga where the fault lay
ana 10 gel better results. ! had been led
to beie.e thai the Yale crew of this year
was al exceptionally good one and yet
ii was the old story of the last few years
trailing home behind Harvard, a crew
which, earlier i'll the season, was badly
beaten over two miles by Princeton and
Cornell. AS suggested a week ago. how
ever, Jim Wray has the faculty of bring
ing his men up to the line for the all
important four-mile race in condition 10
show their true worth. This Harvard
crew deserves the more credit because the
men were forced to overcome the discour-
agements of earlier defeats.
1T is not for me to offer advice or even
presume to suggest what may be best for
Yale rowing men to do in the face of an
other reverse. but Rome was not built
in day, neither can a new rowing SyS-
tenn be established in one year 1t is quite
possible. that a foundation has been laid
on which 1t might be well to build before
making another change"
The games scheduled for today In the
amateur leagues are as follows:
Capital City League, North Capitol and
l. streets northwest-Cornell VS.. South
land.
Central League, 1st and NJ streets north
east-Printers VS.. Northern.
Departmental League White Lot-Post
Office VS.. Aggies.
East Washington League, 18th and D
streets northeaSt-FirSt PRESBYTERIAN VS..