The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-06-13
COLLEGE BOYS
WILL PLAY BALL
And There's No Reason Why The,
Shouldn't Play Professional
Ball, Says
"Hal.'
LINE BECOMING DINNER
Demarcation Between the "Profesh''
and Amateur Should be Abolish
ed, Says tse
DoPester.

by Hal Sheridan, written for the
| United Press.
NEW YORK, June ia terrible
catastrophe is upon US. 1t happens
every year. being more regular than
the visit of the seven-year locusts,
but in view of certain upheavals dur
ing the past year 1t brings new
sting. With voices from the sidelines
urging that the secret be spilled, we
refer to the closing Of the regular col
1lege year and the turning loose
throughout the country of several
thousand student baseball players who
will be tempted sorely to risk fate
and take upon themselves-on the
ia. T.. of course-the terrible blight Of
professionalism" Sport was certain
4 ly on the blink and seldom or never
on the first pages when those immortal
lines asking What is so rare as a
day In June" were penned, or the
answer would have been obvious to
blind man. A real honest-to-goodness
amateur is the answer Such per-
sonage is rarer than two days in
June, or than twelve hours in June.
which settles that point. but doesn't
settle the question of summer baseball
playing by college men.
Some of the bush league and semi
professional clubs throughout the
loo fr.1, "A Ga1, 10 olrn COZ chf 20
and take on new strength during the
next few weeks, and though we would
never suggest outright that the new
bloods were fresh from the halls of
learning. it isn't going too far to
lopine casually that although the names
will not be similar, there will be re-
semblances between some of these
new semi-professional players and
certain college baseball stars of whom
we wot that would be startling to the
erstwhile college chums of these
players.
: And this brings us to another turn
in the road. Insofar as their stand
ing in athletic circles Is concerned.
why shouldn't college man play ball
during the summer months with as
} much safety from being ruled out OF
college sport as would be accorded
the college man who drives truck
during the summer? It's foolish
question and you don't have to answer.
. AS matter OF fact, the harder
; you look for the fine line Of demarca-
ton between professional" and anna
teurn athletes, the DINNER it becomes.
ands of students who are working
their way through college. Some OF
them are good ball players. During
the vacation months they must rustic
! enough wherewithal to carry them
: through the next term.
To earn this money they may drive
trucks, dig in sewers, work on sec
ton gangs. clerk, or do anything but
play ball. II they accept money for
playing ball-and are found out-they
are dubbed professionals and are
barred from all future competition In
= college or any kind of amateur sports
L At the opening of every football
L season dozen or more players frank
" admit that they have spent the
summer working In the Kansas whea'
7 fields, throwing sledge with rail
e road construction gang. or what no
e chiefly to get into condition. 1t /!
taken for granted that these men were
paid for the work. they did to ge
t themselves into physical shape to pla.
It football. Now when you ruminat'
lover these instances it does seem ;
bit foolish that baseball playe
k can't keep himself in condition b.
9 taking small job with some bust
league team during the summer.
A baseball man might plead that h
r. wanted to play summer ball in orde
J. to condition himself for the next sea
e son, but he couldn't get away with II
Is He might swear he didn't receive
Is cent OF money for his job but fey
would believe him. And what vel
there would be from the stone qual
1t ries, section gangs and blacksmit
Is shops where the football players wer
IS conditioning themselves, II they ha
to do their training at those Job
without pay
re Now the point is not to change tn
lie rules to permit return of the COZ
ot ditions which existed in the notoriou
lg old days of ringers" when the co
IS lege or university with the mos
of -------------