Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1913-12-31
AMATEUR SPORTS
ARECIvENABOOST
National Collegiate Athletic As
ISOLATION Meets in Aston
Hotel in New York.
DISCUSS COLLEGE SPORTS
Would Uphold Pure Amateurism In
School Sport-FootbalI Fatal
tiles Greatly Exaggerated.

New York. Dec. S1.-Athletic activi-
ties of many varieties were discussed
at the eighth annual convention of the
National Collegiate Athletic associa-
ton in the Astor hotel The keynote
of the meeting was a plea for the up
holding of pure amateurism and a dis
cussion of the evils which the associa-
ton was trying 70 overcome.
The greatest share of attention was
devoted to the old bugbear of summer
baseball. and when everything was
said and done it was not discovered
that a solution of the problem was any
closer than it had been in the past.
Harry L. Williams, coach of the Uni
versity of Minnesota, and one of the
best known men in college athletics in
America, offered an idea to the gather
ing which seemed to be about the near
est thing possible to the stamping out
of professionalism of anything that has
yet been brought forth.
Williams Has Solution.
DR.. Williams told of the system In
vogue at Minnesota nowadays, where
by the candidate for an athletic team
must swear TO an affidavit that he has
taken no money, either directly or in
directly, for participation in sport. He
said that it was up to the association
TO make a firm stand on the matter
and then ask for the cooperation Of the
faculties of the colleges which hold
membership in the body.
Williams told of how a prospective
candidate was examined strictly as to
his previous doings, and then asked to
swear t. the facts with the threat OF
expulsion from college in case it was
ever found out that anything in his
affidavit was false. II, he said, the as
sociation formulated such a drastic
rule and re eived the support of the
colleges, it would not be long before
there would be no question OF college
athlete being a pure amateur.
George Huff of the University Of I'LL
nois said that he thought there never
could be a change wrought in the mat
ter of the summer baseball evil while
90 per cent of the undergraduates and
people of the country believed that it
was all right for a boy to go and earn
a dollar in that way. Professor r. III.
Nichols of Harvard and Or. Young
were strong against summer ball.
EhIer Digs Into Football.
Professor George w. Ehler of the
University of Wisconsin threw some
light on the exaggeration
which attends the reports OF football
fatalities in the season He made a
careful search of the records of all
accidents and he discovered that there
were only four deaths of players on
college football teams in the year.
In one Of these cases he found that
there was TO evidence at all to con
meet it with football. In another. the
injuries were of such a character that
should not have terminated fatally with
proper care, and third in which the
death would not have occurred had it
not been for the reprehen3ible practice
Of "piliug on" man already down by
1 tackler, a thing prohibited by the
rules
The report of the football rules com
nlttee called particular attention to
he value of the forward pass as the
method of attack.
AT the night session the election of
Jficers for the ensuing year took
,lace. Those chosen were La Baron
/. Briggs, Harvard, president; w. L.
dudley, Vanderbilt, vice president; f.
Y. Nicholson, Wesleyan, secretary
treasurer. and F. G. Wrenn, A. r. Judd,
Albert lie Feyre, Professor Buchanan,
+. +. A. Pyre, o. w. Morehouse. p S.
and O. {. Lester, district rep
esentatives.