Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-05-24

What is known as the thirty-ninth an
rual field meet of the intercollegiate As
ISOLATION of Amateur Athletes in Amer
lea will be held at Cambridge May y
and so. The Intercollegiate Association
really started its track games in con-
nection with intercollegiate boat racing,
ard the contests were held at Saratoga
in 1874. In the 100-yard dash. which
j. g. Nevins of Yale won in ten and one
half seconds. the account shows that he
slipped and fell at the start, but his rum
ming was so fine that he overlook his
councillors before the finish. If the
watches were correct he must have had
wonderful speed for those days In these
events there was a three-luile run ana
also seven-mile walk The former was
var bv Downes of Wesleyan and the
latter ov E.ustis of the same university.
Cornell. even in those days. evidently
maintained reputation for mile runners.
for Copeland Of that university won the
mile i'll four minutes. fifty-eight and one
half seconds Maxwell of Yale won
the high hurdle in twenty and one-half
seconds.
The games that wear and the following
YEAR i'll which again the intercollegiate
athletic contest took place the day
previous to the intercollegiate regatta,
were not classed formally as the inter-
colegia;es probably because they were
not regarded as of sufficient importance.
it can easily be seen that tastes nave
changed in many ways since those days,
for the comments show that the high
hurdle and the hundred-yard races were
regarded as tame. while the three-mlle
or seven-mie walk was considered
most interesting ard exciting. In 1879
Tavlor of Harvard won the seven and
three mile walk. In those days there
also was a contest for graduates and
E.ustis of Wesleyan, already noted as the
winner in 1874. won the graduates seven
mile walk. Union appears in these con-
tests with Culver as It's representa-
tive, winning the quarter mile run. Bar
Der of Amhurst the mile run, Piatt OF
Williams the mile walk. Irumpuli OF
Yale the half-mile run.
In the following year. 1875. challenge
cup valued at $500 and known later as
the Mott Haven cup. was presented 10
the Intercollegiate Association to be
ming the most first prizes. In case of a
tie in the number of first prizes. the
number of second prizes decided the hold
er OF the cup. 1t indicates the develop
that we should now be counting instead
of only the winners. five places. first,
second third. fourth and fifth. This cup
was won In that year by Princeton. which
took four first prizes-haN- mile run, put
ting the shot, three-nrile walk and base
hall throw. II may be interesting to
those of the present day to know that
the distance OF throwing the base ball
was 1858 feet 8 inches. and ]. NJ Mann
was the winner. but even in that day
colleges generally did not send repre-
sentatives to the intercollegiate. unless in
connection with some other sport. In
1877 the games were first held at Mott
Haven and for this. as well as the fol-
lowing two years. 1878 and 1879 Yale
sent no representatives. In the year 1880
however. these athletic meetings had
taken on very definite importance as a
standard sport, and while perhaps then
they would not have been classed as a
major sport. they We're in a fair way to
become such, and from that day began
the gradual cutting down of records
started in 1876 By Wakeman of Yale
who brought the high hurdle record
down from 1914 TO 1874 in that meeting
The newspapers Of that day considered
this feat mary eIous. but it astonishes
those who have seen the hurdles cleared
repeatedly al three seconds under this
record no more than does the statement
in ISIS that the most noteworthy
event of the meeting was the high jump.
ing of J. p. Conover. Columbia who
cleared = feet 81 inches. brea king the
amateur record. The record holder Of to.
DAY would jump q foot higher than this
and in $50 Cuyler of Yale established
= mile record Of minutes 81 s-5 seconds
which stood for seven years.
In lSS2 these games. after being held al
Mott Haven for Fl lie wears. the first tire,
Years of which Columbia won and the las
two Harvard were transferred TO thu
Folio Grounds. 1t is Interesting to know
shat the previous year the tug of war wa:
Introduced and in 1883 Lafayette sent
tug OF war team which was a remark