Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1914-12-17
TENNIS COMMITTEE
FACES HARD TASK
Must Decide mt Meeting Tomorrow
Who Is Better Player, McIIough-
Linz or Williams.
USES MUCH CoMMENT
Many Declare That Harvard Stars
Victory Over Californian Entities
Him to Highest Honor Among the
ENponents of the Racket Game.

wh The m o1n,nis. san question as to
the one man who did more than any
other American lawn tennis player in
this country. or ' Rlchard D Norris sup VIII IA
feated MeLouglin for the national
shall be ranked No. 1 In the official
ranking list. will be settled tomorrow
miEht, writes Fred hawthorne, a New
YORK sporting writer.
On that evening. at the annual meet
ing of the executive committee Of the
Association at the Waldorf Astoria Ho-
tel, New York. Frederick c. Inman and
Walter Merrill Hall. of the ranking
committee, will make their report on
the standing of the 0ountry's foremost
The subject as to the relative merits
OF the two great players In this coun-
try is one shat has been discussed a
thousand times since the close OF the
McIoughlin and Williams should be
bracketed together mt No. 1 in the Of
ly. refused to concede that williams Ia
within several points Of the Cali
fornian, and there are others. again,
ing the national title from McLouglin
also deprived him of the right to oc-
eYpy the proud d,n position af,aor at the top
noiSt Of yisw, i is certain :; that al Imam;
been devng nto the records n0 of sse
courts for the last two or three months
in the effort to decide the question
to face n lot Of criticism from the dis
No Old Scores to Settle.
This is but natural. and they prob
ably have already steeled themselves
to meet the attacks that will be made
upon their ruling. One thing can be
that whether 1t be Mclaughlin or Will
liams. or both, who occupy the No. ]
position, the rating will be the result
of the honest efforts of the committee
to do justice to Mac and Norrie. These
three men have no bones to pick, no
old scores to settle. and what they d de- ed
opinions.
The writer saw Williams defeat Nc
Loughlin at ,Newnor,tt,, and playing as
conquered any player in the world He
had everything-speed. control. daring
and an abundance of confidence. and
makes fall his strokes with more tech,
meal perfection than Mclaughlin, and
knows the angles of the court as no
other man now playing does.
Were he able to play day in and day
out, through the season, AS he did when
he defeated McLoughlin setless at New
Williams's right to be ranked the first
player I'm the land. He has II in him TO
defeat the Californian at the latter's
best, but only once during the season
was the Harvard man able to raise his
game to that height McLoughlin de-
featcd him with regularity every time
they met in the course Of the summer.
and nobody ever will forget Macs last
derful showing at Forest Hills last
August. when he defeated Brookes and
WildinE in convincing style in the
Davis cup matches.
Williams on that immensely import
ant occasion. was pititully weak and
uncertain. His game had no daring.
his strokes lacked both accuracy and
speed. and he was an easy victim to the
-Australasians-and he lost the Davis
cup.
In view of all this. then, why should
Williams be given higher. or even
the same, rating as Mclaughlin. the
man who proved TO be the more re-
liable throughout the playing season
and who defeated Williams half n
dozen times last summer. failing only
at the close of n strenuous campaign?
The writer does not believe that Will
! linms's victory at Newport, in spite
of its brilliance and the high honors
attached thereto. quito entitled him to
be placed above the California Comet"