Omaha daily bee., 1915-12-12

tion of a mentor to assume the
shoes of Jumbo Stiehm. who has
resigned to take more renumerative
position as coach at Indiana. This topic Is
far more vital to foot ball fans than the
European war or early Christmas shopping
and many are the arguments heard pro
and con. Thus far the names of four
coaches have been suggested as possible
candidates. They are Bill Roper, for
merly at Missouri and Princeton; Bonnie
Owen of Oklahoma, Gil Dobie, who just
resigned at Washington. and Jesse Har-
per of Notre. Dame. AS far as past rec
ords go, and observations of teams
coached by these men in action, IT ap-
pears very probable that any one of the
four would be just as successful, IL. per-
haps, not more so, than Stiehm. Stiehm
has made an enviable record at Nebraska
1t is not TO be denied that Nebraska has
assembled to top-notch rank in western
foot ball during the regime of Jumbo,
but without in any way discrediting
Stiehm's ability. there are men who are
Just as good as he is and 1t should not
be overly difficult for the Cornhusker
athletic board to select one when the
emergency meeting is held Monday. OF
the four men suggested, Roper and Dobie
have the best records, but there Ia prob
ably less chance to secure the services
of either one OF these men than Owen or
Harper. Roper. 1t will be remembered.
is the man who won the Missouri Valley
championship for Missouri in 1900 Roper
won the championship that year from
two better teams, Nebraska and Kansas
Kansas defeated the Huskers and Roper
with a very ordinary team and the odds
In t fY,n
He used twenty-three men to do 1t, but
he aid It, and the name OF Bill Roper to
this day stands at the top of the Mis-
souri, hall of fame. Two years later
Roper took charge of the eleven at
Princeton and turned out the only team
in the history of the school that won
from both Harvard and Yale. He is the
man who made an all-American end out
of Sammy White. This year Roper
coached Swarthmore when he wasn't busy
practicing law in Philadelphia. Whether
he could be induced to abandon his law
practice to come to Nebraska is doubtful
but It would be a ten-strike for the Corn
huskers IL fortune should so favor them.
Dobie a few days ago announced his in
tention of taking up the practice of law
and he resigned the position as mentor
at Washington to do so. OF course, II
may be possible to bring him to Lincoln,
but 1t seems unlikely. Jesse Harper and
Bonnie owen have both made good rec
ords as coaches. Harper has turned out
good teams at Notre Dame ever since he
has been there. And Harper's good
teams have largely been the result of
Harper's coaching ability. Such team
work and wonderful interference as ex-
hibited by the Notre Dame eleven this
year has never before been seen in Me-
braska, and good coaching alone can de-
velop even teamwork and good inter
ference. owen makes his bid for honors
largely through his knowledge of the for
ward passing game. Oklahoma this year
depended almost exclusively on the for
ward pass to net gains and this method
was so successful that Oklahoma went
through the year with a clear slate of
victories 1t has been said by foot ball
students who saw the Sooners in action
this year that they had the most won
derful system Of forward passing of any
team in the country, and an assertion
like that is a great tribute to the ability
of Bonnie owen as a coach. The Ne
braska athletic board will do well Mon
day to get a line on all four OF these
mentors suggested. for any one of them
would undoubtedly be as great, II not
a greater success. than the passing
Jumbo. e
:
The proposal by Jack Holland OF St
Joseph that ladies' days in the Western
l. Il.