New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-03-12
Were His Forehand as
Strong He Might Now
Hold Title.
KNOWN TO EXPERTS
AS AN N-AND-OUTER
Loses to Third.Rate Player and
Yet Puts Champion john
son Out of One Tourney.
By JAMES $. O'NEALE.

Once Browning wrote: What's come
20 perfection perishes.'
Perish the thought! Unfortunately
the poet never knew OF Theodore
Roosevelt Peli and his perfect back
hand. Pell's backhard burst into gen,
eral notice some ten years ago, ana
instead Of perishing it gets better each
Year. For the last i've years 1t has
been universally recognized as the best
In the world. which is relative perfee-
ton. It is getting better each year
and Is approaching absolute perfection.
It is the goose tina. lays him golden
eggs for his opponents score.
Teddy Pell, strenuous cousin OF
strenuous man, plays multitude Oh
tournaments every year. lie Is IN mar
ness as often as any player In the
country, and there would be little trou-
bic in ranking him with great accuracy
II it were not for the fact that he is
sometimes subject 20 strange upseS,
losing Unexpectedly and winning ike
wise.
Last season, for instance, ne lost TO
n. W. Swayne, ranked In CLASS q, or
The sixth ten. On the other hand, Peli
defeated Billy Johnston. national
champion. The ranking committee did
"she loves me, she loves me not act
and placed the society man, clubman
and real estate magnate at the nth
position, right after Karl Behr.
Pell had bad years in 1914 and 1917.
and gained only second ten ranking.
In 1910 he was eighth, in 1911 seventh
and In 1918 fifth. the same az last
year. In most Of these years he would
have been first or whereabouts IL his
forehand drive had been az good as
his backhand.
Little chickens can run around and
pick up food as soon as hatched. One
day ducks can swim. At the age OF
three little Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
was learning 10 play minuets, and at
five he played in public. Little Teddy
Pell-big Teddy now-played back
hand rhapsody on racquet strings be-
fore he could swing and hit the ball
forehanded.
There are still some who assert that
the backhand stroke OF William A.
Larned, the grand old gladiator. was as
good "a Pells. But the majority award
superiority to the beautiful stroke Of
the later man, because of its greater
top spin and consequently because it
Is harder to handle al the net.
Mainly because of this top spin many
critics think Pc Is the best doubles
player in the country, bar none. Otto
Froitzheim, the great German, has a
superb backhand, but he hits IL in the
English style, with slight uppercut,
and the stroke is easy to voley and
commands fewer angles for passing
shots.
Ieli has made the backhand stroke a
beautifully offensive one. One reason
his 'orehand is not SO good is because
h ras given supercare to the other
SIDE, and often runs around the ball
to take it with his backhand.
He can hit with remarkable ease
from all positions. His stroke-form Is
perfect, his accuracy wonderful He
plays with the racket handle and fore
arm in the same plane Of force. Pell
places his thumb straight up the han
Ole, gripping the racquet at the very
end.
lie takes the ball well in front, start
ing the stroke far back and finishing
With a long follow-through, turning the
racquet in the follow through TO give
top spin to the ball. Every stroke is
as clear-cut as a victim Of an Italian
enietta.
The racquet is almost fat at the mo-