Omaha daily bee., 1916-12-10

Judgments

- n NJ NJ EN- w IELDENO, duiiSi
ing strictly to that time-worn
|" custom, are beginning to cir-
i culate reports that Jumbo
Stiehm may return to Ne
braska to take his old place as head
coach, while Doc Stewart is to be
given his passports and the merry
litter as he packs his grips. Despite
the fact that Stewart led his impotent
eleven to more successful season
than did Stagg at Chicago, Yost at
Michigan, Haughton at Harvard
three coaches acknowledged to be
great ones, the anvil chorus is begin
ming to tune up a funeral dirge for the
new Husker mentor. 1t is charged
Stewart did not promote harmony
among the athletes, that even some
of them were at swordspoints with
the head coach While we do not
know the extent of the truth Of these
charges, we don't doubt them bit
For three years, largely through the
efforts OF V. Halligan and G. Cham
berlain, the Cornhuskers captured
championships. Champions are in
clined to get chesty. The Cornhusk-
ers were champions. And a chesty
champion generally thinks pretty we'll
of himself. 1t can easily be seen that
Stewart and his men may not have
been passionately in love with each
other at times. Stewart had pretty
good material on his line And he
developed a grand little line, too. 1t
more than held its own against any
thing it faced despite the fact that it
had to give weight every time. No
coach in the world could have done
anything with that backheld. AS to
Stiehm, he had far from successful
season at Indiana, losing four games.
Comparisons of men are uncomforta-
bic, so we won't make any, but we
don't believe Stewart would suffer by
one.
A fair team with one great star, or
a good team with no star, is fnooted
question among foot ball students.
After reviewing the last four years of
the gridiron sport at Nebraska, we
lean toward the former. Guy Cham
berlain is the convincing point. Corn
husker follower can now realize what
wonderful player Chamberlain was.
Excluding Chamberlain, the 1915
Cornhusker eleven wasn't any
stronger than the 1916 team. As a
matter of fact, except on the left wing,
where Chamberlain camped, the line
wasn't as strong. But the 1915 Corn
huskers walloped a better Kansas
eleven than defeated Nebraska this
year. And they beat a Notre Dame
that was much better than this years
Hoosier crew. We say they" advis-
edly. 1t was practically all Cham
berlain. Jack Wheaton, former
Yale player and coach, declared after
the Kansas game a year ago that
Chamberlain was the greatest ball
carrying performer in all the annals
of American foot ball. And he
didn't even make an exception for
Ted Coy, Yale's pride and pet. With
Chamberlain in the lineup, Stewart
would have licked Kansas and Notre
Dame and Nebraska would have gone
through a fourth season without a
defeat. Which all goes to show what
one man can do.
Request to provide for a new GYM
nasium for the University Of Ne
braska will be put to the legislature
in January, it is said. 1t is high time
the Husker institution gets new
gym. The present gym is a barn-like
affair lacking in size, lacking in equip
ment and lacking in about everything
else. Poor gymnasium facilities have
made it almost an impossibility to
turn out any kind of track teams at
Nebraska. Basket ball has been ham.
pered. For that matter so has every
branch of sport. Every other school
in the Missouri valley has fine gym
nasium. Creighton opened new gym
this fall and Immediately athletics be-
gan to pick up. The blue and white
school promises to take prominent
place in Missouri valley and even in
western athletics and there are those
who believe the Omaha institution
will in time reach a par with Notre
Dame because of the increase in in
terest encouraged alone so far by
the new gym, It's high time the state
university was given new gym, too.
Cincinnati has always been a great
winter league town. Cincy never fails
to produce pennant winner when the
hot stove is working. But this year
Garry Herrmann's village is outdoing
itself in prophecying a winner. Christy
Mathewson is given as the reason for
this confidence and optimism. Christy
made hit with the Redland bugs
the latter part of last year and they
feel sure he will produce results when
he starts and finishes a campaign at
the head of the Cincy machine. While,
perhaps, the rest of the base ball
world isn't as confident as Cincin-
natl, it would like nothing better than
to see Christy win out. Big Six is
one of the grand men of the game and
there isn't base ball fan in the coun-
try who wouldn't like to see him sue
ceed as manager as he has as a
pitcher.
Even winning another pennant will
not restore the Brooklyn club to
favor in its home city, it is said. It's
the same old story-commercial
Commercialism killed horse racing,
prize fighting, wrestling and few
1 u