The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1916-12-09
PROBE SSIONAL.
FOOTBALL CROWS
Paid EieValS With Former Stars
Increasing IN Number.
MOST OF GAMES ON SUNDAY
Grdiron Money Teams Draw Well, and
Leading Men Arc Paid Fat Salaries
Jim Thorpe Gets $3.50 a Game, Others
Paid Accordingly.

ESaIlHg wen NFc FalH f1t SdldllSS
Jim Thorpe Gets $3.50 Game, Others
Paid Accordingly.
Professional football has had n great
er success in Minneapolis than perhaps
any other city in the territory ruled
by the big nine Professional and semi
professional football is as mucl. rec
ognized sport Ia the Twin Cities as is
semiprofessional baseball ia Chicago.
There are hall dozen or more big
semipro football teams there which
schedule weekly meetings and these
games are attended by from 5000 to
1900 persons each week
Big Pay For Jim Thorpe.
Pay for the players varies largely
with their populations. For instance,
Jim Thorpe is said TO receive in the
ncighborhood of $3.50 for each appear
ance, aud the salaries OF other players
probably range from this figure down
to $40 or SD for those who have
achieved no particular college fame
and therefore are not regarded rs
uIAN 4llE AAlAlH. .it u u d'-t ia. IAtO-
ably is in the neighborhood of SO a
game on the big eleYens down TO Il few
dollars on the prairie elevenS
One of the reasons for this big growth
of the professional game is the some.
what paradoxica truth that, while
modern football requires more inten-
sive practice and training for It's peg
lection, fair game can be got 0Gt OF
team with less effort than the old
game required In other words. al
though modern football IS more highly
specialized, ii docs not require the IN
tensiye team play Of the old game, and
men who have played one position in
college have little trouble playing the
same position even with Il strange team.
one OF the most Interesting de-
velopments on the modern gridiron has
been the tremendous growth OF profess
sional football in the last two or three
years. That professional football has
grown cannot be denied. for where ten
years ago thore were two or three pro-
fessiona teams Ike the Massillon
Tigers. there are now score OF more
which have just MS many former col.
lego stars as TIC famous Ohio eleven
had In addition to this there are hun.
drcds of miaor professional ana semi
professional clepcns
Nor has HE change come alone IN
the number If professional clevens.
The personnel OF the teams has
changed considerably Where ter
years ago the professional teams We're
made up principally Of graduates Of
the sanl lots. w.5h perhaps one or two
former COLLEGE men to give sem
blancc ~ the advertising claim OF "all
star cx-coicgiatr team" the lrofes-
sional squads now are made up Of
some Of the best players in The zane
men against whose amateur status not
a breath Of Suspicion existed during
their COLLEGE work.
Star Cc'c3iano In Ranks.
Whom such Ilan os Soucy aud King
or Harvard Eouih Of Purdue. Winters
Of Indiana, SOFT OF Indiana. Redmon
OF Indiana and Dos Jardien Of Chicngo
Batter OF Wisconsin aud Julian Of
Michigan Aggios enter the profess
sional Field /. NEST rc admitted that
professional football is gaining a far
higher plano than Il has held in the
past. Yet these arc only few namos
Cleaned from tlicc ar four Of the moro
prominoat professional football teams.
IL ono were To make a compendium of
all the biz professional teams in the
United States 1t is probable virtually
every big college in the country would
be represented hi one or two former
stars
SO far these professional teams have
confined most Of their games 20 sun
day, but If they should ever start to
compete with colleges for Saturday
games there is little question chat they
would prove q considerable rival Sey
eral Of there teams are competing in
territory which has from tiuc immr-
mortal been given over 60 college com
petition. For instance the Pine VII.
lage and Wabash professional elcyens
competed IN Lafayette Ind. the home
of Purdue university. on Sunday re-
Gently and drew crowd of more than
5000 persons or course the big at
tendance may have been the result of
the poor team at Purdue This season,
but it demonstrates that there IS room
for professional football.
Some Play az Amateurs.