The Birmingham age-herald., 1916-03-01
W|LLARD'S REACH
 GREAT ADVANTAGE Moran Will Fight Under Serious Handicap-Other
 Sport Notes

New York, February 2s.-While Frank
 Moran, from a physical standpoint, is a much more formidable opponent than
 Jack Dillon would be for Jess Willard.
 the fact remains that the big western champion will possess great advantages
 in height, weight and reach oyer the Pittsburg pugilist when the pair meet in their 10-round bout here March p. They are nearly of equal age, Moran having
 been born on March IS, 1887, and Willard on December 29 of the same year. In height Willard will tower fully five inches over his opponent, who measures 6 feet
 inches, and as to weight Moran will have
 to concede at least 40 pounds. He gen. erally enters the ring weighing a couple pounds over the 200 mark, while Willard
 in all likelihood will not be very much
 under 250 pounds after training for five weeks or less.
 Willard's enormous reach of S312 inches as compared with Morans IS is handi-
 cap which the Pittsburger will have to
 overcome in order to have chance of
 outpointing his big adversary. That Mo-
 ran is the possessor of courage, stamina and a punch sufficiently effective for a
 knockout has been demonstrated in sev- eral of his ring battles. He has been anx-
 ious to meet Willard ever since the lat
 ter won the championship from Jack
 Johnson, nearly year ago. and basing
 his chances on the showing he made
 against Johnson in Paris in 1914. Moran
 believes he has the ability and force to
 wear down Willard even in a limited
 bout of 10 rounds
 If confidence is potent factor in battle of this kind, Moran will not be found lacking this essential That he can absorb punishment of the heaviest kind, no one will deny, but Moran may be over-confident of his prowess when pitted against such a giant as Willard. Moran makes no secret of his intention to make this the greatest effort of his career and will try hard to land cham pionship winning wallop with the chance of taking one for the count himself
 Willard's absence from the ring for nearly a year, except in exhibition bouts, may have unfitted him for su- preme effort, but as the coming bout only calls for 10 rounds the champion undoubt- edly will acquit himself with all the skill
 of titleholder. His evenly balanced offensive and defensive tactics, in addi- ton to his endurance and cool headed ness, combined with wonderful physique, make Willard seem almost in vulnerable in the coming battle. It prom
 ses to be an interesting battle with earn estness on both sides and championship possibilities involved.
 In his annual report on sport at Har- yard university Dean l.. B. R. Briggs, chairman of the committee on the regula- tion of athletic sports, takes occasion to refer to the practice of "chattering' by college baseball players. Dean Briggs states:
 Bad manners on the baseball field and tactics that in some sports would be condemned as unsportsmanlike are still regarded by students and the general public as part of the game: and of these bad manners Harvard teams though in general clean players are not yet wholly | free. The rule which cuts the players | off from the advice of coaches and grad uates throughout the game makes it inn | possible to call down an offending man until the game is over. In the last few years the talk of players on the ball field l has been much less frequent and ob- l jectionable. Nobody would exact perfect
 silence or forbid the captain the genuine I encouragement of his men. Yet even
 now a large part of what the players say l results from deliberate adoption of a 1 technical vocabulary, cheap and meagre | in itself and at best dOuDtful Tn It's pur- l pose Only false conception of a beau- I tiful game demands that gentleman l in playing it shall cease to be a gentle l man. On this subject ex-President Taft l spoke some plain truths at New Haven | last June"
 Ray Fisher. member of the New York American league club pitching staff, has
 blossomed out as lecturer on the luc- rative art of baseball hurling. He re- gently made his debut at the Y M C. | A. Training school at Springfield. In his
 opening address Fisher stated that a sue cessful boxman must have speed, fol without it he was a hopeless pitching prospect. Curves and control can be de veloped, but speed is the keynote of sue. cess. He also gave it as his opinion tha the use of the spitball would eventual, ruin pitchers arm.
 Among Friends
 From the Philadelphia Evening Ledger. Ahe (iust rtturned from tha bOsnitaD n