Omaha daily bee., 1919-10-19
JOIE RAY PLANS
COMPETITION ON
INDOOR TRACKS
Great Little Middle Distance
Star May Run on Boards for
a While. But May Not
Go in 0|ympiCs.

New York, Oct. lS.-Undismayed
by two defeats administered by
Mike Devanney in as many races at
the tag end of the outdoor season,
Joie Ray is modifying his strength
for an arduous campaign on the
board floor. Report has it that the
Chicagoan intends to shelve his run
ming shoes months before the revival
of the Olympic games at Antwerp,
Belgium, but no verification as to
when he intends to stop has been
forthcoming from the athlete.
His first important engagement
behind closed doors will be the ma
tional senior thousand yards, in
which he will defend his 1918 lau-
rels against such good local middle
distancers as Devanney, Jack Sellers,
Homer Baker and possibly Eddie
Fall, the former Oberlin youth, who
made Ray run at his fastest on
Franklin field recently, to annex the
national mile crown in new cham
pionship figures.
Equals Record.
Ray defeated Devanney and Fall
last year handily, covering the route
in 2::l4, which time equaled the late
John Overton's 1917 record. The
dead marine made his figures on
Philadelphia board floor track, or
which occasion he showed his heels
to Ivan Meyers, a clubmate of Rays,
and several other good men.
Many close followers of ath.
letes believe Ray runs his best on
the board floor. They point to hi:
great number of accomplishments
i'll the three indoor seasons to prove
the argument. In that space of time
he endeared himself to the hearts OF
the local athletic populace by hi.
many stirring victories over dis.
tances from 1000 yards to two miles
He holds the indoor record for one
and a half miles of 6:40.6, as we'll a.
the fastest time over the two-milt
trail of o:l1.4, both of which Ray
made in the space of. two months
two years ago, in Madison Square
Garden.
May Transfer Meet.
The senior indoors may be held
in Madison Square Garden or thu
Twenty-second regiment armory
early next March. There is talk OF
transferring the meet to Brooklyn.
but that is problematical. The
championships usually draw we'll in
this city, whereas shifting them
across the bridge might hurt the
gate receipts. Fire department. reg
ulations forced the committee two
years ago to close the doors and
keep out several hundred persons
who wanted to see the games.
Ray Very Popular.
Ray is good attraction. He il
very popular in the metropolitan
district. Years ago they used to
flock in great numbers everywhere
Mel Sheppard, George Bonhag and
William Kramer were billed to COM
pete. Then came Ted Meredith and
Abel Kiviat, followed by Koleh-
mainen, the last, but not all, the in
vincible chap from the stock yards.
The special match race between Ray
and Overton two years ago threat
ened to eclipse the attendance in the
Garden that saw the stirring duel
fought out between Harry Hillman
and John B. Taylor, but inelement
weather kept many away.
The three-cornered match race
over the two-mile route between
Bonhag, Kramer and Louis Scott al
most packed the amphitheater -four
or five years ago. With the revival
of the New York A. c! games the ia.
nous match races of the past may
be duplicated. The Winged Foot
people usually go after the big stuff,
and it is possible Ray will be asked
to tackle some record or other to
balance the regular program.