New-York tribune., 1920-01-18
Indoor Cinder
Track Planned
For Regiment
Eighth Coast Artillery to I'm.
prove Athletic Facilities
of Bronx Armorv
By A. c. Cavagnaro

The novelty of seeing athletes str;v.
for glory and prizes on an indoor en-.
der track, which will be the only on.
of its kind in the world, will be III.
good fortune of the followers Of th;s
branch Of sport in this city. Plans for
the erection of the dirt track hara
been approved by the athletic com.
mittee of the Sth Coast Artillerv
Corps, of the Bronx, which is situated
at West kingsbridge Road and Jeroma
Avenue.
Work on the track will be begun i'm.
mediately in order that it may be
completed early in May to permit the
staging of set of games before tho
first half Of the 1920 indoor season
passes into history. In keeping with
its big program of improvements, the
committee intends to install oil tho
other athletic fixtures that will make
it possible to conduct all outdoor track
and field competitions in the inclosurc.
The athletic committee, whose aim it
is to put the Artillery Corps on az
strong an athletic basis as 'he best Of
National Guard units in the metropolis.
is headed by Colonel f. Austin. ex.
oficio; Major G. G. Webster. chair.
man; Captain John j. Quinn, the one.
time middle distance runner; Captain
T. Schofield, Lieutenant A. Mallor and
ber of tbs committee is in charge Of
different forms Of sport. with Captain
Quinn in charge of track and field COM
petition.
The size of the proposed amphi-
theater will permit the conducting Of
many sports at the same time The
inclosure will be 800 feet wide and
66O feet long, with no distractions
blocking the view of the spectators. In
addition to the 440-yard track. it is
planned to make provisions for 800
ward straightaway which will also al
low for the 120-yard high and 22o-yard
low hurdle races. The track is to be
built sufficiently large TO allow the
placing of five hurdles abreast.
The pits that prevail outdoors for
the weight throwers and jumpers will
be included in every detail There viii
| be sand pits erected for both the pole
vaulters and high and broad jumpers
and permanent rings laid ir the dirt
! for the weight throwers. After the
track is given sound foundation with
fine layer of cinders one foot of Loan
|
be treated chemically to make the track
lightning fast.
An idea of the massiveness of the
drill room is gained in the fact that
it will be possible to set up twenty
five lawn tennis courts, four basket
ball courts, two indoor baseball dia-
monds and football grdiron. While
the balcony surrounding the track can
seat only 5000 persons, provisions can
! be made. for accommodating 10000.
The athletic committee also intends
to engage the most capable athletic
coach obtainable. Applications for this
position from half a dozen veteran
athletes are now under consideration
by the committee, which hopes to make
its selection known within a week.
Among the candidates is former pro.
fessional sprinter who has retained
place with the best tutors in Europe
for the past ten years. He is now in
this country.
Representative teams will be en-.
tered in both indoor and outdoor tao
tivities. At the present time The
Bronx regiment is conducting an indoor
baseball tournament. with twelve com
panies qualifying for the champion-
ship, while the basketball title series.
with thirty-four teams, will get under
way on February /.
From the baseball league the COM
mittec hopes to select Z formidable
nine to represent the regiment against
club, college and regimental teams
during the coming outdoor season.
The Goth Company, which IS l34
years old, has entered teams in both
the baseball and basketball Journeys.
and the members hope to continue the
pace set by former company teams IN
winning the majority of the reglmentsl
title tournaments