Free trader-journal and Ottawa fair dealer. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1920-1927, 1921-03-17
Ottawa H.
March H., lj2l
needs telling.
The Sporting Editor,
Free Trader Journal


Ottawa, III.
Dear Sir:
l. a student of the Ottawa hGh
school and one who attended most
OF the games both football ana baS'
ketball this season, wish TO state that
| heartily disagree with the vie" YOU
expressed in your column Monday
night,
You virtually accuse our coach OF
being Stacker and gutter. No
man could have worked harder or
better to make his players winners
no one could have been more GIN
| gent Besides this IL the first time
| in seven years OF coaching that ne
| has had a team that lost more than
one game Don't YOU realize That II
| is quite disappointment to hay"
| team lose even few games?
70 one who only watches the galaes,
| even the explanation that the play
ers are green men does not seem To
| account for their failure 10 win. 70
| those who know the players, not
| only on the field, but in the practice
| and in the class rooms, the victories
are real ana those who know the
| players know, TOO, how hard 1t Is To
master the game in one season and
| how hard IT IS to win from veteran
players ana also how hard our boys
tried to do these things
We who know, back our coach and
team to the limit We yen louder
when they are being defeated becau
| they need our support more We
! wish that you may also know this and
! be proud Of our team. II you knew
the coach and players ana watched
them practice. yon would see how
fine they are and how well they de-
serve praise, rather than criticism.
Mr., Smith is far too just a man to
fire a player off the team one night
and ask him back the next. Whoever
told that must have been mistaken.
No other coach ha4 started the year
with only green men to work with.
they had some veterans at least
None of them have done more with
the material on hand than Mr.
Smith, and no players have worked
harder than our men did this year.
We have now the material to make
an al-star team next year and Mr.
Smith is the hest coach we could
possibly get If you truly want a
winning team. then boost the school
the coach and the present team
Help us make the people realize what
we are doing and help us make our
next years team the" all-star team,
Yours truly.
WINlFRED HENRIETTF.
Editors Note-The letter, while
ringing true and is meant to imply
the authors good intentions is not
in the handwriting Of Winifred 1t
is more than likely that Patrick JO-
seph, or Perciya AlgcrnOn authored
it. In selecting Winifred pseudo
nym or nom de plume, the coach's
loyal defender doubtless did not
know that Winifred is TeutOnic
name, meaning "a lover of peace. -"
In that he I've say he" adviSodly)
has nothing on the Free Trader.JOur-
nal II wants peace Of mind which
COmeth from cOnqueSts showing O II
s. not always the conquered That
peace Of mind will not come until
athletics at the high school are rails
ed above the standard OF the village
or small community institution, OF
taWa the past year slumped into that
rating without just cause. The ma
terial was there. The COlumbussing
came too late If the school could de
| velOp Ponce De Leon, Magellan,
a Dan Boone or a De La Sale may
| hap there would be more discoveries
of boys capable of great things ath-
! letlcdlly. That's an important feature
| OF the coaching job lrTegardess Of
| who is to blame O. II s. deserves
better results than it achieved dur
! ing the fall at football, and winters
! basketball play. TOnca, Marseillea.
| Leland Mendoza ana EarlyiIle All
| nave crack teams. La Sale and
Streator have worked championship
aggregattOnS out Of noyices They
always have Why not Ottawa?