Omaha daily bee., 1921-07-24

ROREnT ZrIppKE DeeH given pref
Illinois Coach.l erence. This wa
especially true il
the old days of foot ball, when bee
and Drawn were the two determining
factors in the final makeup Of teams
Since the gridiron rules have beer
revised the little man has come NOR,
INTO his own, and it is a common
sight to see the big fellows on tn
side lines when important battles
are decided.
During the summer, Rober
Zuppke, well-known coach OF Illinois
foot ball teams, asserted he would
rather have . fast, quick-thinkine
team composed of little men, than
one which averaged 1870 to l9e
pounds. In fact, Zuppke has always
leaned to the little fellows when
9. lection Of a back field was under
consideration. Illinois pony back
telds have more than made good
against heavier sets of backs.
Sprinter Paddock the Exception.
Howard Jones of Iowa is another
r.idiron mentor who favors the small
Ter man for foot ball, and especially
"a any position where brain work IS
to be taken into consideration. Ar-
brey Devine, captain of this years
eleven, is a comparatively small man,
vet he can advance the oval for the
same results as a player heavier and
stronger. Coach Yost of Michigan
always has favored the smaller men
for quarter backs. Boss Weeks, the
greatest field general in Wolverine
foot ball history, was a small man,
as were Norcross and Barlow.
Although Charley Paddock of the
University of Southern California is
generally acknowledged to be the
greatest sprinter who ever pulled on
a spiked shoe, there we're many tiiers
much smaller of structure who have
made as fast time for 100 yards as
the Pacific coast star.
Arthur Duffey of Georgetown, the
first amateur to be officially credited
with running 100 yards in :oe 3-?5'
was small sprinter. Following his
record-breaking performance. the
former Georgetown athlete was found
to be a professional and his marks
were stricken off the record books;
Howard Drew, colored sprinter OF
Drake, who is joint holder of the
worlds 100-yard record at :09 3-S, is
a small man.
Earl Eby of the University OF
Pennsylvania, captain of last year
track and field team. who won the
eastern intercollegiate championship
for the half-mile and repeated III the
same event at the nationals. held
in Chicago, is a small man, who does
not weigh more than l3s pounds.
Frank Foss, former Cornell athlete,
who holds the worlds record in the
polo vault, is another athlete of the
small type.
Joie Ray Lite Fellow.
Joie Ray of the Illinois A C., one
of the greatest middle distance run
ners Of modern times, is another ex-
ample of the small man who eontin-
ually shows larger and stronger run.
ners a clean pair Of heels. Ray has
been running foot races for years,
and there seems to be no limit to his
physical endurance. He is built
along the same lines as Alfred
Shrubb, the great English runner,
who still holds several worlds rec
ords for distance running.
In the weight events men of
strength are needed, and this is the
reason why the small man has no
chance. McGrath, Mcdonald and
Ryan are giants in stature, while
Ralph Rose, former Michigan athlete,
who now is dead, was even bigger
than Mcdonald. Roses mark of 81
feet in the shotput still stands as a
worlds record. 1t was made in 1909.
Same Is True in Base Ball.
Numbers of small college base ball
players have gone into the major
leagues and have made good. Eddie
Collins, captain of the Chicago White
Sox of the American league, is not a
large man. Eddie learned his base
ball at Columbia college. George
Sisler of the St. Louis Browns is a
former Michigan player, and is rated
one of the best first sackers in major
league base ball. Julie Nee of 1lli-
nois and Vernon Parks of Michigan,
recent college men to go into fast
company, are not large men.
1t is the almost unanimous opinion
OF coaches and others who are in
constant contact with squads of men
that the little fellows think faster
than those of larger stature.
In general they solve conditions
which arise on the playing field fas-
ter, and are quicker to take advan-
tage of an opponents momentary er-
ror.
AT any rate the smaller men are
gradually growing into popular ia
vor. although there are exceptions in
cases where a good big man has COM
bined all the qualifications of the
smaller ones.