The New York herald., 1922-05-14
HANDSHAKES COST
HIM MARBLES TITLE
Jersey City Hospitality Sends
Washington Boy Lame
Into Match.
BUSTER WORLDS CHAMP
Local Lad Also Gets Engraved
Cup Offered by the Ro-
tary Club.
BUSTER WORLDS CHAMP


The real battle of the century was fought
on Jersey City Heights yesterday by two
boys in knickerbockers. 1t was just
q game of marbles. Two thousand per-
sons, including ADULTS, watched it with.
out shame.
The worlds championship was at
stake-yes it was an engraved cup
given to the winner said so. The boy
who carried away the cup was Buster
Rech, marble shooting prodigy OF Jersey
City. He also scooped out of the sand
the pink immie that he shot with and
tomorrow he will approach leading
jewellers on the subject of having 1t
made into stickpin for his mother.
The loser was Mike Troa:no OF WASH
ington. d. C. He was the challenger for
the title, Buster Rech the defender
Each was the champion of his city by
virtue of the elimination of all other con-
tenders in playground tournaments.
Each is IA years old. Buster In two
pounds the heavier, all in the cheeks.
Whether this is of any advantage in d
mable duel has not been ascertained
Mike went to Jersey City alone, ex-
cept for newspaper marble reporter.
but hopeful He arrived one day too
soon, and this partly explains his down
fall Jersey City welcomed him as
another Georges come to meet a Demp-
sey. He was bounced Immediately into
the hospitality of the Elks Club He
was taken to the theater. He was in
troduced to Mayor Hague and other big
wigs. Between Friday evening. when
he struck the city, and the moment of
the match he was, except for nine hours
sleep, handshaking all the time.
Too late Mike Troaino realized that
he was undone. Upon reaching Pershing
Field. the scene OF the Marbles contest,
close observers noted his right hand was
red and family swollen. He tested his
knuckles with a marble. Stiff--his
knuclSles stiff. and this the moment of
the worlds knuckles championship. He
pocketed the trial marble and remarked
tl.at the next time he went visiting he
would keep his hands in his pockets.
But no one must get the idea that Mike
gave any excuses when Buster beat him
two straight games and won the match.
Made No Excuses.
Anything wrong with you to-day?
Out of form or anything like that?"
playground CHIEF said.
NO" said Mike. None of that stuff.
] played the best 1 could. He was bet
tern me, that's all"
the game of marbles as played under
championship conditions and set of ten
rules (did anybody know before that
marbles had any written rules?) aston
fshed all the ex-boys on the side lines.
a twenty foot square was lined off, op-
posite the bleachers. where sat crowd
that had watched the finals of the Jersey
City playground field meet. of which
the marble shooting tourney was the
climax. In the middle of the square was
a white circle one foot - diameter. The
circle is the patti, but 10 o. genuine lingo
of the sport it is caltnd the fat. Within
the fat ten marbles are dropped. Each
Of the contestants has a shooter. When
a player with his shooter hits the other
fellows shooter he wins a game. But
player can't go after the other fellows
shooter until he has first knocked one
of the marbles out of the fat--out of the
fat into the fire, as it were, When both
have knocked a marble out Of the fat
the marbles in the fat no longer figure
in the game. The players just keep
after each others shooter until one or
the other of them wins a game.
City OmciaIs There.
There were present a boys brass
band, all kinds of city officials men,
bers of the Rotary Club, who offered
the cup, and enough police to supervise
Red meeting in Madison Square Gar
cen. A silver haired announcer gulped
details through meSaphone, introduce
ing the principals, and also A. Harry
Moore, Commissioner OF Fairgrounds
and Public Property, as referee. and
oil ha vY.fza
marble shooter of Jersey City thirty
years ago.
Mike won the toss, but Jersey City
knocked a marble out of the fat first.
This, be 1t known. made his shooter
poison. washington had to poison his
shooter. too. by knocking a marble out
of the fat before he chased Jersey
City's shooter. This he speedily did
Frequently both players h'isted his
marble and shot from the top of his
lifted right knee or from his hip. The
thumb nail too much in propelling his
missile, while Jersey City adhered to
the more orthodox employment of the
thumb knuckle. After they were both
poisoned the maneuvered not only to
land on the opponents shooter but so
to aim that in case of miss. their
own shooters would land in spot so
rough as to be unreachable by the op-
position.
There was one supreme moment when
Washington inadvertently flipped his
shooter so it stopped rolling only two
feet from Jersey Cfty's. The school boys
were hollerng "Bust EN-, Buster" Bust
er was as careful - football player
fixing the ball for . place kick. He
kneeled hoisted his shooter to his knee.
closed one eye, twisted his lips. and
fired. He landed plop on Washington's
shooter, ana that game was over. Time
twenty minutes.
The next game took only two minutes
and thirty seconds. They chased each
other all around inside and outside the
twenty-1foot square. and then Buster.
from h'istings, knuckled his shooter
through the air with such precision that
1t clicked. on landing. squarely on the
nose OF Mike Troano's shooter. This
was hit at fifteen feet. Seven feet is
considered remarkable" SAID Commits
sioner Moore.
After the match everybody shook Bus
ter Rech's hand. including Mike Troiano,
which, considering what Jersey City had
done to Mikes right was sportmanship
OF the first water.
you were a good competitor" said
Buster to Rech. That is an astonishing
way for boy to talk but it's what Bus
ter said.