The Topeka state journal., 1922-12-19
WINTER
SPORTS
B y
C.E.HOBBS
Telephone 1881

The 1922 pigskin hasn't been put
away yet In fact it is very much in
/ evidence in three eastern and the
same number of western schools.
/ Christmas day. when most Kansas
, folks viii be enjoying their fires and
I the Christmas trees and other make
merry things Of the Huietide season.
j West Virginia university supporters
viii be in California, at San Diego,
to be exact, in spirit, while the foot
ball team from the mountainous
/ country will be in San Diego in real
| ity It is one of those post-season
football clashes between the east and
the west, and to say there is sight in
terest in it is putting 1t lightly.
Football has come to hold an i'm
portant position in the sport world
That may be because it is intercol-
Ieg-ate, rather than professional 1t
may be because of the game itself. but
whichever ii is, the fact remains foot
ball has become one of the leading
sports of America.
Two other least meets west" foot
Lau contests of the Foliday season viii
attract a lot of attention, altho they
will come later than Christmas.
Pittsburgh and Leland Stanford VIII
meet in Palo Alto. Gal. December 80,
which promises to be a real battle.
The other contest comes on New
Years day, and will be between
Southern California university and
<4AA4 f7AeALIf 40 4 eA9e-N-|A
In that Christmas day clash in San
Diego. West Virginia is being picked
by snort writer's as the favorite West
Virginia mountaineers had a success
full season, winning nine games and
tying one. Now Coach Speers and
Trainer Cartmell are having a hard
time getting the men down to earth
They are basking in the clouds. and
have an exceptional dose of overcon-
f.dence, press dispatches say
Another thing. propa ganda has been
filtering from the west, the camp of
Gonzago, to the east. to the effect
that the Pacific coast school is out of
its class. that the mOuntaineers will
win easily. West Virginia players prob
ably have begun to figure that it is a
pleasure trip they are going to take to
California, that it is a long ride in a
Pullman, and only an hour of light
workout on the western gridiron is all
that the game will amount to. OF
course the mon are not admitting that, |
but unconsciously that will be the
effect
It is not hard to find examples of
where this over confidence has lost |
battles before, and it IS this that the !
coach will be Obliged to overcome be |
fore his warriors chase out after the |
elusive pigskin in the California sun |
shine West Virginia itself figured |
in Just such an example of over con- |
fidence in 1919. when the Saturday |
after beating Princeton 25 to 0, Centre |
college, unknown in football circles,
unheralded and unsung from the |
typewriters OF sporting writers and |
sporting pages, as is the case with |
Gonzago, came up from Danville, |
KY, and wa.loped the mountaineers. 1
Il to 6. That was the real start OF /
Centre college to fame. Today it is
as much talked about as Princeton,
Harvard, Yale and others.
1t has been pointed out by sport
writer's that Gonzago is no weakling;
Virginia in 1919 might happen again
10 the Mountaineers in San Diego,
Christmas day. Gonzago has won
five games and lost two this season.
It has piled up 199 points while its
opponents have made SO. It has lost
-anomah club of Poland. a team of
ax-co-lege stars, So to 20. Coma go
has won from University of Idaho.
IA to Z; University of Wyoming, II to
D.: Montana State college, u to o;
University of Montana. 35 to Z; and
he College of Puget Sound. "a to o.
Who is it among US that can tell
hat GonZagO will not do to West
Virginia just exactly what Centre did
ime that n long railroad trip weakens
/ team. That must be considered in
he Christmas day tilt. When Penn
State meets University of Southern
California New Years day in Pasa-
lena. one of the games best linemen
Will be seen in action 1t is Joe Be
ienk, right guard on the Penn State
eleven OF whom we speak. Many of
he eastern writers have picked this
yuard on their all-eastern elevens.
Coach Bezdek himself. declares that
3edenk is one Of the hest guards he