Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1922-05-01
a
COACH AL0Nz0 STAGE |
>PRA|sEs LARRY SHIELDS
Pays Tribute to Sporting
Fairness During Race
With Connolly.
err WAS a FISE THING TO M,
Vnfversity OF Chicago Director s.ya
Action Was Instinctive and shows
Cniiber Of the Penn state Rpnn.,
Recalls nm Incident.
err WAS a FINE THING TO no,
[By United News.J

NEW YORK, April s0.-I,arry
Shields. the Penn Stats runner. in
ono tmpulsive act Of sporting fair.
ness during his race with Jimmy
Connolly OF Georgetown. at the
Penn relays. exemplihed the ideal
Of the sportsman.
Coach Alonzo Stage. of tho Uni.
versity OF Chicago. paid him a trib.
ute after The thing wan over, con-
currod In by Coach Lawson Robert.
son. of Pennsylvania, and other ma
ture trainers OF young student nth
letes. when was much more val.
liable thing to Shields and his coll
iege than victory In that race
would have been.
"a Fine Thing TO De.p
Rounding tho last turn but one.
about l75 yards from the rnish of
their mile as anchor men In tho dir
lance medley race, Shields was trail
ing Connolly By about three wards
Connolly was running slightly out
from the pole. and Shields. who had
tcer saving for a burst, turned on
the steam and attempted to edge
past the Georgetown runner on thu
inside. There wasn't quito room
enough. and Shields grazcd Connolly
as he went by. sending Jimmy spln-
ming Into the grit. Shields braked
down within yard; stopped dead:
waited until Connolly got up and re-
sumed a lead of three yards and
Then took up the race again. In the
stretch TO the tape he passed Com
Molly again and broke the string ten
yards ahead. Tho officials heard
snieihs own story OF the incident, in
which he told exactly what had hap
pened. and disqualified Penn state,
awarding tho raas to Georgetown.
II was hne thing TO do, that
atopping and waiting for Connolly to
60 ahead again." old man Stage
said. when tho coaches and a crowd
OF alumni were running the races
all over again that night. Maybe
Shields should not have tried to pass
Connolly on the inside, but maybe
Connolly was running out from the
pole to make Shields go wide in
passing HIM But when Connolly
went down, another runner in tho
position OF Shields might have kept
right on going. or another runner
might have run ten yards before de-
Gliding TO stop and restore the Hd-
vantage for the spectacular effect
on the crowd
Action Wns distinctive.
But with Shields we could all see
that tho action WAS instructive. It
was the sort OF action that every
sportsman In the world must admire,
for shields did not have a second to-
think about the crowd. All OF US
hope we would prove To bhsas clean.
az that In criain whero tho inhtap-l
tane0us impulse shows how u man,
is made up. But we can never te8
sure until we are tried. Some OF us
would keep on going: some wouldl
run ten yards more before making,
the right decision. q
Il think Shields In that great in-s
slant demonstrated the lesson that
college athletics tries to. teach. He
has won races before. and he will.
win more In his time. but ne will
never win nner victory over tho
selfish and the unfair instincts that
every man Is hghtlng against all
the time, In sport and In HIS reia-
lions with other men"
Stage has coached thousands of
athletes In his time at the University
u Chicago. and II was FITS object.
he said. to develop in every boy ths
same moral sense that ruled Shields
on that turn. lie now has under
his tuteiage the sons OF some OF tho
boys who learned their sporting
ethics from him twenty-five years
ago at tho Midway. Every year he
writes at least two letters to each
OF tho zoe surviving Chicago letter
men scattered about the world. and
in following the progress OF his
graduates no has noted that the best
sportsmen have gone furthest in
business.
Professional athletics he cares
nothing about. 1t appears to him
that professionalism In athletics Ia
not the proper use OF an implement
for moulding character. And. al
though no would not have his men
play only to win. he Thinks most
Of the nervous, emotional fellow who
Will take a terrific beating and rise
above physical endurance 20 win on
spirit.