The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-10-30
THE UMPIRE
By H. G. SALsINGER

Every time anybody gets a renutation in sports the professors that form the Skeptics society take the sub feet in hand, roll him into the operat- ing room and begin probing for the clay in his feet, figuratively speaking At present Mir. Grange is the subject of anatomical research in the clinic of the Skeptics society. The members, as' sembled around the operating board, are certain that this football idols feet gre of common clay.
 There is this about the Skeptics society Its members (and there are many thousands enrolled) work on a basic rule that nothing today can equal anything that has gone before. The Skeptics society lives ill the past and only what is of the dead days can be of any good.
 When the red-headed MT. Grange performed against Michigan this year he established record that finds no equal in the history of the game. In the first 10 minutes of play Grange got his hands on the ball six times | He carried it 256 yards and scored l IOuT IOuGIuUHuS. hlS should have convicted anyone, but it failed to convince the Skeptlcs society. They observed that;
 Grange made his runs against a team that was much inferior, against a team defensively weak and absolutely lack ing in end play.
 Grange was not responsible for the runs, but they were due solely to the intereference.
 George is not a good football player because he can not kick, block or tackle and he never makes interference for another player.
 Grange is only double-threat man and can not compare, therefore, with the triple-threat stars. Grange can only run and forward pass; he can not kick.
 In all of us there is the desire, more or less developed, to show off. We like to display superior intelligence at times. The Skeptics society has this love for showing off developed to high degree By denouncing the accepted leaders in sports as counterfeit they gratify a vain personal desire.
 For years Ty Cobb was regarded as lucky fool, and G. Herman Ruth was down in the books as q big bruiser that could not do a thing but swing a bat while McGraw could buy pennants, but never win them with players developed by him.
 The Skeptics society misses none oi the boys.
 To return to Grange. Most of tht criticisms made by the Skeptics society are true, but what of them?
 A few years ago a magazine asked everybody in football worth while ask ing to name the greatest player of al t(he. The vote went to willie" HestOn one-time Michigan back, with Jin Thorpe, one-time Carlisle back, seconC choice.
 Let the Skeptics society compare Grange and Heston. The society vii discover that Heston could not kicl and that Heston never forward passed (this was years beofre the birth ol the pass). They will discover that Hes ton was no more famous for blocking or tackling than Grange.
 Heston was line smasher. He ha( speed and power. Grange is not lint smasher. His success is in wide off tackle runs and sweeps around the Op posing end. Heston got through or power and speed. Grange gets past thu opposition because of power, speed change of pace, reversing, pivoting straight-arming. He runs knee-high hips swinging when in the proximit! of a tackler and seems to float Ove the ground rather than run. He Is thu nearest apprach 10 a phantom that foo ball has known.
 Take the Michigan game as an ex ample, for it marked Grange's best per formance:
 There he opposed an eleven that wa better than his own. Michigan well out played Illinois during the time Grang was on the sidelines. Only when Grang was III the lineup did Illinois exec Michigan. He gave his team its si: touchdowns.
 As for the interference maxim Garages runs that is mostly bosl goes far wide of the intereferenC reverses and shoots through a broke - field.
 He does not block, he does not tackle but what coach wuold ask a player lik q OTduSe lO wear ulLnSell OuI DlOCkll and tackling! What coach would as ployer like Grange to do anythin other than what Grange daes!
 
 As broken field runner Grange the pest football has developed. He undoubtedly the most powerful and sut cessful scoring weapon any coach eve had. His team, with the exception ( one end can not be classed as bette than mediocre. He makes it unbeatabl And, as for the Skeptics society Well, boys and girls, 20 or 25 year fronArnow a new star will flash acros the gridiron and everybody will begi discussing him and the Skeptics sOciet of 1914 or 1919 will arise and announC in chorus:
 He's good, yes; but you can't b, gin to compare him with Grange ( Illinois, back in 1924" APPROVES RED FLOWERS Whether it be vivid camelia. q del cate carnation or an exquisitely tintt rnSo tbe flavor which cOmnlptps fl