Evening star., 1924-03-03

In the very early days, as DIR.
Cham berain. graduate of the 70s,
recalled at q recent Rutgers dinner,
foot ball captains exchanged caps
hibited Il half dozen caps which he
had received in such exchanges.
Proud of Distinction.
After time the cap was cmbel-
Iished with the initial of the uni
versity. And by this time the campus
recognized the varsity player out of
uniform by his cap. From that the
transition to the sweater was speedy,
and varsity men soon were given
sweaters with the letter at the end
Of the season. Thus came about the
playing on varsity foot ball or base
ball team in the big matches. or for
rowing in the varsity boat.
In those days men were proud OF
the dic&action and not averse to
wearing cap or sweater. And bear
period the letter had one meaning,
and one only:
The wearer has played or rowed
on the varsity in the big event of
the season"
1t was statement of. fact and
could not be given or taken away
If man had so played he was n
letter man. and you could not help
1t If. he had not so played he was
not a letter man, and no subsequent
action could make him one.
Then came time when minor ath-
1eticS began to flourish and the mem
bers OF minor teams commenced TO
wear letters as nearly like those of
the major teams as they dared. Al
most at once the varsity men abaIf-
doned the wearing of any insignia
except when actually engaged in ath-
IGtlCS. AS aNnraSSad ~ fnr
all. he was afraid he might be taken
for the champion tiddIedywinks
player"
Minor sports Curbed.
This brought about the forbidding
OF minor ORGANIZATIONS wearing in
sigma similar to those of the major
teams. But even that restriction and
ali the laws passed since have never
quite restored to its old prestige the
wearing of letters. Freshmen turn
their prep school sweaters inside out,
with the letter concealed. when using
them IN play at college. Varsity
players no longer care aSout wearing
their lettered sweaters on the cam
pus.
But with the great value attached
TO making a varsity team and
being an actor in the big events there
cifc rules as TO the letter 1t is
now awarded" 1t is no longer an
absolute state ment of fact j, can
be given by the proper authority to
a man-as in Bobby Jones case
who never played in the big games.
Substitutes still are rushed in in
the last few minutes of play to "get
their letters But in this case there
is still recognition of the Serities of
the case, for these men do actually
play, even il only for d few seconds.
In other words. the college belief
is Still quite insisteEt upon the old
statement of fact.
l. Case in Point.
But such pressure has grown up
in the last decad" for turning the
many a petition for its granting 10
some unfortunate who Just missed
out is granted. This case Of Bobby
Jones is a shining example Only
the outside athletic laws prevented d
him from representing Harvard on
the golf team, and undoubtedly sue
cessfully. So they gave him his let
ter anyhow.
The really new angle of the situa-
tion is typified by DIR. WiIce's con-
troversy over the swimming girls
letters. With more and more women
going in for sports at co-educa tional
spread demand among them for
equal rights" in the matter Of the
varsity letter.
Any one who is skeptical about the
writer's recent comments on the
mounting expense budgets of collie Sc
athletics should have been at the
meeting at New Haven recently