Evening star., 1925-07-30

Paddock, for instance, engaged in a
tempestuous joust a season or two
ago with the Amateur Athletic Union
over his right to compete abroad with
out official sanction. AS a matter OF
fact, this was not private fight. The
chunky sprinter was largely an instru
ment of defiance In q clash between
athletic governing forces. He went
through with his program, but as
sumed a penftent attitude later and re.
turned 70 the A. A. L. fold in time for
the Olympics.
Dempsey Is Balky.
Dempseys bouts with the New
York State Athletic Commission have
been the only ones in which he has
engaged in two years, but the heavy
weight champion has lost few deci
sions in them up to date.
The burning issue has been whether
the champion will or will not agree
to fight his foremost challenger, Harry
Wills. The commission, welding all
the authority II could muster, finally
obtained Dempsey's agreement to the
| match-in 1926-but the titleholder
since then has skipped Wogt and
avoided further discussion of the sub
ject-while the boxing rulers hold
the bag"
Not long after he had been crowned
as monarch of the wilds Of wallop a
few seasons ago. Babe Ruth became
imbued with the old idea that the king
could do no wrong. 1t was a costly
notion. however, for after tasting oi
the forbidden transforming fruit the
! Bambino was exiled and otherwise
punished by High Commissioner Lam
dis.
There seems no room left for argu
ment about the relative positions ol
the individual and the organization ir
| base ball. Its discipline Is admins
tered with an iron hand.
Unless it is Dempsey, however, the
| individual whose position stirs the
| popular imagination more than any
other now on this subject Is Tilden
The national tennis champion. II
seems, has jumped out of the frying
pan of his victorious playerwritel
| battle of 1924 into the fire of tho
| player-interviewer tussle OF 1925. but
appears so far to be holding his own
Tilden Is Defiant.
| " shall do as / please about il:
am not violating the amateur rule,
! he is quoted as saying in reply tc
! intimations that he would be called
before the United States Lawn Tennis
| Association to explain his action in
! giving interviews on tournaments In
which he is playing to the syndicate
! for which he writes.
| How does he get away with this,
Because he is Tilden, say the observ
ers, who see in the tall Quaker the
| one clear and outstanding example OF
individual superiority over organized
| force.
The chief trouble nowadays seems
| to be that amateur codes of a genera
| ton ago do not fill the modern stu
alton. Player writer's such as Tilden
Richards and Hoff of Norway (whe
| was suspended for six months fol
writing uncomplimentary things about
athletic offlcials) and travelling ANA
| teur," such as Nurmi. Paddock anc
Murchison. present new problems
| which are becoming increasingly diff
| cult to solve.
In the light of current events. Incl
| dentally it might be nothing short
Of a disaster for American Davis cur
/ hopes We're Tilden to come under any
| official ban. The defeats Of Little
Bill" Johnston at the hands Of Tilden
then DR.. George King, serve to empha
size more than ever the reliance
which must be placed on Big Bill't
! racquet II international honors art
/ to remain here.