Douglas daily dispatch., 1926-12-28

! tional competition, Americas complete
! domination of the golf world, Frances
smashing individual triumphs in ten
i mis- and the return Of Germany as an
! important contender for athletic hon
ors have been outstanding.
Summing up the international cam
/ paign on various fronts of activity it
is apparent that the United States,
while maintaining it's traditional all
around leadership has come face to
face with a rapidly widening range of
! opposition.
! Where Great Britain and Finland,
in several branches Of rivalry, have
/ been among this country's keenest foes
for some time France and Germany
have leaped forward to be in the thick
I of the fight The log of 1926 compe-
tition shows America victorious in 20
international engagements, Fran G
next with 16 triumphs-all in tennis,
Germany third with eight and Great
! Britain fourth with seven.
The noteworthy feature of this tabu-
| lation, however, is that both France
ard Germany, the new threats, won
more contests from America than they
l lOSL. I1ACCPL lOA NhO laws SNP
Frances young tennis stars swept
nearly all before them on the courts
| here, while Germany registered vic
tories in swimming, billiards and ten
mis- over the United States to add to
record breaking triumphs at home by
the newest star of the. track firma-
ment, DR.. Otto Peltzer.
Britain's royal and ancient golfing
branches have been badly shaken for
at least five years but 1926 capped the
climax. Bobby Jones won the British
open crown-thus giving it an ocean
voyage for the fifth time in six years.
The Atlanta wizard failed to lift the
British amateur title, being eliminated
after putting out the defending cham
pion, Robert Harris, but this coveted
prize also fell into American hands
when Jess Sweetsere of New York over
came physical handicaps to capture it.
In another battle on foreign links,
the American walker cup, with Jones
and Watts Gum in stellar roles, sue
cessfully defended the amateur team
trophy The British open was close to
a rout for the native club swingers.
Trailing Jones was Al Watrous, young
American nOul0-DISOy III SSNOllO P1dSS
with Walter Hagen, twice former title
holder, and George Won Elm, Ameri-
can amateur, tied for third position.
Britain's only solace was the victory
of her professionals in a team contest
with a squad led by Walter Hagen,
and resulting in the lop-sided tally of
1917 to 11a points. Bill Mehlhorn was
the only American to win his match.
Hagen scored another bulls-eye for
Uncle Sam, however, when he staged
a characteristic finish to beat Abe
Mitchell, 2 and /, in a hotly contested
72-hole match.
AS sensational tennis climax,
America witnessed the bewildering
spectacle of an all-French rival in the
national singles championship, with
the solemn visaged Rene Lacoste lift
ing the trophy from his teammate,
Jean Borotra, while the six-year for
mer titleholder, William T. Tilden, sat
on the side-lines.
In the Davis cup team contest, big
Bill Tilden and Little Bill" Johnston
started off apparently as invincible as
ever and aided by Williams and Rich
ards, quickly clinched the famous tro
Dny IOF the SGN0HlIl Sll dis III yC1l' ASOI
Tilden twisted his knee, lost to La
coste in the final match and then, in
spite of gallant stand, met his water
loo a week later in the national singles
tournament against Henri Cochet.
Johnston, his strength unequal to the
occasion, fell before Jean Borotra on
the same day-an epochal overthrow
of Americas two super-stars, who had
combined for seven previous years to
repel all other rivals.
Earlier in the year, Suzanne Lenglen
defeated Helen Wills in closely tough
match on the French Riviera, 6-S Sc,
while Lacoste had given a hint of
what was to come outdoors by trim
ming Tilden as well as Vincent Rich
! ards indoors and taking home. the
American indoor singles championship.
Only some heroic work by Tilden and
,fhe failure of Borotra to measure UP to
the brilliancy of his countryman en-
abled the United States to capture an
indoor Davis cup" series.
Frances conquests were equally as
impressive at home and in England
bledon championship. Suzanne Leng-
petition through an operation for ap-
pendicitis, found no trouble disposing
of the remaining American woman
threat, Mary il. Browne, in the Paris
championship. The temperamenta4
French star withdrew from the VIM
bledon tournament. Kitty Mckane
Godfree, the English star, trumphed
in this event.
Germany furnished substantial evi-
dence of all-around athletic revival
! but attracted particular attention in
track and field sports. Here the Teu-
tons furnished an international sensa-
tion in the person of DIR. Otto Peltzer
This blond young middle distance run
ner shattered Ted Merediths world
record for the half mile, in the British
championships, and later conquered
Paavo Nurmi and Edwin Wide, the
Scandinavian stars, in records shat
teriHg 500-meter race at Berlin.
Peltzers rise has been as phenomenal
as that of Nurmi, although the Teuton