The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1926-08-21
PYLE SEES
PROISN.
ON WAY
By R. D. Thomas

"
The shadow Of C. c. Pyle Is
athyart the cinderpath. The man
who led Harold Red Grange along
the golden path and showed the
way to Suzanne Lenglen has eatd:
''That day is not far Off when pro-
fessional foot racing viii take
place in American sports.
Your amateur athletic star, the
man that bows to the VIII or the
Amateur Athletic Union, and, Tor
pittance to- himself, swells the oank
roll Of the promoter. is Watering
with mingled feelings OF nope. and
doubt the plunge OF the Illinois
dance hall and motion picture vmag-
nate. into the whirl OF spors.
Pyles to the idealiStic amateurs,
now growing les and les IN num-
her. is the idol smasher, a cor
rupter who disregards all that they
hold ffne and noble in, the sphere
Of competitive muscles
To the athletes in tune with
tI1e commercial age inNwhicfl they
live. who see much wealth created
hy themselves, but to them for
hidden, C.. c. Pyle may be the
man with the key to the Golfer.
A heavy percentage Of the star
athletes hope he Is, If views ex.
pressed to this writer by half 3
dozen Of them from time TO time
may be accepted as an indication
Of the thoughts of many.
But they doubt that Pyle or any
other man can tear through the
naeshes of control woven about the
track game by the A. A. u. collegi-
ate associa tons and kindred forces.
Yet Pyle has invaded two king
doms Of sport where amateur Ideals
were stropg and succeeded. A foot.
ball king and a tennis queen have
kneeled at his altar to. gold.
A storm of criticism broke over
Pyle's dome when he plucked Red
Grange from the college gridiron
But he encountered. only zephyr
in the conquest Of Suzanne.
Perhaps # would be accepted as
q matter OF course. at least by the
general public. Were Pyle to try his
hand with some Of the star show
men Of the spiked-shoe sport, the
Hoffs and Nurmis and the Pad.
docks and the Murchisons. For, to
Epeak a bald truth that becomes
more evident every day, the public
has come to believe that the simon
pure amateur has ceased to be in
the ranks Of the great.
This statement Is predicated on
the numberless inquiries made to
sports writer's: "How much do
you figure Nurmi took home?
How much do you think HOff
ought to make IL the A. A. Q.
would let him alone? How much
do you figure it's worth in busi-
ness to be star golfer like Bobby
Jones? Doesn't Bill Tilden in
some way or other drag sOIBe coin
outta tennis? Is HOff i'm trouble
because he refused to split his
dough with the right peopie?"
II these questions were asked by
q few so-termed wise guys" they
might be brushed aside without
thought. But, to the average
sports writer, the public in general
seems to believe itself in on some
thing supposedly secret. 1t judges
the star athlete by itself, perhaps,
and refuses to believe that the lure
Of wealth is not Irresistible.
It refuses to believe that the star
athlete can truthfully say: Money,
money everywhere, but not a cent
for mer'
For a long time the public was
educated into the belief that there
was something tainted in the pro-
fessional athlete. and was led to
think harsh things Of the college
star who turned pro.
Which leads to the thought that
the tomato once was thought poi
9onouS.