Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-01

This Increasing apathy toward the
national pastime is not confined to the
colleges, associated or ASSOCIATED with
Yale. 1t seems to me that it Is be-
coming general. Broadwayites who
used to sit in the grandstands (they do
not use the bleachers) at the Yankee
Stadium or the Polo Grounds no longer
sit. Such we'll known sun dodgers as
Will Lahiffe and Leo Phelonious Flynn
have taken up golf and have be-
come quite adept at 1t. AS yet tennis
has made no inroads into the ranks OF
those who used to follow the national
pastime in a vicarious fashion in this
vicinity, perhaps because it is too siren
uous a game. But 1t might infect the
younger generation Of potential base
ball customers.
Consequently, it would seem that
the policy of athletics for all was
not confined to Yale or to any par
ticular college. The matter be-
comes serious - more or less be-
cause, after all, base ball is our ma
tional pastime. If 1t was discovered
that there was q growing apathy to-
ward cricket at oxford or Cam
bridge, something would be done
about 1t.
Professor Nettleton puts the situation
at Yale in regard to our national pas
time dispassionately. He merely notes
that there is a decline in general in
terest in the sport, but admits that the
change almost amounts to a revolu-
ton. From which one gathers that
there are no rallies before the Yale
Harvard base ball games, and that the
old grads of Yale do not care partlc-
ularly who happens to be the Yale
base ball coach.
II this trend continues the time
will come when base ball will be
classed as minor college sport at
Yale and some Of the other untver-
stiles which have set the standards
in intercollegiate sport. With the
colleges RELOCATING what was once
the national pastime to the back
ground or chasing 1t back to the
minors, as it were, the future OF
base ball looks very dark, indeed.
The time might even come when a
President Of the United States. one Of
whose duties it seems to be to toss out
the first base ball of the season. might
decline, on the ground that he had
to tee of the first golf ball, or to serve
the first tennis bali in some more i'm
portant sporting event. From the
sporting angle it certainly seems time
to consider, whittier are We drifting?"
The Case Of Walker.
MICKEY WALKER, who IS called
INl the "Toy Bulldog" Is now laying
claim to the light heavyweight title
for which Thomas Loughran practically
has no use. Even If Mr.. Loughran,
who wants to go in for the larger purses
in the heavyweight division, wished to
retain the title the New York State
Boxing Commission would not let him
hold 1t. The commission for some in
scrutable reason of its own does not
think that fighter should hold two
titles at the same time or fight out
OF his tonnage.
To support his claim Mickey
Walker won a languid bout from Leo
Lomski In the Sesquicentennial Sta
dium at Philadelphia recently. It
was one Of those bouts where the
referee had to warn the boys that
If they did not display more &C
tivity 1t would be his painful duty
to. throw both Of them into the
ashcan.
1t is my notion that Mickey Walker
has been a greatly overrated fighter
He won the welterweight championship
from the venerable Jack Britton when
Britton was very weary old gentle
man. That night 1t seemed that Brit
ton was quite ready to pass from the
picture through sheer emu.
Subsequently Mr. Walker acquired
the middleweight championship on
q very close decision In the pine
apple belt Of Chicago from Tiger
Flowers, a pious Senegambian from
South Georgia. The experts agreed
that at best this bout should have
been called a draw. The more posi-
tive experts say that Mickey got the
decision only because the referee
ana the Judges were color-blind.
And now Mickey is claiming the light
heavyweight championship. It may
come to pass that he will get the nomi-
nation, which will be an indication that
the gladiators in the light heavyweight
division are quite as terrible as in any
OF the other divisions.
Mickey Grows Up.
MICKEY has grown through two
1v1 classes into Q third. He suggests
the case Of Willie Aeeehan rather than