Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-24
NEXT TO FOOT BALL
IN SOME COLLEGES
Referee Held Responsible for
Welfare of Game-Mary-
land Starts.
BY H. c. BYRD.

morning in a reply to q phone
query as to his opinion OF the
future of boxing in the Southern
colleges and universities. Boxing
at Virginia, according to Driver
long ago surpassed basket ball and
track as Winter sports, and is In
a fair way to do the same thing
at other institutions.
ITO put the situation as it seems tc
me-" continued Driver, boxing has IN
it all the elements that appeal to peo.
pie with red blood in their veins, ano
certainly has grown more rapidly than
anything I've ever known in my many
years of connection with college sports
Of course, the thing can be overcome
but under the right kind of manage
ment, with the proper type OF man
handling the bouts. there is not one oo-
jectionable feature.
FRANKLY, down here at Virginia
there is intense interest in boxing. we
expect at our two main meets mere,
those with Duke University and with
Florida, on February and 10, to have
our gymnasium filled to capacity and II
holds 5000 persons, 1t is the one sport
outside of foot ball, that all our stu
dents always attend. Such interest
would not be shown in boxing were II
not that there is in 1t good deal OF
real value.
tIDEOPLE with whom I come In
contact from other Southern
schools feel about the same way
I do and also their experience Is about
the same as ours, that boxing wherever
it gets the chance comes to the front
as the main. Winter sport and stands
lust about next to foot ball in interest
for the general student body.
About the only objection I've ever
heard TO boxing is the claim that 1t Is
brutal. That, to my way of thinking,
Is wrong IN its premise. because the
sport actually is not brutal. OF course,
you see bloody nose once IN awhile,
but if any person thinks that boxing
is brutal Just ask the chap who takes
part in it. Hardly a man who boxes
feels anything other than that it is the
finest thing for the development Of
both the mental and physical side Of
man that can be found. The only
factor in which any man who has both
boxed and played foot ball will admit
the superiority Of foot ball is in the
matter of teamwork, the building of
that spirit of play together, one for all
and all for one. But, on the other side
of that, there are those who hold that
the opportunities offered in boxing for
development of individual expression,
of learning to depend on self, are far
greater than those offered in foot ball,
in almost all of which man plays his
part as cog In the machine"
WHETHER or not Driver is right in
Wv all his optimistic opinion about
boxing, It is true that the sport
is growing rapidly. In fact, 1t Is grow
ing rapidly despite some rather dis
couraging reports from those schools
that have maintained teams for some
time. In all probability. the whole stu
alton in regard to boxing depends on
how well 1t Is handled. II the referee
is given full authority, and has the sup
port of the coaches, then there seems
to be little danger In It and much OF
value for both contestants and specta-
tors. However, IL coaches get In rage
because a referee refuses to let beaten
man continue and take lot Of needless
punishment and by such action infiu-
ence referee to let baker continue
in the hope that a wild knockout punch
may be slipped over, then that boxer
takes terrific beating and there is a
good deal of danger attached to the
sport when that condition prevails.
And, unfortunately, that condition has
prevailed in some matches.
However, boxing Is undoubtedly q
mans sport. 1t has In 1t all the ele-
ments that appeal TO the ruggedness in
human nature, to the spirit Of combat
with which fortunately all human
beings are more or less endowed.
A s far as local schools areaconcerned
n in boxing, Georgetown and George
Washington have Temporarily
dropped the sport, Catholic University
Is continuing II and Maryland has
town enjoyed considerable success IN
the sport and the students took LOT
Of interest in it. but under the District
of Columbia laws no admission can be
charged to boxing events and no coll
lege can very well afford to carry on
without some revenue TO help with ex-
penses However, Catholic University
Is doing so this year with a curtaileo
schedule after having once given out
that 1t probably would abandon it al
together. Maryland Is much more for
tunately situated than the other schools
here. Being just across the District OF
Columbia line in Maryland, 1t can
charge admission and derive some reve-
nue. to help pay the cost Of maintenance
of the sport
Maryland's first match is to take
place at College Park next Saturday
night with Washington and Lee. The
Old Line school Is not sending totally
green outfit into their first intercol-
legiate encounter, as they began wear
ago to build up boxing and operated
it under the direction of coach al
last Winter
There were no intercollegiate matche.
then, but the team that faces Wash
ington and Lee will be one that ha!
been working under the best Of coach
ing since year ago last December. w
H. Whip. better known to local peo
pie interested in boxing as Kid
Whip. is handling the squad. WhipI
formerly was a professional fighter anc
en- exceptionally clever one, at that
having been in bouts with FREDDY
Welsh, Benny Leonard and some of tht
other cleverest lightweight fighters the
game has known. Whip for severa
years has been boxing instructor at tht
Racquet Club.
Georgetown. has two teams in New
York for competition tonight. TIL
Blue ana gray DaSheL Dali IlNe meet
New York University and the. rela,
team runs against Boston College, Hol,
Gross and New York u in the Brook
lyn College meet. In basket ball George
town feels it should do well, despite tn
fact that it Is against what generally i
considered the leading quint Of tn
East. The relay team also is in abou
as good competition as one finds on in
door tracks. In addition to the rela.
team, composed Of Mara. Kelly, Burk
and Carlin, the Hilltoppers viii be rep
resented in the sprints by AL Kelly.