Evening star., 1933-01-30
TWENTY MILL|0NS|
| PLAY COURT GAME
Place in Olympic Program
Suggested Few Countries
Without Devotees.
BY FORREST G. (PHOG) ALLEN,

By FORREST G. PHOG) ALLEN.
Basket Bail Authority
Written for the Associated Press.
7 AWRENCE, Kans., January
30.-Figures show there are
- 20,000,O00 boys and girls In
the world playing basket
ball today. There's hardly a
country in the world that doesn't
go in for the game in a big way.
France, Italy, Japan, China, Persia,
India, Sweden, the Philippine Islands,
Portugal, Czechoslovaka, Turkey Greece,
Mexico, Canada, Poland, Russia, Ger
many. England and practically all OF
the South American countries en-
courage national championship play.
The international Y. M. C. A. sec
retaries planted the game early In
many of the foreign countries, while
our u S. soldiers gave the game to
the Philippine Islands in 1900. The
American Army of Occupation taught
the German populace basket bail in
1918.
nURING the inter-allied games at
- Paris in 1919. the United States.
France and Italy played for the
championship, the United States win
| ming rather handily.
After the armistice was signed, two
American teams; by invitation from the
British government, demonstrated
basket ball in the British area of the
war zone. The British took to- 1t
| readily.
| Practically every foreign country has
fashioned its basket ball rules after our
American game. The reason for this
| is evident. They lock to us as the
mother country in this sport and nave
right to expect guidance in formulat-
ing rules and in shaping their ideals
OF craftsmanship. tJ-.'0
III
THE writer, as chairman Of the
i Olympic Committee of the Ma
tional Basket Ball Coaches, AS
sociation, negotiated with international
athletic leaders toward the project of
including basket ball as a demonstra-
ton game in the Olympics at Los
Angeles last August. Much enthusiasm
| and encouragement was received from
foreign and international figures, but
We failed through lack of support from
| our own people.
Instead, the committee selected foot
Dali as a demonstration game, largely
for its financial lure, rather than a
game that was understood by our visit
ing guests. -
| The foot ball game turned out to be
private financial venture, yet had the
stamp of approval of the Olympic
Committee Our foreign guests neither
understood nor cared for the American
extraction of foot ball.
| MYTH its increasing popularity, no
w doubt basket ball will be included
in the next Olympic games at
Berlin in 1886.
A touch Of International flavor is
added at the present time by the tour
ing OF Western, Midwestern and South.
ern States by the "FAL" team from
Mexico City and the Meiji University
team from Toxic, Japan. Both teams
are meeting with much popularity and
some degree of success.
III Sohaku of WaSeda University at
TOXIC wrote me last year that had the
olympic Committee included basket
Dali In its sports. Japan would have
sent competing team. Popular sub
scrlptlon would have been resorted to in
| view OF the great success the japanese
team mad last year in the Far East
Olympics against China and the phil
ippines. ',1--
IL would be popular move for a
representative American team to dem
onstrate the game, but not to enter
competition. at the next Olympics. The
| OBVIOUS reason is that the Americans
would prove entirely too skillful for any
foreign competition.