The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-12-25
More Games
Let the People Play Is
Aim of Recreation
Association.
BY TOM OCHILTREE

~ Robert K Murray, field secre-
tary for the National Recreation
Association, does not believe Amer
lean sports have entered the "en-
| tertainmentn era.
The direct opposite is true, he
claims, and the old English ideal CT
a sport and a game for every one
more nearly is being realized every
year
To prove this contention Mr.. Muir
ray points out that professional
baseball has slipped in many cities
during the last few years.
Instead of thousands of people
spending the afternoon watching Is
men perform you will find many of
them on park and sanolot diamonds
playing games of softball or baseball
for themselves.
The tremendous growth of golf
and the development of industrial
basketball softball and volleyball
teams are other indications of this
change.
He admits, however, a certain
amount of prejudice on this subject.
since his organization is in the midst
of big give athletics back to the
people" campaign.
TINE National Recreation. Asso-
l. citation, believing that Juvenile
delinquency could, to large meas
ure, be halted by proper supervision
OF childhood leisure, began several
years ago to fight for public play
grounds. Meeting with success in
that field, the organization then
turned to the problem of adult rec
reation.
1t is Mr.. Murray's Job to teach
grown men and women how to play.
He doesn't care whether you 60 in
Tor pln-the- TALON the-donkey, COM
munity folk singing or football. lust
as long as you have fun.
Asserting that industry proba blv
will meet the problem of technologi-
Cal unemployment by shortening
hours, he explains that this new
leisure must be directed in proper
channels.
Problem 2 in his job is to show
people how to have fun at home.
The average adult, he claims. has
no idea how to spend his leisure
time. Most peoples idea of amuse-
ment is to pay to see some spec
tacle.
AS field secretary he spends
most of his time travelling around
the country teaching Works Prog
ress Administration county SUPER
vlsors and community house leaders
now to conduct athletic contests
and develop programs.
II
I'm addition, Mr.. Murray is a snorts
n vlVlsectionist. He constantly is
taxing standard games, breaking
them down into various component
parts and building up new ones.
Eltner by accident, or by planning,
th1s Is the way most sports were
porn. He shows that tennis and
Volleybal are, in reality, the same
game. Both are classified as ere
SlStance" contests, but where one
mas developed into a struggle of in
dlVlduals or pairs, the other has be-
come a team sport
Cricket and baseball are examples
OF games that sprung from a COM
mon source and through modihca-
tlon developed in different direc-
tons.
Experts in this field also spend a
lot of time explaining the mass
psychology behind sports.
People, worried by the depres-
sion. needed game which would
force them to concentrate for sew
eral hours at a time and iig-saw
puzzles came into their own" he
says. 1T is a very old game, but
dldnt enjoy much popularity until
that time
DEOPLE get tired of playing under
L the same old rules and con-
stantly change them a little. This,
ne says, keeps game alive. Take
whist. 1t develops into auction
bridge, and when that game began
to fade, contract was invented. New
duplicate bridge is displacing con-
tract.
Some bright young reporter nick
named Mr.. Murray "the man of
5000 games and he admits playing
everything from weiki, a Chinese