The Washington times., 1935-10-11

# NSJ91
Sunda Us,
x M on d ays,
kirk Miller Tu~s sdays
"a on down through the
week and right up to the
moment the referees whistle
signals the beginning Of a
game.
He knows the paths to the
sports departments, like you
know Just where to find the
latch key to your home at 3
q. m. when you don't wish to
wake up the baby-senior or
Junior.
Back of Scenes
The college football press agent
can't go out there on the field
and make a touchdown for dear
old Swampscott, but he can
man the publicity pulmonatorS
so as to see that a lot of you
are there to see any and all
such touchdowns registered by
the young gentlemen he pro-
notes.
All Of which may sound as
though the college football pub
lcity lads job is nothing but
Joy, that is if you are statisti-
cally minded and pay attention
to the throngs which haunt the
gridiron arenas.
Some Of the TOM ON beaters
do so good a job for their col
1eges, in fact, that often they
are called on the carpet and
Teprimanded therefor.
Remember this in pondering
such a paradoxical statement as
the one in the preceding SEN
tenceS:
The publicity man is hired to
keep the papers informed on
this and that and the other
thing.
Writes Own Ticket
Many Of them actually write
the stories you read in some of
the under-staffed sports Sec
tionS, and not infrequently they
pour on the oil so hot that the
coach has to call a halt.
For instance, one of Washing
tons colleges had an extraordi-
nary swell player among it's
number a year ago, who made
everyone gasp when he went
into action. Expert and casual
observers alike fairly marveled
at his acumen afield. This col
lege knew it had a great player.
He could do everything. There
was some local talk of his being
possible All-American. Certainly
he was as good as anyone seen
In the Middle Atlantic area.
Well, sir, the energetic pub
licity gent took hold Of that
thought, and what he did with
1t was caution.
All-America? Sure!
He had printed a fuu-page
flier, highly illustrated, and
highly descriptive of this play
er's accomplishments. with a
very strong-in fact an entirely
too strong-suggestion that here
was All-America material.
have had a year to look back
on this gesture. Like my fellows
the country over, received one
of those folders, and in the
meantime have met enough
sport writer's in my meander.
ings to make a fairly accurate
analysis of their reaction to
being reminded vigorously from
the Capital City that it had an
honest-to-goodneSs all-America.
In a sentence. the folder kept
the player from receiving many
a vote for all-America selection.
The Publicity Blast
''What did you think of Joe
DOak'S work for good old Be-
zurka?" / have asked a score Of
writer's in the past 10 months.
"He was fine-except for that
highly-embOSSed full page ad.
that came through the MALL"
That was the answer. And
such is an example of how a
press agent can be too good for
the task he's getting paid to per-
form.
Why, within the past week, a
local publicity pumper was rep
rimanded by his coach for com.
plimenting a player in a submit
ted and published story.
"Hey, Scoop" the coach said
to him the first time he popped
into the athletic department
after publication of q cOmpli-
ment for one of the team, "cut
that out. The first thing you
know that kid1I get swellheaded.
nNn'k tell 'AIn thev'PA r0nd Tell