The Waterbury Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1917-1946, 1935-07-15

S30O,OOO required to send the
next summer.
Irish is the boy promoter who
put basketball on the big time in
New York last winter.
Basketball and baseball are both
on the Olympic program. The two
sports are growing into prominence
in foreign countries. Japan more
than a dozen South American
countries, France, Germany, Eng
land, and several other European
nations are going for baseball more
and more. The same Is true of bas-
ketball, but in a lesser degree.
The American Olympic basket
ball committee decided to select
entire teams and hold Examinations
to decide ont the United States rep
resentatives. There is always a pos
sibility that one of the stronger col
lege squads may win berth, but
Amateur Athletic Union teams,
generally composed of ex-college
stars, should have decided edge.
Plays To 100000 Persons
Irish, rosy-che eked chap of 20
ankled into the Garden last winter
with a happy bunch. The Eighth
avenue arena was dark number
of nights during the height of the
season. Why not take college bas-
kethau out of gymnasiums and
where spectator p a was
crammed?
Colonel John Reed Fitzpatrick
the Old Blue from Yale who runs
the works at the Garden, caught
on in jiffy, and Irish walked out
with a lease. It wasn't difficult to
swing the colleges into line. AL
of them needed money and had nc
place where large crowds could be
accommodated.
Irish originally scheduled dou-
ble-headers on six nights, but add
ed two during the season. He
brought in the better outside teams
Pittsburgh, Kentucky, Notre Dame
Temple, and Duquesne among
them, and pitted them against the
leading New York aggregations
such as New York University, City
College, and Long Island Univer'
sity.
Results were phenomenal. Bias
ketball played to more than 100,
900 persons at the Garden, and thu
average price of ticket was 81.
With increased interest and ex
pected Improvement in several New
York teams next winter, Irish an
ticipates that the attendance figure
will jump 80 per cent. He plans
] nights of basketball at the Garden
in addition to the Olympic tryouts
| and is to conduct eight double
| headers in Philadelphia, where {
trial proved highly satisfactory las
winter.
Fresh Slants for Committee
Irish's biggest difficulty is OBJ.
tanning dates. Track meets take ur
all the. Saturdays in February
Thus far, Irish and his basketball
program have had to accept dates
that ordinarily would be idle. The
result is that now the Garden has
not single open date from Jan.
through March IL.
1TlSu was d SPOTlS WTllcT Wu6Il
he submitted his proposition to
Colonel Fitzpatrick, but business
was so good that he quit pounding
his mill to count cash.
It was Irish who organized the
press bureau of the National Pro-
fessional Football League. He broke
in on New York newspaper when
he was IS and worked on dailies
while attending high school in
Brooklyn and the University OF
Pennsylvania. He always was toe
busy covering athletic events to
participate.
Irish has another brain child OF
two. He would like to Introduce
duce the speedy Spanish game OF
jai alai in New York for example
Sports - collegiate, amateur
and Professionalism use a fellow
with Irish's fresh heart.
It might be we'll for the Olym.
pic games committee to consult
him in connection with raising the
100000 needed to ship the pick OF
our men and women to the other
side in 1926. A fellow suggesting
a way of collecting $5$0.000 with
one sport just possibly might have
a few bright ideas in connection
with the others.