The Washington times., 1936-04-17
Old Tennis
Star Ice
Witness
By KIRK MILLER
Times Sports Editor


United States Government,
party of the first part, and the
Washington hockey minded in
terests, parties of the second
part, drew into its third day
today and if the current Ca
dence is maintained, it will be
winter before they're through,
and we can all play hockey and
60 ice skating again right in
our own streets.
Now, of course, this is meant as
no criticism of the procedure now
current on the eleventh floor Of
the Securities and Exchange Com
mission Building at Eighteenth
and Pennsylvania. No doubt all
hands, Government and depo-
nents, are doing the best they can
to bring the matter to a head.
Just . Little Tedious
But to q guy whose normal
pursuits are clocking hits IN d
runs, and the time q S-year-old
can do a mile and a sixteenth on
4 fast track, the taking Of testi-
rnony in involved realty options,
footage and frontage, is naturally
. little tedious.
I learned one thing about
ground values the last two days
Of this hearing. A piece OF dirt
can be valued at $l.25 q square
foot by one expert, who viii stick
to his guns, and at So by yet an.
other who says he can't be wrong.
since it takes something over 3d.
600 square feet for a sports CEN
ter embracing this particular pro-
posed ice hockey arena, you can
see that these appraiSals are I'M
portant.
And to prove you never can
EeN where you will run onto q
sports paragraph, even IN IN e
Hranquil atmosphere Of o hearing
room, I was rewarded for my pa
tience when an old tennis figure
appeared on the witness stand as
q realty evaluator.
Long, Long Ago
A lot OF. you young squirts prob
6bly never heard Of Harold 3.
Doyle. who 20 and even more years
ago than that, used to team with
his younger brother. Connie Doyle.
IA lust about the fastest brand OF
tennis there was on tap around
washington ct that time.
But we old codgers who have
long been haunting the sports
trails, veteran geezers such as
Arthur Houghton, another real
estate expert in this famous con.
troversy, remember Hal Doyle ana
recognized him by his straight.
sprightly carriage when he stepped
with spring to, the witness cnalI
helieing his blanched hair ano
bristling white mustache. r
It seemed to me that Of all the
experts on land around these
parts, Doyle was a couple OF steps
ahead Of not only the small audl.
ence. but both his queStioners, and
he gave a lot of testimony which
appeared Of value to both sides.
Always Step Ahead
But that was always the way
with Hal Doyle, even as q tennis
Ulayer., He and his brother Con
ME used to customarily be
step ahead Of their opposition
on the tennis courts back around
1900 or thereabouts. Once they
we're the District Of Columbia
doubles champions.
The famous Bill Tilden, Of Phila
delphia, was coming along in those
days, and if recall correctly, both
Of the Doyle brothers held higher
ranking than Young Bill. the
then Quaker City upstart.
Too, as Mr.. Doyle, who admitted
he'd been dealing in ground values
for over 40 years, sat quite com
posed in the witness stand, giving
clear, concise replies to various
phases of plottage and sports,
noted the firm texture Of his pinE
forehead, indicating that between
his lots and squares, and his ten
mis- courts, his outdoor life ha'
preserved him remarkably.
Could Golf and Bowl
Doyle, too. was q golfer out
around Columbia Country Club
as well as q roller Of the big ter
pins, away back yonder before thu
duckpins took washington BY
storm. He was Y. M. c. A
team mate Of Harry Krauss anc
'Doc" Lennon, two Of the bes'
the city boaSted then.
Twas intrigued by the testimony
Of q member Of the proposed
hockey corporation that, of thu
automobiles often parked outside
of Carlin,S Iceland Arena In Bal
ti~aore, where hockey Is aboui
three years old, so per cent beal
2, Washington tags. -
=, A real estate owner who was Civ
ing values In various vicin1tieS
when asked if a piece Of property
on New York Avenue extended
could be considered centrally 10
Gated for purposes Of 0 hockey
arena, replied: ~. ,..
''It could be If so per cent Of
the automobiles parked in Balti-