Evening star., 1942-07-25
Annual Toll Is Placed
Al Above a Billion;
Boom Surprises
Postime, Believed Due
For Depression, Now
Is Setting Records
b, GRANTLAND RICE.

Special Correspondent OF The Star.
A midsummer debater has brought
up q nnarcial point. He wants to
know for what sport the fan fol-
lowing pays out the largest amount
Of cash
Football? Baseball? Boxing?
Racing There can't be any argu-
ment here. Racing removes more
cash from the populace at large
than any two sports put together.
Football, boxing. baseball. etc,
respect. football leads them all.
But racing not only collects at
the gate. This is a small part Of
the coso. Last year something like
$500 ,00G, ,0O0 was sent in through the
mutuels. Tie average charge from
the track and the tax collectors Is
IL per cent, which means $60,000,-
900 apart from the admittance
money, which isn't light. Add to
this at least $40O000,000 sent
through the bookmaking depart
ments and you get an annual cost
well above $1,000 ,0O0, 900.
Million Dollar Days Many.
There have been more million
dollar betting days this season than
any past wear has known. These
days br'ng the betting cost to more
than 800 600 daily output Again,
not counting in the admission
totals.
There are winners and losers, but
after the lost race the crowd has
left behind IL per cent Of the total
showed through various windows.
When the 1912 program got under
way there was a general belief that
various tracks would run into f1nan-
cial trouble. Closing Santa Anita
was . hard blow. But in place of
taking q drop, racing stepped into
its largest Loom.
The new track at Camden, NJ j.,
proved that the only way to keep
crowds from the betting compart-
ments Is to use machine guns or
the bayonet. Barber-wire entan-
elements alone wouldn't be a wreck
Ing barrier.
Football Draws 4o,ooo, 900.
Estimates have been made to
prove that football draws in some
thing like a, ,000, 900 spectators each
year. Many OF the big-time teams
play to 100000 or more. Notre
Dame and Southern California have
passed the 500 900 mark more than
once.
The two major baseball leagues
draw above 100000 year, well
below footballs total. But the many
minor leagues more than double
these figures.
What about racing crowds? New
York tracks have approximately ITO
racing days. Crowds here range
from 10000 to $4,000 and the av-
erage this season will be at least
$4,000. New York's admission totals
won't be far from 2,550.000 When
you add Chicago, New England,
Maryland, Michigan, Kentucky,
Florida, New Jersey. Delaware, ETC.,
TO the New York count the total
moves well up.
Football Has Advantage.
Football has one big advantage
over other sports-on the numerical
side. There are more than 200 foot
ball teams, college and professional.
that draw well. This means close
to 1000 games each season that
may draw from $500 to $4,000 people
ut each game.
Golf comes under q different
heading. There are something like
5000 golf courses listed in the
United States, which includes an
increasing number of public or mu-
nicipal layouts. There are more
than . million golfers, but the great
majority OF these pay to play rather
than to watch.
Coli also is too hard a game to
watch and follow. 1t is the only
sport I know where the spectator
takes harder beating than the
player. Ever try to scramble your
way with 5000 eager fellow-citizens
trying to follow one pair?
Yet. In the matter OF club dues,
equipment expenses and caddie hire,
the cost of golf is up around the
front. A golf year will relieve the
national pocketbook Of more than
500 900 900, but only a minor part
Of this Is paid in at the gate.
North American Newspaper Alliance)