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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 22, 1908)
THE OMATIA SUNDAY BEE: NOVEMBER 22, 1903. WINNING A VARSITY LETTER Colege Initial Meant Much to Student Athlete. ROT ALL CAN SPOBT ONE OF THEM Hw It la Awifirl IswrMdl Competitors 1 Atnletlee PM Beta Kappa af rnyeleal In the colleges the Mggeet athletic premium In the varsity letter: that 1b, the Initial of the college name. To persona not familiar with universities and their cus loma the value that collega men put on It la riant to understand. They limply ex pect that any man who goes to a college ahould appear later on picturesquely clothed In a sweater (other clothe, too.) marked with a big Initial, and smoking the In evitable pipe. Nowaday when achcol' boys are well ac quainted In advance with college cuatoma there is little chance of any entering lad doing as one did eome years ago. lie bought hlmeelf a aweater the day he learned ha had passed the entrance ex aminations for Cornell and put on It a big C. He wore It until about an hour after ha arrived In Ithaca. Then from an upper class man he learned better. The cuatoma which concern the wearing of the varsity letter differ In the varioua colleges, but In the main the privilege la bound by the same rulee. In collegea where there la rowing It Is given without further question for the four major sports. These are foot ball, basket ball, track and crew. The eight men and the coxswain of the crew who tak4 part -in an Intercollegiate regatta get the letter. In base ball in moat colleges the nine men or more who take part In 80 per cent of the season's schedule get the letter. Sometimes it depends or participation In a certain few Important contests at the end of the season. Bo also In foot ball. Many big colleges mafte the winning of the loiter depend tipes taking part In a single game. ' . Mlnete Is Enoagft. Al -Tale, for Inatance. playtng for a mln- ute oniy itagalnst Harvard or Princeton Is i enough. Vwy ' often a , player works hard for . four seasons on .the scrub, never being good enough to fleserve a place on varsity. As a reward for faithfulness he Is sent In at the very end of a game, perhaps only long enough to got In one play, but that la enough to entitle him to tha letter. It Is the great prize of athletics, the Phi Beta Kappa key of apofts. Track depends more on Individual condi tions than on fixed rule. Any college gives a letter for a point .earned In the big Inter collegiate meet. First, second, third or fourth place glvea that. There are some dual meets which give the letter. Once upon a time Columbia n en got the C for any place In the dual meet with Princeton. Princeton, on the oil er hand, did not give the letter for any piece In the meet with Columbia. For a meritorious performance In that meet a Princeton man might get his A P A. stand ing for Princeton At!.letlcaasoclHtlon. Hsrvard gives the H for any piece In the Harvard-Yale meet. Yale awards tle Y only for first or second place. A curious Harvard regulation la that any man com petlng for the Crimson on the track may wear the uniform ablrt, white with a crimson courier's strips across the chest with a small H on It. Thta letter may be won by any one, but for occasions of com petition only. tripe, Too, at Cornell. At Cornell a man winning a first In the Intercollegiate games gets, besides the C, a courier's stripe running from left to right. For a first In the cross-country race a stripe from right to left Is awarded, o that a performer like Warren Bchutt waa entitled to wear his C and crossed trlpea for both sucti firsts. Some colleges of the New England group give a letter for breaking a university rec ord, whether In tnterclass or other games. All letters look alike to the average per son, but actually there may be a differ ence. Some collegea have separate styles of letter for various games. At- Cornell, for Instance, a small block C go for row ing, in red on a white Jersey or worn with crossed oars on the left upper pocket of a coat. A large block C. rather flattened down. In white on a red sweater, means foot ball. A white aweater with a blook C In between the crew and foot ball else la for track. Base ball gets a round red letter on Jersey or aweater. At Vale rowing gets a regulation Y In blue on a white sweater. Foot bsll gets a whits letter on a blue sweater. Syracuse's color Is orange, but as it gives a letter In blue for track, for Instance, the Im pression got abroad that there were two colors. . A man who knows about these regula tlons can In a minute pick out the sport for which an athlete won hla letter. .At Harvard the hat bands worn by athlete how thla. Aside from the big sports, letters cca tonally are given for the minor aporta. A man who wins for hla college a champion- ahlp in golf, wreetllng. fencing, lawn ton nla, swimming or gymnastics, gsts the let ter ordinarily by courtesy. Every one knows it takes more than usual practice to come up to the degree of excellence re Quired, and aa auch victories reflect much credit on the college. It Is considered only fair to give some reward. In many colleges, however, objection Is made to thla aa cheapening the letter. The standard reply ta that dosena of men get the letter out of foot ball or other ports who do not deserve It as much ss a hard working gymnast who spends years acquir ing the aklil he needa to win a cham pionship. Yale only recently adopted a rule that uaker U not only guar nteed under tha Pur Food Law, but lias always been known aa the original pure food whiskey. Three First Prizes for purity and excellence -THE WHISKEY WITH k REPIW10JT Ask U tt at all rW-cUsa era, Colas ana Drug Stares S. niKSCII & CO., Ensas City. Mo. the T may be awarded to the man winning the Intercollegiate lawn tennis ohamplon ahlp. Columbia gave the letter to Robert LeRoy for lawn tennla, to Joseph W. Bpen- cer for ewimmlng, to F. B. Clark and . P. Lage for fencing and to J. M. HoweU and A. Undo for wrestling. Columbia. Pennsylvania, Williams, Syra cuse, Colgate and Chicago have awarded the varsity letter to successful basket ball teams. The first two named got the re warda only after considerable argument after they won the Intercollegiate champion ship of various year. Cornell baa an odd rule In lacrosse. Two men each year get the C the best offense man and the beet defense man. At Har vard lacrosse players and hockey men, too, get a small letter, to be worn only on the upper left-hand side of the Jersey. Once upon a time they gave the letter for lacrosse, but a few years sgo the playera got careleaa In training habits and the eight of a few men going out on the field to practice with clgarettea lighted In their mouths killed the custom, especially aa the players naturally won few gama. At Chicago and Wlaconstn the girls get a modified form of the varalty letter for their competitions. Curiously enough, Wis consin. Is one (place where the letter la ao Jealously guarded that the athletic board objects to students not entitled to the W wearing lapel buttons displaying It. Managers of the major sport teams get the letter, too. Richly are some of them entitled to It Barent Lefferta. who raised a $1S,000 budget from the Columbia crew, was one of these. In most colleges being a manager In one'a senior year meana three years of previous preparation and all sort of hard work. BOXERS STILL HAVE SOME HOPE Believe I.ate Election Will Open Way to RTe the Game. NFTVV YORK, Nov. 21. Though boxing In New Tort is In a bad way, the padded mitt fraterpfty feels sure that the game will be gradually restored and that bona fide cMba will be allowed to run without po lice Interference long before the holidays. At present all but a few of the promoters are "laying low" -and waiting for a more favorable break from Commissioner Bing ham. The result of state elections In various parts of the middle west has stirred up hcpa of a reopening of the game there, The boxing lid Is quivering uneasily, and every indication points to an explosion of the down-pressed steam. Ohio with a demo cratic governor la figured on aa a sure mecca, and Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin and Missouri are to follow. In Missouri the boxing situation de pended wholly on the downfall of Joseph Folk. Mr. Folk, as long as he ohaaed criminate and stopped horse racing, was not unpopular with the boxing fraternity, but It waa mainly through hla personal work that the fight lid was clamped down. Every devotee of boxing In St Louis fought htm savagely in the recent election. H 1s an extremely dead one now and boxing will aoon reopen In the Mound City. St. Louis Is a good boxing town and there have been some splendid bouts there In the past. The town is fortunate In the possession of aome fine, roomy halla, and the fight fans turn out liberally. Many Chicago fight fans think the pass ing of State's Attorney Healy will Insure the reopening of the game. Not If Mayor Busse Is of the same opinion as a few months ago, when he said that he would never stand for boxing while certain pro moters were in the business promoters who the mayor aald tried to "rush things," monopolise the game, and got it all under their thumbs before the signal was given to go ahead. Still, there ia hope, but It Is best to show a little sense and go slowly. Indiana is already making glad arrange ments, and It is figured that Jimmy Gard ner will meet Jack Morgan at Fort Wayne Thanksgiving ' day. The Indianapolis club la also preparing a achedule of bouts and expects to reopen before December 1. GOLF DBAWTNG TO A CLOSE Final Tonrnament to Be Played This Week In New York. NEW YORK, Nov. a. What will be the last tournament of the Metropolitan Golf vsroclatlon for the season 1b scheduled at Lakewood on November 26, 27 and 28, when the Lakewood Country club will hold Ita twelfth semi-annual open meeting. The first day will be given up to the usual elghteen-hole medal play, qualllfytng round. to determine the playera to continue in four alxteena by match play for the Country club, Metedeconk, Carasaljo and Manetta cups. The runner-up In each alxteen will also receive a cup, while on the concluding day, In addition to the seml-flnal and final rounds, there will be an elghteen-hole medal play handicap open to all. with prizes for low net and low gross score. Entries will be received up to November 26 by Jasper Lynch, captain of the club, at Lakewood. Last year there waa an unexpected ending when H. M. Brown, a 60-year-old golfer of Philadelphia, defeated In the final a young champion and fellow townsman In A. W, TllllnghasU Marathon to Be Ran Again. NEW YORK.Nov. 21.-Johnny Hayes, the hero of the Marathon race held at the Olymplo gamea In London laat summer, has signed a contract to meet Pletrl Durando, the stout-hearted little Italian runner, who waa half carried and half pushed across the tape in front of the Amerloan and waa afterward disqualified owing to thla as sistance. The agreement which Hayea has signed calls for practically a re-runnlng of this most famoua of long-distance racee, and the place la Madlaon Square Garden and the time Wednesday, November 28. It Is stipulated that the full Marathon distance 26 mllea and 8W yards be run. Antomoblle Oatpnt. Four American factorica alone announc a total production of 36.000 care for nex year, two of the leaders planning to turn out iz,ooo oars each. Maid Rye nOW SOME PUGILISTS DIED Once Champions, They Paised Away , Penniless. YANKEE SULLIVAN DEATH UNIQUE Charged ta a Vigilant Committee Gears; Law, Millionaire, Left Joe Co bora aad Other Boon Companions Nothing. One of the proudest mortals on earth Is a champion pugilist surrounded by a host of enthusiastic followers, while on the other hand one of the saddest beings Is the broken, down, penniless prise fighter, wrecked by dissipation, deserted by his friends, hanging to the ropes of life with no way to make an honeet living. Many of these unfortunate fellows die In the alcoholic wards of charity hospltala and are buried among the unknown In Potter's field. Their glorious battles in the ring are forgotten by the new generation of fight fans, who are interested exclusively In the doings of the present-day pugilists. Yankee Sullivan waa a pugilistic hero half a century ago. He fought aome des perate battles In the east with such topnotchers as John Morrlssey, Tom Hyer and Billy BelU It waa Bell who had Sul livan flniahed and the latter cried "enough." Just as Bell turned to go to hla corner Yankee ran up behind and landed a blow that put 'Bell down and out. That was one of Sullivan's characteristic tricks, and because of his sneaking style of fight ing he was not held In high esteem by the best class of sporting men. Shortly after the gold fevor broke out In California Yankee Sullivan made his way to the coast and rapidly fought Ms way to the front. He became the associate of thieves and thuga and soon got Into bad repute. He was locked up In 'Frisco by the vigilance committee as a "dangerous haracter" and on the morning of May 31, iron, us waa iouna aeaa in nia ceil, navlng committed suicide, it waa said. Two yeara later a fine monument was placed over Sullivan's grave with this inscription: SACRED. To the Memory of the Late JAMES SULLIVAN, Who Died by the Hands of the V. C. on the ilst Day of May, 1856, Aged 46 Yeara. "Remember not. O Lord, our of fenses, nor those of our parents. Neither take Thou vengeance on our sins. "Thcnj shall bring forth my soul out of tribulation, and in Thy mercy Thou ahall destroy mine enemies." It is strange, but nevertheless true that another famous pugilist lies In an un marked grave on the Pacific coast Jar-lr Dempsey. The Nonpareil, idol of the flstlo woria fifteen years ago. passed awav . i-oruana. ore., after a famoua career. Dempsey'a grave has been Badly neglected. There Is no shaft of marble or granite upon wnicn la told who and what he waa He was burled In an out of the way apot near r-ortiano, forgotten by all, but a few. it wae not long after hla death that several unecrupulous persons collected fund from sporting men in varioua cities with which to build a monument In mem ory of the former middle-weight champion. dui me money waa apent In other wave. lom Hyer was perhaps the most oooular fighter New York City ever produced. He waa the "Broadway Dandv" of him iv Dressed In a Price Albert coat, high silk hat, patent leather shoes and atyllsh. trou sers, he always cut a swath on the Great White Way. Hyer waa frequently wined and dined by the New York aports, espe cially after tils victories over Country McCluskey (George McCheater) and Kankee Sullivan. In his laat days, however, Hyer had to depend on his few loyal friends for an exlstance end when he died they were compelled ,to pay for his burial. Cobsra and McCeol. Joe Coburn. another former heavy-weight champion 6f America, became the pet of the eporUng element In New York City after hla triumph over Mike McCool In Mary land in 1S6J. They battled with bare knucklea for sixty-three rounds, the fight lasting one hour and ten minutes. Among Coburn's admirers at that time waa George Law, the late millionaire railroad magnate Law waa a noted spender and waa never so happy as when he had Coburn at his aide aa a aort of protector. Billy Tracey's saloon on Twenty-ninth street, Just off Broad way, waa the headquartera of the million aire and his pugilistic friends." It was alao the reaort of Billy Porter. Jimmy Hope, Red John Leary, Big Frank McCoy, Bhang Draper and other claaay bank burg lars. Tracy was a rough and tumble fighter himself. He was also handy with a gun and had killed a "con" man named Kid Miller on Broadway. It waa In Tracey's place, by the way, that Paddy (Ryan haa his famoua rough and tumble go with Johnny Dwyer, then the recognized champion because he had beaten Jimmy Elliott for the title. It waa a fierce, gruelling fight between Ryan and Dwyer while it laated, and probably would have ended In a murder had not the bellig erents been separated. Both were badly punished and eyewitnesses said that Ryan had a ahade the better of It as Dwyer waa not in good fettle and had been drinking too much to do good work. It waa at theae affairs that Joe Coburn waa In his glory with Law at hla back. Several tlmea the millionaire fitted up aaloona for Co- burn, but aa tha puglllat waa not a good bualnesa man all theae ventures failed. Law frequently bought diamonds for Co- burn and the reat of the gang, spending something like 130.000 In this way at Sara toga In one day. But at laat Law, after a ahort Illness, died, and Coburn, Tracer and the others were not mentioned In his will. If was then that Coburn found him. aelf a broken down old man without a doHar, and after hanging on a few years, getting a benefit now and then, he passed away and waa burled by a few, loyal friends. Coburn's malady waa consumption, which also caused the death of Johnny Dwyer. The latter waa penniless when ' the end came, although he had held a position as clerk In a police court. Paddy Ryan died a few years ago in Troy without a dollar to ahow that he was once champion of America. Ryan had many aaloona both In New York City and elsewhere, but none of them over paid. Billy Dwyer, Johnny's blother, fought some hard battles with bare knuckles In hla early days. Later he went Into polltica and became a powerful ward leader and aa alderman In Brooklyn. But he died without enough to pay hla funeral expenses, although at one time he was aid to be well fixed. Pete McCoy Drawstl. Pete McCoy, a very clever middleweight, who traveled with the John L. Sullivan combination, waa drowned. He (ell or Jumped off a tug boat ia Long Island sound. McCoy waa financially all In when he met hla fate. Sullivan proclaimed Mo Coy the beat man of hla weight In the world and offered to back bim oa many occaalona for the middleweight title. The tragic end of Jimmy Elliott, who waa ahot dead by the late Jere Duith In Chicago, has been often told, Elliott was W aV perfect; the collar snug fitting; sleeves exactly the proper length; and all through the style must be just right. ; That's the kind of overcoats we sell Kuppenheimer Coats. You know what that name means. They do more than keep you warm; they keep you in the height of fashion. - - Two very fashionable overcoats are illustrated above the Full Box (back view) with its loose, roomy, perfect fitting qualities, and the Beacon Special, a "button through' ' coat of extremely good form. a desperado aure enough and when not rratched to fight he associated with soma of the most notorious crooks. In fact, Elliott was regarded aa a pretty good burglar himself, aa he had served a couple of terms in state's pilaon for safe cracking. In 1879 a number of Brooklyn politicians had him pardoned from a prison sentence In order to match him against Johnny Dwyer. They wanted to have Jrwyer whipped for political reasons. It waa aald. The battle came off In Carada and Dwyer won a slashing victory In twelve rounds. ElUott was never In the tlaht at all. His lcr.g confinement In a whitewashed cell had dimmed his eyesight, which he gave as an excuse for hla defeat. When Dunne ahot Elliott the latter's body waa brought to this city and the funeral waa the moat rotable affair of ita kind since that of Bill Poole, who waa killed by Lew Baker irany years before. v There were hundreds of other noted fight ers whose deaths were aad and full . of misery. Poor little Dixon, who held the reatherwelght championship so long, died a year ago, friendless, broke and practic ally a drunkard. Peter Jackson, a wonder ful heavyweight, waa a penniless wreck when he passed away. . Mike Cleary, George La Blanche, Ike O Nell Weir, Dooney Harris and Barney Aaron, great fighters once, all died lacking the comforts that money could have provided for them. Sifting It down. It may be aald that there were very few noted pugilists whs paaaed away In comfortable circumstances. Among this number was Ed Price, who became a leading lawyer after he retired from tha ling and left a fortune of at least $300,000. John C. Hecnan waa fairly, wall fixed when he died. John Morrlssey, who handled millions In his day, left his widow practically nothing to comfort her in her old age. Billy Edwarda waa not in want by any means, while Bob Turnbull, who shot himself last summer in his fine residence on Long Island, la said to have left $200,000 which he had made In suburban real estate deala. Twenty-five years ago Turnbull waa the amateur champion cf America. Subsequently he turned profes sional and fought Jack Dempsey for tha middleweight title. Jack proved too much for Turnbull, however, but the latter after ward toured the country with. John'L Sullivan. BURNS HAS TURNED A HUNTER Wrltea Ho Will Stay In the Land ef tha laaar Cross. SAN FRANCISCO. Nov. 2L According to a letter received by Larry Keating of Oak land, a brother-in-law of Tommy Burns, America haa seen the last of the Caribou champion. In writing to Keattng, Buma pays a glowing tribute to the land of the Southern Cross, and saya he will make It his home. "I -don't think I will ever go back to America," wrltea Burns, "and .If I do It will oply be for a visit. This country haa Improved my wife's health, and I think I will settle here. I am In right, from the governor general down, and the people of this country are the grsndest sports In the world." Burns Is hunting at Koaciusko, a moun talnous country about 400 mllea from Syd ney. In his party are his wife, his spar ring partner. Pat O'Keefe, and Promoter Mcintosh, who arranged the Johnson Burns fight. Burns aaya Mcintosh haa plenty of money and that ha will make. the fight pay. "Jobnaon doeaa't need to worry," aaya Tommy, "for the purse money Is op In the office of the Sydney referee and 1s safe. Jack Is getting $6,000 for his end. Copyright. 1908. The House of Overcoat Thoughts .ECAUSE a coat is big and warm not fit. Men sometimes think that when they get a winter overcoat that envelopes them, they are properly fitted. Not always. The drape of an overcoat should follow proper lines ; shoulders must be r r win or lose, and $500 for his end of the moving pictures, sale also gets three round trip tickets from London." It seems likely that Burns will quit the ling without giving any of the American heavies except Johnson a whack at him. Perhaps Tommy feels , that he would: not prosper in this country and as "he haa plenty of money now It Is a good time for him to relinquish his title. Says Burns: "This Is the last fight' I will ever make, and, win or lose with Johnson, I- will re tire. My wife has pleaded with me to do this, and I am going to grant her wish. I will never fight again after the Johnson fight, and that goes. I feel thst'I ought to stop anyway, while I am young and full of vim. I Intend to go In business here after the big fight If I can see a good opening, and there are plenty of them here. I have enough money to keep ua the rest of our lives, and that Is all I want." Bowlers Are Talking Politics. NEW YORK, Nov. 21. Present prospectir are that there will be a lively struggle next spring for the right to hold the 1910 tourna AM : . " " mm On a Winter's Nidht When the snow is on the parlor fire burns brightly if a case of has been provided beforehand, it becomes a source of genuine aatiafaction creator o pleasurable social emotions. Every brilliant bottla of thin sparkling malt and hop brew (famous for over 50 years) contains the vital energy of golden barley tha concentrated liquid essence, as it were, cf summer's richest .harvest fields. It gently stimulates the. digestiva functions, cheers tho mind, and gives life and strength to every tissue of the body a beer of the utmost charm containing about i'A alcohol. ... , Brewed by tha Guad Natural Process (aa exclusive process) sad sold and delivered everywhere. Telephone for a trial case. JOHN GUND BREWING CO., La Crosse. Wis, W. C. HEYDEN, Mgr. Omaha Branch, Omaha, Neb, Telephone Douglas 844, IndepamdeAt AS344. Kuppenhttmer, Chicago. and roomy is no reason that it should gpgr ment of the National Bowling association. Baltimore haa already announced Its Inten tion of going after the tourney and the latest candidate in the field Is Buffalo, 'In a letter received In Brooklyn John O. F'loss of Buffalo, vice president ofv the -National Bowling -.association stated that his city waa coming strong to Manhattan, and would leave no stone unturned to capture the con vention. At leant twenty-five teams wlil come to New York. " -- - The Sixty-fifth-, regiment. armory Is to be secured for the tournament and the building Is an excellent one for the big bowling event. Buffalo will have the support of the western New York teams and all the Ca nadian clubs. The Greater New York vote will decide the matter and will be given to the city putting forward she best claims. Brain ' the Big Thing. NEW. YORK, Nov. a.George T. Btall tngs, the new boss of the Highlanders, has had little chance yet to formulate plans for next season. Hs thinks well 'of 'the pitching staff he will have and aaya that ths Hlghlandere made a good strike when roof and the frost is on the pane, and the in the red glow of the hearth THEN, they- secured' McConnell, the six-foot, five Inch spit ball pitcher, from the Buffala club. "McConnell haa everything a pitcher nerds," says 8talllngs,'"and I know he will make good In fast company." Other things that the new Hilltop boss said of Interest to the fans waa that he did n t Intend to have any dlaorganlzera on the team. That probably means ths passing of Kid" Elberfeld. Stalllngs will not Bp Dear In uniform and will direct the team from the bench. According to Mm, the cams with the fewest signals are the win. tiers. "The best club I ever saw had mighty few signals," saya Stalllngs, "while the poorest had a list of signals as long aa a Marathon course. - On the coaching line men who know the game are more needed than men with big voices. It takes brains, not lung power, to win - gamea nowadays." Winter. Anto Racing-. The New Orleans Automobile club, be sides boosting good roads In Louisiana, la arranging aeveral winter racing eventa, for which a number of well known cars al ready have been pledged. :,siwj : jj ll