17
SPORTS" OF AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL
California Racing Men Pick Winners for Big Stake
Events New Country Club Formed in Portland.
THREE BIG STAKES
LEFT FOR RACERS
ROWING GAME US:
i
t
HARES TAXIIfG THE FENCES IK HUHT CLUB PAPER CHASE
Canoes Distract -Men From
Work of Training.
v.- f I,
California! Next Important
Eyenf'ls tfie Derby m
T
'"February 27.
CLUBS ARE TOO FAR APART
OR. GARDNER'S "CHANCES
shifty Cojt' Is 'Packed ,s the'-Winncrl
oy Jsarncy7bcnrDer--c;oiiroui s
Erlrcfight-iirkst Now Has
Smooth Sailing '
By Fred J. Hewitt
SAN FRANCISCO. Feb. 8. (fecial Cor
respondence.) Before " the conclusion- of
,?he -greatest racing season San .Francis
cans have ever seen, three veryimportant
stakes will' be run. They arc the last of
a series of great events "that has attracted
attention from -all over the country- Al
lowing that the Burns Handicap is the
most prominent stake event run In Cali
fornia, the Derby Is only second In Im
portance. It will be run on February 22.
The announcement of the stake brought
out this year 114 nominations, and in all
probability this will assure a field of at
least a tJozen shifty 3-ycar-olds. Then
follows the Watcrhouse cup at two miles
and a quarter on March 2: the Thornton
stakes B.t four miles, ion Marcfi 17.
The California Derby was established
in 1897, and it has been run every year
snce, with the exception of 1900. when it
watr declared off. It was of the greatest
value In 1001. when the famous Jockey.
Tod Sloan, piloted Joe Frey to victory. In
this event the 'good Brutal ran second,
with Canmore third. The time of this
cyent, was the fastest the feature"
was eyer run In. The winners of the
Derby since the date of inauguration are
ns follows: Scarborough, Traverser, Cor
sine. Joe Frey, Sombrero, Claude Bom
bardier and. Dr". Leggo.
Dr. Gardner Looms Tip.
It Is almost a foregone conclusion that
another "medicine man" Dr. Gardner
will win this event this year. Dr. Gard
ner has demonstrated that he is the
shiftiest kind of colt. Barney Schrelbef
thinks he will win sure. The son of
Bannockburn will have to put it over
Tcnordale, the winner of "The Oaks. This
is about the only one that has shown
class anywhere approaching that pos
sessed by Dr. Gardner. The field will
be made up. more than likely, from the
following horses: Rcy del -Mundo, Sir
Wilfred. Queen Rcc. Tcnordale, Retro
paw, Ebel Thatcher. Confederate, Pal,"
Nagazam. Governor Davis, Dr. Gardner, -Ncalon.
Frank Fllttner, F. W. Barr. Pcta
luma. Equorum Rex. 'Father Catchem,
Hammcraway, Sir Edward, Loyal Front
and I'm Joe
Last year the famous "Watcrhouse cup
was wdn liandily by Frank Skinner', ;
JloraUus, with Joqkey "Blrkenruth In the
saddle, and the value of "the face was
i2o0 to the winner. This year there are
S3 nominations, more than a score better
than lasfc year. This should make the
Hlue this year considerably more than
ww, Ana anouia can rorth a big field.
More than a usual number of young
horses Is entered. The best of these are
Lady Goodrich, Rey del 2.1undo, A. Musco
day. Celeres. Gloomy Gus and Ross
bourne Horatius is entered again In the
name of Ed Ramsey, and may repeat,
but to do so ho has got to beat such
aged horses as Theodore L., Haviland HI
Caul Cap. Soufrlre. Deutschland. San
.icolas, Veterano, Grcgor X., Proper
Dlvana, Lubln and Grafter. It Is sure to
be a. great race, however, and if Is hard
ly "kely that the respective owners of
,per,u1'Ub,n"and Nicholas will send
their charges over such a distance of
ground.
I'orty-Pour Out for Thornton Stakes.
In 1K5 the Thornton stakes were es
tablished, and every year this, the longest
SS"". n. the coun17- has. created s.
vorld of Interest all. oyer America. Its
!,SftWat!LTalu6 mark0-was reached
rJL thee,d,ffcrcnt years. The fastest time
T thJou" m,,cs was recorded in 1S99.
wien The Bachelor, ridden by John Bull
lJ, 7:16- The public in this
U the country appreciates this
long race, and so it was that record
crowds have been in attendance every
year on the day the race "was won to
applaud the "stayers." The winners to
date have been Gilead, Star Ruby. Schil
ler, Judge "Denny, The Bachelor, Forte,
Locochee. Siddons. El Rio Shannon. Vet
erano and tSrafter. This year there are
44 nominations. This should assure a
?K0dLzcd f,e-ld- Twp Previous winners of
the Thornton stakes are found in. the
nominations, and they arc Grafter and
etrrano. Whether they . will go this year
or not is another question. Charlie Mc
CafTerty has his great Derby winner. Dr.
Tgo. nominated. Billy Elliott has Lu
hln slated to go. . These are about the
classiest nominations. Barney Schrelber
will put his faith In Deutschland,-and Ed
Sheridan n the big event. Sam Williams
is almoPt ceriain to send Reservation to
the post. Jimmy Tomkinson I .giving
VntX U B,P.CC,,al 'W 'or this
final stake, and thinks he can win. The
Xai,anC.CJf lh.f. e,d W,U 'rom the
following: Bill Curtis. Watercure. Sunny
Shore. Orchan. Horatius, Bombardier W
B. Gates. Governor Davis and HI Caul
Cap. Emeryville Is faster' this yearthan
ever. Coast records have been broken -and
so it is that horsemen expect the
wbrld four-mile record to be lowered con
siderably in this year's running of the
fixture, y
Jockey Radtke Jtcavcs. "
The forsaking of this part of the coun
try by Jack. Keane and his stable was
doubly regrettable, because Jockey
Radtke had to leave with his employer.
As a general thing the riders in these
parts this year were of the mediocre class:
Radtke outshone them all. He hrf -of
course, the benefits of .good management 1
nu uie man wno made his engagements
would not let him ride any horse that did
not have a reasonable chance of winning.
1 nder these conditions he easily led the
Jlst of winning Jockeys, in fact, at the
time of Tils leaving here, he had ridden
very nearly twice.as many winners -as the
next boy on the winning list Radtke,
however, tailed off during the latter por
tion of his season hero. Like many voung
boys, he was overworked. The ajtrain of
galloping a bunch of. horses in the morn
ing and then riding anywhere from four
to six races a day, Js a strain that- will
tell on any kid. At the outset of the
"Winter meeling, Radtke rode with all
that brilliancy pf proficient horseman
ship that characterized the wprk of. Tod
Sloan. When. Radtke tailed off he put
up some dismal 'exhibitions. Everybody
realized that he needed a rest, but all
were loth to lose his. services. .Radtke.
the most .brilliant rider that California
has seen this. year. lias, gone away; but
he declares that he .will be back here
again next Winter.
fcince the formation of the prjse-fjght Especially discussed at the meeting:' lo
lrust, everything has not gope well witk morrow night.
"e" 'JffBlfk' - Kk 'tjll'iiiWr "'ijivi " lf
the combination. ' Jimmy Co f froth; the
head and brains of the organization, has
not got the inner -workings of the concern
running smoothly. He declares, however,
that before many days arc over, every
thing will be" serene His master move,
of course, was the securing from the
Board of Supervisors, the permits for 12
months In succession. . Under the law
here only one professional fight can bii
held each month. There always has been
a world of politics In the allotment ofi
these permits, and under the old adminis
tration, Coffroth was only tiblc to secure
one battle last year. His lormidable
enemy, Morris Levy, got . almost all the
jdurhs last year. But now Morris Is a
good dog. He is danciqg attendace on
the prince -of prize-fight- promoters, and
for so doing Coffroth permits his Hayes'
valley .Club to pull off three of the 12
fights that arc to be fought in San Fran- j
Cisco this year. The other ends of the
combination. Eddie Grapey and Willie
Britt. are merely figureheads.
James Edward Britu .retired from the
stage for the time being, blew back from
the East recently with a regalia that
would rival- the costume of Philadelphia
Jack O'Brien. He was apparently full of
fight and eager to climb through the ropes
with some good man. He sldestepd
Joe Gans by putting forth that time
honored argument of- k ''colored- line."
Then Eddy Hanlon -camped on his trail
for days and days. The pride of Califor
nia did not seem to be overly .anxious for
the cutc one's .game. Tbe efforts of
Hanlon and his manager to corner the
man who fell to Battling Nelson and He
cure a flght served Xor one good purposa.
It made Britt declare himself. Jimmy
will not fight for at least six weeks, for
so says his brother and manager, "Willis
Nelson declares that he will give Britt
another battle, providing James Edward
and Jimmy Coffroth tote square with him
and divide the moving-picture profits of
last Admission day's battle. Nolan de
clares that Coffroth dlViot como through
with the $5000 for Nelson's share of the
pictures. This action. Nolan claims, ren
ders that contract void, and leaves Nelson
a third partner In the pictures. lie has
a mighty small chance pf collcctinjg. ' Bat
says mat if n docs not get the montjy
he will never fight Britt again. will i
not get the money, and it is "hardly likely
mat tnere win be 'another Britt-Nelson
fight. Billy Nolan, the Date's manager.
Is persona non grata with the sports of
tills section because of his accusations of
bribers', at the recent session of the leg
islature to defeat the Ralston prizefight
measure. Naturally Nelson and Nolan,
riding pn the. crest of the wave of finan
cial prosperity, assume a dictatorial man
ner. It .will -not get-them anything here,
for they will have to bow their knee to
the pugilistic trust and -come down to the
terms offered by CofTroth and his aso
Clcs I they Peet to get a battle here.
Tim O Rourke's Tuxedo Club, Just out
side -of Philadelphia, may pull off one or
two good fights in th6 near future but
the local promoters are positive that box
ers of class -must come ttf California to
get -the coin. They arc' not losing any
sleep warning over .the fact that the
Tnxedo Club is-In existence and.-might
grab the star attractlonk; "Tliey arc con
fident they .can get the best 'In the world
for California.
AUTO HACES IX CUBA TODAY
Road in . Pine Condition Xor Swiftest
to Coin pete.
HAVANA. Feb. 10. The-road oer wAlch
the 200-mile automobile race will, be run
tomorrow.is m -splendid condlOon; The
starters will be: . Lancia, driving, B. F.
.Connell's HO-horEqpqwcr.machina; Cedcr
lno, in Gustav Bock's lOO-horsepower; De
Mogoet, in L.uls Marx's 80-horsepower, and.
Bernln. In W. Gould Brokaw's SO-horse-power
All the-cars are propelled. b gaso
line power. The distance of the race will
be 207 miles in four lapf. '
There. aLo will be a race for the three
lighter local machines at half the distance
of the-big race, and following the latter
on the last two laps. The prize for. the
minor race-, $15,000, has been posted by .the
owners of the three machines that are to
coinpete.
Pigeon Fanciers' Federation.
The Pacific. Pigeon Fanciers' Feder
ation of Oregon will hold. its monthly
meeting tomorrow evening at 8 o'clock;
in '(he office of the Rural Spirit, room S.
Hamilton building. The society already
numbers 21 members, and was'formed
at the time of .the Poultry Show, held
In January. It Is a branch of the Pacific
Coast organization to which it was ad
mitted by Secretary Charles W, Knox
of that federation.
The first meeting was held on Jan
uary lg, when the federation !was or
ganized. Hehr.y M. Tillman is. presi
dent, and .W,I.H C. Gibson, secretary.
ine culture. pr -runt pigeons will be
W. M. DAVJS.
GUIMS- TIE TITLE
Jack Blackburn -Says- He
Lightweight Champion.
is
READY FOR. ALL COMERS
Claim .Is, Based oii Past '-Perform"'
ancci anil'Fact That Joe" Gans
Cannot-Tight at LMght- t
"
weight. XtlmU.
PHILADELPHIA, Pa., Feb. 16. (Spe
cial.) Jack Blackburn -claims the light
weight championship of America. He de
clares himself ready to defend tbe title of
lightweight champion of America against
all comers.
Joe Guns has forced himself out of the
lightweight class and Blackburn bases his
right to the title upon his past perform
ances, and the now indisputable fact that
Gans cannot again fight at the light
weight limit.
Gans was forced to meet Mike (Twin)
Sullivan In the welterweight ciats. Black
burn 'was the first and the only roan that
Gans "ever refused to fight at' 153' pounds.
Blackburn has repeatedly challenged Gans
to fight at the lightweight limit, but the
former lightweight champion absolutely
refuses to box Blackburn at weight. He
has boxed the Philadelphia twice at
catch weights.
.hithe opinion of -many experts. Jack
Bla'okburn U one of the most remarkable
pugilists now living. -- He has all the
fighters, black, and white, in both the light
and welterweight classes, at his mercy.
He has been forced to fight middleweight
and,, heavyweights, because none of the
Jigh'ter men "could" be induced to take him
on. -and has bested well-known -boxers in
both classes. This is a record held by no
other fighter living and rio other man in
the history of boxing has a record in any
way to compare wltfi iu
Bested Joe Gans.
-Blackburn bested Gans in a six-round
bouL In. Philadelphia, and the punching
that the Baltimore man received In the
stomach on that occasion made him III for
several days. Later on he met Gans in
a 15-round bout at the latter own club
In Baltimore, and was there ribbed of the
Jack BteetiVara, Wb CUlmt
XfchtwetiEht TKle. '
the
decision. In his cverr Other contest
Blackburn was awarded- a victory or a.
draw by tbe referee.
Blackburn baa beaten sttch good welter
weights as Jimmy Gardner and Mike
(Twin) Sullivan, the man. whom Gans re
cently defeated. He frightened Buddy
Hyan and Honey Melledy out of meeting
him. and no other welterweight ba.3 aver
dared to face him in the ring.
Blackburn In order to keep hlmsclt
going has taken on a number of middle-weights,
and has beaten every one
of them, many In short order. He
knocked -out Dick FItxpatrlck. of Chi
cago, a middle-weigh- who no one
thought could be conquered in less
than 10 rounds. He knocked out Cy
Flynn. of Buffalo., another very tough
middle-weight, in 11 rounds. He
knocked out Jack Williams, of Phlla
delpla. -considered to be the very best
middle-weight in Pennsylvania, bar
ring: Jack O'Brien.
Knocked Out Sailor Burke.
Sailor Burke, of New York, one of
the best' middle-weights among the
rising generation of " fighters, was
was kpoqkcd out by BlaSicburn in one
round,, and only last', week Blackburn
.'went to New York and there knocked
out rat y KourKC. a man weighing 210
pounds, to whom Peter Maher nearly
fell a victim the week before.
No lightweight In the country can
be found to box Blackburn. Battling
Nelson refused to consider a" match
with him when be first came East, and
it was In order to avoid meeting
Blackburn that Nelson stipulated that
he would not box any man who
weighed over 129 pounds, although he
himself has to train hard to mako
133. When Aurella Herrera was In
Philadelphia recently Blackburn of
fered to knock him out in six rounds
or forfeit his. share of the money. He
also proposed to take on any of the
following boxer- at the same terms:
Jimmy JJritt, Willie Fitzgerald. Adam
Ryan. Unk Russell, Willie Lewis, Har
ry Lewis or Younr CorbetU.but all of
.them side-stepped his deft.
Joe Grim Put to. Sleep.
Blackburn Is the only man who over
"knocked out Joe Grim, "the man with
the Iron Jaw." . 'lie "met Grim In the
Broadway Athletic Club. Philadelphia,
and beat-Grim till' his -face lost human
resemblance. In the fifth round Black
burn knocked 'him dawn. Th& Italian
chfttnplon was down 30 seconds, but the
referee, wb knew that " the 'time- for the
ending -of tbe round, was very, near, de
Jayed.thc count till -the bell rang. This
official afterwards admitted the wrong
done' Blackburn.
Blackburn' Is orilr 22 years old. He
was born In Versailles,, "Ky.. jiut spent
most of his life in and about Indian
apolis. Indi. where his. family lives.
He has made his home In Philadelphia
during the past' tnree years.'
Blackburn ! very tall for his
weight, measuring S feet 11 inches. Tic
is built on the lines of Bob Fltzsim
mons. having very broad shoulders
and a great reach. His strength is
extraordinary, considering- his weight,
and he can bit a blow as hard ns any
hcavy-wlgbtln (ne rng. He Ik ex
tremely clever In boxing skill, and Is
fast on hi feet.
IN THE
THIRTY IHKMBETl? OF HUNT CLUB
JOIN IN PAPER CHASE.
V. M. DavLi Bad J. C.Maehe, tbe. Ha rex,
Cheese 5jriradfd Coarse Race "
fer Kerr Cup Feb. 32.
Nearly 30 members of the Portland
Hunt Club enjoyed the bright sunshine
and a closed paper chase yesterday af
ternoon. It was a sort of preparatory
event for the second running for the
Kerr cup. which -takes place on Wash
ington's birthday. February 22. The
start was made at the old golf links,
by Messrs. "W. F. Davis- and J. C
Muehe and they were hsppr In their se
lection of a splendid course. The en
tire ride was through open country
jWlth the Jumps, nicely placed and good
Those who rode through were:
Kcsdames P. II- Blyth. F. Buffum.
F- O. Downing. C H. Leadbetter. MlSaen
D. B. Howard and A. H. Shogreh;
Messrs J. B. Alexander. E. T. Chase.
W. W. Cotten. Emmet Drake, v. C
Howard. John Latta. C- H. Leadbetter.
T. S. McRath. S. C Spencer. A. H.
Tanner. Frank Wilson. W. J. Chapman,
J. N. Csgfelan'. F. O. "Downing. H. II.
Herdman, R. H. Jenkins. E. M. Lazarus.
F. W. Leadbetter. James NIcol, T. T.
Strain. W. S. Walter.
The cod run for the Kerr cup
will be on Washington's birthday. Feb
ruary. 22.
J. C. MUK11E.
CLUB FORMED
Elk Rock Summer Club Se
cures Members; .
CANVASS IS PROGRESSING
Its PiifjioHj.I to ltnbliah Jfomc
and 'Grounds on nn Island at
a Convenient Spot in the
.Willamette Jllvcr. .
The promoter of the Elk Rock Sum
mer Club project arc mooting with con
siderable encouragement in the canvass for
members desiring to affiliate jvlth the or
ganization. The committee aopofntcd to
call on representative young men of the
city and solicit their names as being anx
ious to Join such club have yecurcd
the signatures bt over 130 persons who
are willing to assist the promotion of the
new enterprise
Site Chosen Ideal.
The site chosen Tor the club is an
Ideal spot for the enjoyment of a few
leisure hour each day during the Sum
mer and Fall months, for It Is situated
on nn Island at a "convenient spot- In
the Willamette, which Is known ns Elk
Rock, from which the club derives its
name. The organization will be per
fected as soon as- the required 403
names nave been secured, whjch will
Be very soon, judging, from the man
ner in which signers are lining up.
A well-known local business man
has agreed to furnish the capltul nee
ceasary for the erection of the build
ingrt and laying out of tennis courts
and other adjuncts to the proposed
grounds.
The club expects to. be In full op
' - sV lBk9biai:iasllKA
YOCNG KITCHELL, TKOHKING PRIZEFIGHTER, AND ins MANAGER,
FRKD BOG AN.
eration by the first of June, when all
the furnishings unci paraphernalia will
have been Installed.
lilst of Signatures.
The list of those signing the petition
up to yesterday follows:
E. D. Jorgenscn. William J. retrain.
George Cadwell, A. Wlckham, W. J. Ctem
menj. W. J. Lyons. Oscar Kerrigan. Will A.
Knight. Oscar M. Baumxart. Henry Kul
2mi5a. E. M. Kulzensa, C H. William, jr.
K. Thom4. H. W. Metzger. Jack Douglas.
J..B. O'Shca. Jr.. J. E. Wtley. Henry Jen-nins-t.
Jr.. J. D. Robinson. F. A. Smith. II.
K.- Clemens. Alex Oliver, A. MacCorquedalc,
J. W. Chapman. W. J. Leonard, -J. H. Mul
cjiar. Wi A. Robbl U E. Wood. E. B. Alger.
H. S. McCraken. W. E. Gray. Will Penning
ton. Walter Gadsby. II. IX. Chatterton.
Georse J. Kelley. Marr BUalllon. Oeorgn W.
Gammle. Dhvc Jordan. W. A. King. M. C
Krohman. II. A. Hagcdorn. E. Hagedorn.
II. A. Kruihbeln. Leon Hughes. Will Stra
ham. CV A. Warren. A. It. Stringer. Jr.. Sim
A. Bennett. H. W. Kerrigan. Fred P. More.
Lloyd R. Smith, W. F. Morton. A. B. Lam
berson. U. A. Lamberson. A. W. Morris. Irv
ing Steam. James A. Ellcrs. C. I. SersanouJ",
J". H. MacKenzle, George Alnsley. SL C.
Jloore. B. O. Eastham. T. G. P.iston. W. H.
Ctiapin. Fred S. Grant. T. X. -Stoppenbaeh.
J. M. Ambrose. S. J. Harder. H. E. Reed.
R. 7- Hart, Edw. J. Falling. W. B. Honey
man. A. M. Haradon. R. W. Wilbur. J. W.
Ansley. E. J. Jeffrey. Jr.. J. O. Sterling.
Will F. Albee. G. R. Knight. A. L. Spencer.
D. R. Clarke. Raymond O'Conhor. F. E.
Loyejoy. A. S. Pease. Jr., J. Alfred MeHoI
land. O. E. Fletcher. U H. Holman, E. B.
Harley. J. S. McCord, W. von der Werth.
A. E. Kerrigan. R.-P. Knight, D. Bruce
Stuart. A. C. Tucker. M. Began. C. A. Mor
risr. R. G. Moss, E. M. Orth. Arthur Nelson.
J. A. Dowllng. W. B. Honeyman. M. C
Ho lb rook. M. W. Brown. George C Luders.
Roy Wennerberg. C. F. Neth, W.' H. Thomas.
Noah Frederick. James D. Mackle. H. J.
Barby. Frank W. Rowc. O. II. Koch. If. E.
Allen. F. H. Flemmlng. U E. DeKeater. C
B. Sewall. Harry S. Gaylord, Ray W. Mat
son. Ralph C. Matson. Howard F. Gaylord.
D. C. O'Reilly. T. O. Bate. T. P. Tuttle.
I IL A. Gr&rer. R. Lel!e Morris. H. L. Frank,
rH. N. BohTOr. J. A. Herron. C B. Clement,
U A. .Mimcr. ii. a. Moore. Harry V. Kad
derly. E. R. Helllg. J. A. McFerron. Frank C.
Moore. Edward Blum. George Brown, F. N.
M. Paterson. L A. Hensner, L. E. Cable,
W. I.. .Brown. George Bishop. R. B. Rlelly.
Will Dresser. Charle McGinn. W. H. Britt.
H. Zlnslcy. II. Hucke. C M. Peterson, J. C
William.. Walter Scott. Bert MltchelC L,
Todd Hazen. W. Cotnan, Edgar Frank. L.
Shell. H. E. Judge. E. S. Trabcrson.
Whitman Baseball Manager.
WHITMAN COLL EG P. Walla Walla,
Wash.. Feb. 10. (Special.) Joseph Allen
was today elected by the students' execu
tive committee -baseball manager for the
present season. He Is a member of the
junior class.
"Northwestern Oarsmen Loaf and Are)
Taking to Easier Sports, Because
They Lack the Stimulus
of Competition.
(By H. W. Kerrlxaa.)
As we look forward to the coming sea
son on . the water, many attractions can
b found by the young man who is in
love with aquatic sports. There are
swimming, canoeing, sailing, crew row
ing, launching and pleasure-boat rowing.
The two which are most beneficial as an
aid in developing one for endurance,
strength and form are rowing and swim
mingespecially crew rowing, as that ex
ercises muscles more than does the care
less stroke of the pleasure-boat. In the
crew he must systematize his work, which
naturally brings about a better result In
his development. -Swimming Is more of a
uniform developer, perhaps developing the
whole body more than rowing,, giving a
man the endurance and confidence to over
come the element, but Is not as effective
to the strength and wind of an athlete as
rowing. But crew rowing Is the most
popular sport, and will continue to be. as
It is more representative of the club fol
lowing than Is the single shell race. The
enthusiasts of rowing like it because it is
the prettiest And most fascinating of all
the water races. With the exception, per
haps, of the eight-oared race.
In the Northwest, In fact on the whole
Pacific Coast, there has never been an
elgbt-oared crew brought together. There
is the single shell, the double and the
four-oared, but no cight-oared boat. It
cannot be. that there is no course for the
event. It must be, that It Is either too
expensive to put out such a boat, or that
It is Impossible to bring out the crew.
Except In the universities, there Is no
doubt but the lack of material is the
cause of the cight-oared event being left
out. Truth to tell. It seems to be more
difficult as each year passes to get good
men for the crews at all. The older mem
bers of the different organizations arc
rapidly dropping out, as has been the
case in the other fields of sport, with
only the young fellows to take their
places. And -as these young men are un
able to make tbe senior crews in their
first or second years, It is the building
up of a new generation of material to take
the places of the old ones that wc mu.it
wait fop tp win championship races.
Another cause for the lack of ma
terial for the heavy work of the crews
Is the number of canoes that are form
ing more luxurious habits for the men
than does the more strenuous work of
the racing barge or practice boat. As a
fascinating and exhilarating exercise noth
ing takes the place of a light canoe,
skimming along with less effort than any
other water craft requires, naturally turn
ing the more arduous work of the crews
Into a. pleasant pastime. This tendency
of the canoe craze will eventually prove
a detriment to the more vigorous exercise
of crew work. This may be also the
cause of the crews not being up to the
same standard as they have been In the
past. The substituting of canoe races for
the cedar and scull races Is like substi
tuting a croquet game for a lawn tennLs
game, more of a social pastime. No mat
ter how beneficial canoeing Is. it cannot
bo substituted for the training and prac
tice that a man needs for crew work in
a racing shell or four-oared boat.
This falling off of material for crews
will give places to the heavy-weights in
football whe are now turning their atten
tion to other pastimes. The rowing cluba
need such men. who are capable of stand
ing, tbe enduring strain of crew work,
with their heavier physiques. For the
Rugby game, if they change American
intercollegiate football-, does not need the
weight In the forwards that is required
In the line of the Intercollegiate game,
and smaller men will take the places.
Another thing- that Is proving antag
onistic to the quality of men for the crews
Is the confining of the men who are
trying for crews to office work and store.
Not that they haven't always been, most
ly, the men participating In the rowing
races, .but because in the developing of
crews In the universities on the Coast It
is bringing out more men who arc out
door workers rather than those confined
to the desk or bench. The men of the
university have moretlme to' spend out
of doors, whereas the men who have
heretofore taken up the sweep oar arc
working all day. Still, with more careful
training of the men who work Indoors,
they will still be able to compete with
the collego man, who. as a rule, is worked
to death in his training and has less re
serve force or vitality to work on.
There arc enough rowing clubs through
out the Northwest and on the ' Coast to
build up the rowing game to a higher
standard than It is at present, but they
are too fay away- from each other. Like
all other athletic sports. It takes more
local competition to build up the charac
ter of racing, for without this competi
tion. If It is even helped out by crews of
the same organization, there is a ten
dency to loaf on the part of the members
of the crews and the coaches themselves.
The Portland Rowing Club has all the
conveniences and the best coaches, but
lacks local competition. With the fine
water course and the easy access to the
river, more crews should be in evidence.
With the aid of the rowing club the
Multnomah Club should be able to develop
enough good material for an excellent
crew. It would give the football players
something to do during the Spring
months. Likewise, the Y. M. C. A., which
has many sturdy followers, would will
ingly take up the sport, eventually de
veloping a higher standard of racing and
more of It. The same rule applies to the
Seattle Athletic Club, whih could com
pete with the crews of the University o
Washington. Even the British Columbia
crews are losing Interest on account of
the lack of competition, having only one
good crew In each town, as the Vancou
ver crew, the James Bay crew, of "Vic
toria. B. C. and the Nelson crew, of
Nelson, Bl C. Tct these crews, though
at a great distance from each other, have
more Interest In the sport than the other
towns of the Pacific Northwest. But still
their interest Is not like that shown In
the old days.
If anything the sport is getting better
down In California. Both, the University
of California and Stanford University ar?
developing more men than ever before for
the crews, and this year the interest In
the sport Is Intense. Many of the foot
ball players arc trying for a seat In the
boats. Berkeley has the advantage of
Stanford, so far, being several seasons In
advance of the Cardinal crew In experi
ence on the water, this being practically
Stanford's first year. Another inconve
nience to the Stanford crews Is the dis
tance to go for practice while Berkeley
Is right near the water.' Outside of the
varsity crews there are. perhaps, ten
clubs which devote most of their time to
rowing alone. Still, with the rough water
to contend with, they are handicapped.
If they had the smooth water courses of
the cities In the Northwest, " they would
be far ahead of where they are.
I