Evening Star Newspaper, August 17, 1930, Page 73

Fiction Books PART 7. The Sunday Star Magasine WASHINGTON, D. C, AUGUST 17, 1930. Features Puzzles 24 PAGES. /7 hen Champions (lash Drawn for The Star’s Sunday gaz!ne S. Delevante, Numerous stars with speed and height should make the hurdles a real battle. wd There Is Likely to Be a Fine Exhibition of Sporting Prowess Next Week at Pittsburgh, Which Will Play the Host to Track and Field Stars From All Over America, Gathered ~ There for the Annual Meet of the Amateur Athletic Union. ITTSBURGH will play lwst to the track and field champions of the ‘United States next week end. Stars from every section are gathering there for the annual games of the Amateur Athletic Union. Looking back upon the heroes of the past whose names have been inscribed as the amateur champions of America in their respec- tive events, each enthusiastic follower remem- bers his favorite, while all of us recall a few whose achievements cannot b: dimmed by the passage of time. Lonnie Myers, who on one glorious Summer day at Travers Island in 1880 won the 100-yard, the 220-yard, the quarter and the half-mile national championships against good competition in comparatively fast time; Bernie Wefers, who on six occasions cap- tured the 100 and 220 yard titles during three successive years; Al Kraenzlein of Pennsylvania University, who took the 100 yards, the high and low hurdles and the broad jump all in a single afternoon in 1899; Joie Ray of the Illinois Athletic Club, who won the mile seven straight years, and the great Ted Meredith, who once captured the national quarter mile in 47 second flat around two turns at San Francisco, the fastest time ever clocked under such con- ditions, but which was finally disallowed because of the wind—these are just some of the un- forgotten heroes who won their immortal spurs through hard work, patience and perseverance, HOUGH a certain amount of natural ability is necessary in order to reach the top, it is fndeed surprising how mmch can be done in the majority. of track and field events when there is little to start with. Since sports suc- cess is not greatly dependent on luck, it has always seemed to me that when an athlete has at last reached the pinnacle he should enjoy enthusiastic support while defending his title. Such has seldom been the case in the United Btates. Though we cheer both the challenger and the under dog on his way up the ladder, the moment he has reached the top our cheers are changed to jeers. We commence to clamor “or his crown and are not happy until it has Been removed. No one escapes—not even Helen Wills Moody, whose modesty and sportsmanship have gone hand in hand with her tennis laurels. ‘The vast majority of Americans would like to see some youngster dethrone her—and the sooner the better. Even Jack Dempsey, the present idol of mil- lions, suffered his most unhappy days when he was heavyweight champion of the world. Some of his closest friends turned upon him only because he had held the title so long. By Charles W. Paddock, United States Olympic Star afld Sprinting Champion. This is not the case in England. “Once champion, always champion,” is the Briton’s motto. Even old Joe Beckett, who couldn’t whip his own shadow today, is still regarded by most English boxing enthusiasts as the champion, for if is the English code to uphold the veterans to the bitter end. The only place, I believe, that we find a simi- lar attitude in American athletics is in some of our seeondary institutions. When a high school youngster reaches the top in his par- ticular sport he generally holds the affection of the student body so long as he remains in school. The challenger in that case is the one who suffers. To beat the champion is almost a crime and such an offense is generally held against the youngster long after the dethroned champion has been graduated. This is not hearsay on my part, for I had it happen to me when I entered high school as a cocky young freshman. I reported for track and after a few weeks of training I competed in the novice meet. I was lucky enough to win both the 100 and the 220 yards, but I did not have a great deal of enthusiasm for what would happen to me the following Saturday. On that occasion the interclass mecet was to be held and I would have to run 2gainst the captain of the team, a senior, who was not only the champions sprinter of the high school, but the champion of the State as well. I worried the whole week about how far I would be beaten. I never considered that I had a chance, but after the race once got under way I was so scared that I forgot everything, even to let the champion go by. I was the most surprised freshman in California that afternoon, and certainly the most unpopular at the school. For I had beaten the hero; an unknown had upset the institution. Later that same day we ran against each other in the 220 yards. The race was run around a turn. I was so green that I did not realize that on a curved track the 220 should be run in “staggered lanes”—that the man having the inside lane should dig his starting holes 2 yards behind the man in the second lane and the man in the second lane 2 yards behind the man in the third lane, and so on, in order to make proper allowance for the turn. The coach and the champion proposed that we start on a straight line across the track. The champion took the inside lane, the other varsity sprinter took the next lane and I found myself in the third lane. I couldn’t get far enough ahead before we reached the curve to pass etiher, and, thoughk I ran my heart out around the turn, I didn't gain a thing. We battled down the home stretch side by side, but I had lost my race on the turn and the champion went on to win. The student body, for the most part, did not know any more about “staggered” lanes than I did and went home partially appeased. But the members of the senior class were-not on speaking terms with me for a long time. THE following Saturday the school faced our greatest rivals. Again the gods were with me and I won the hundred. When it came time to start the 220 I found that the lanes were staggered, and it suddenly dawned upon’ me that I had “spotted” the champion four yards by running on the outside all the way around the turn in our first meeting. The champioh was given the choice of lanes and he chose the second one. This lane is gen- erally the best on the track. Running from that position you have the opportunity of watching the rest of the field—all except the inside man—and can set your pace accord- ingly. An inside lane is usually a handicap, however, for the chances are that it has been torn up by runners in the longer distances and because you cannot run close to the line, owing to the presence of a guard rail. I drew the outside lane that day. The cham- pion dug his holes and I dug mine. It was almost time to start when he came over to me and said: “Last week the coach and I put up a job on you. It was only the interclass meet and didn't matter very much. But today we're fighting for our school, and we want to make as many poinis as we can. You are faster than I am. So you are going to run in the second lane and I am going to run from the outside.” I replied that he had every right to use the second lane, for, after all, he was the cham- pion. He would not listen and told me that I had no right to jeopardize the school’s hope for a team victory when it might prove a close race. So I started from the second lane and he ran from the outside. It happened that I beat him only by inches, and I am sure to this day that if he had run from my position and I had run from his that he would have won. Later on, when I held the title that had once belonged to him, I more fully appreciated the sacrifice that he had made. A champion in any sport is—or should be—risking his title every time he gets into competition, and for that reason, it seems to me, he merits the crowd’s support. A A game little champion will be defending his sprint title at Pittsburgh next Saturday afternoon—Eddie Tolan of Michigan Uni- versity. Last year, at Denver, Tolan defeated Bracey, Sweet and Wykoff in the 100, and then came back to win the 220 the same day, beating Wykoff and Cy Leland of Texas. The diminutive “Michigan Midnight Express” will have his hands full to defend his title success- fully this time, however, with both George Simpson of Ohio State University and Frank Wykoft of Southern California battling against him. Tolan has hung up only one performance throughout this entire season which might in- dicate that he has it in him to win. That race was run a few weeks ago at Vancouver, British Columbia, against his old rival, Simp- son, and Percy Williams, the Olympic cham- pion. Tolan was expected to do no better than third in the 100 meters, yet he won, deféating Williams—for the first time that the Canadian had been beaten since the Olympics at Amster- dam—as well as Simpson, and establishing a new world record of 101-5 seconds. Tolan showed & magnificent burst of speed in those closing yards, and passed his rivals to set a mark which is likely to stand for many years. THIRT‘EEN months before this record-break- ing effort Tolan defeated Simpson in the Big Ten Conference meet in the 100 yards in 9 5-10 seconds, which at that time equaled the best official performance for the distance. This was accepted last May by the Interna- tional Athletic Federation as a new world record. Tolan will have to run that fast again —or possibly faster—to finish in front of his larger rivals. Though Tolan stands under 5 feet 6 inches and weighs less than 130 pounds, he has an extremely long stride, and once under way is @ veritable demon of speed. Strangely encugh, the weakest of his race is the start. Most short men are good starters and indifferent finishers, but the opposite is true of this Mich- igan Unilversity boy, who will probably find