Evening Star Newspaper, July 11, 1932, Page 12

A—12 SPORTS. THE EVENING STAR, WASHINGTO D. C, MONDAY, JU LY 11, 1932 SPORTS. Midwest Trackmen Loom Strong in Final Tests for U.S. OIyrn'pic Team This Week MAY PUSHEASTERN ANDPACIC STARS Real Battle Due in Two-Day" Athletic Meet at | | Palo Alto. BY GRANTLAND RICE. OS ANGELES, Calif., July 11. —Turning once again to Mr. | Kipling's suggestion that| “East is East and West is| West,” what about that mlghty‘i strip which happens to unfol:'.r from the Afleghenies to the| Rockies, sometimes known as the Middle West? | In the final trials at Palo Alto this week it is at this middle strip the two ocean-bordered sections will have to look for trouble. | For example in the 100-meter test | the Far West has its Wykoff and its | Kiesel—the Middle West will match these with its Metcalfe and its Tolan, while the South offers Topping In the 200-meter dash the Far West has its Dyer and its Kiesel—the Middle West again offers Metcalfe and Tolan in rebuttal | In the 400-meter scramble the Pacific | Coast presents Benny Eastman. Here the main _battle will come from Carr of Pennsylvania. The Midwest has no | challenger to outrun this pair. Other Events. HE West again presents Benny | Eastman for the 800-meter test His main_rival here should be Hallowell of Harvard, Mangain and perhaps Cunningham. Eastman won't run the 800-meter affair at Palo Alto, so this will be largely a Midwest- Eastern fight In the 1.500-meter race Venzke from the East will find Cunningham from Kansas in the way, in addition to Mangain, with Hallowell and Nordell from the East. Cunningham is likely to be the main Venzke threat. ‘The Midwest has Keller to throw against Beard in the hurdles, with Sal- ing and also Record to be given keen consideration. But at present Beard and Keller look to be the world's best. especially over the shorter routes, and the Midwest again has its able candi- date for any hurdle test, high or low. In the broad jump the Far West has its Barber—the East has its Boyle— but the Midwest has its Redd of Peoria, who recently jumped 25 feet 634 inches. | In the high jump the East has Spitz and the Pacific Coast has Marty. But again the Midwest answers the chal-| lenge with Ward of Michigan, Nelson| of Butler and Burg of the Illinois A.C., who have all done 6 feet 6 inches or better. The Final Scramble. 'OU have from the above some idea of the large scramble that will take place this week at Palo Alto in the two-day meet that will nominate final selections for the United States Olympic team Some time ago the general feeling was that the Pacific slope would dominate this show. Then when the East came along with such stars as Venzke, Sexton, Spitz, Anderson. Hallo- well, Record, Beard and others, the tide fagan to veer in the direction of the At- fantic. But when the Midwest an: SAY "CINCO”-YOU'LL HAVE A W ITH T HE v 7 3 | The East and the Midwest have come Nurmi Disdains To Explain Limp By the Associated Press, HICAGO, July 11.—Limping painfully, but offering no_more Conversation than usual, Paavo Nurmi led the Pinnish Olympic team on toward Los Angeles without tell- ing Chicago what caused the limp. The Phantom Finn boarded the train in New York Saturday show- ing no sign of a limp. When the team stopped off at Chicago yester- day his left ankle was badly swolleh. His typically Nurmi explanation was: “Yesterday. On train. Nothing.” wered with Metcalfe, Tolan, Keller, Cunningham, BrocKSmith, Ward and six or eight others of high rank, it be- came evident this section also had its chance to lead the United States list. | This triple fight makes the Palo Alto | tests far more interesting than they | looked to be a few months ago. | For example, the California delega- | tion still is confident that Frank Wykoff | is the fastest 100-meter man alive. The | Midwest is just as_confident that Ralph Metcalfe of Marquette, is a trifle faster and will win both sprints. | All of which adds no little to the gayety | of the situation. ‘ A Soothsayer’s Job. HERE will be close to 300 surviv-| ing stars at Palo Alto and from | this list only three can be nomi- | nated for each track and field event. For 10 years Eastern universities have been taking a heavy drubbing from the Pacific Coast. Only a week ago the Eastern contingent was slaugh tered by U. S. C. and Stanford. Natu-| rally the East is keen to get its share | of revenge and the East has a great| chance with the strongest array it ever | has known. | But neither coast line can overlook | the speed and power of the Midland entries, also stronger than ever before. Which of these sectors is the strong- est? It still is a guess where so_many have turned in record figures. But if | Metcalfe can run up to the timing he | has turned in, he will give the “in be- | tween country” a big lead from the start. 1t is practically an even fight, but there certainly is no advantage in favor | of the Pacific slope, where most of | the track and field strength looked to be some months ago. or a year ago. along with a rush and a sweep in al- most_every track and field art. All in all, this coming week should | turn out the most brilliant array of | record figures any meet has ever known to date. It will be a little Olymplic | of its own—a family fight of the hardest and fiercest type the United States yet has looked upon. (Copyright, 1932. bv Norta American News- paper Alliance, Inc.) | NET CHAMP DETHRONED Stoefen Beats Hennessey in Final | of Minneapolis Tourney. MINNEAPOLIS, July 11 (#).—Lester Stoefen, youthful University of South- | ern California freshman, won the sin- gles title of the Minneapolis invitational tennis tournament yesterday, beating John Hennessey, Indianapolis, 1931 win- ner, 2—6, 3—6, 6—4. 6—2, 9—17. Paired with Bill Robertson of Min- neapolis, the Los Angeles youth also won the doubles finals, turning back Karl Kamrath and Sterling Williams, Austin, Tex., 1—6, 6—2, 6—3, 8—6. Hennessey and Cullen Thomas of Min- | neapolis, 1931 doubles champions. de- faulted in the semi-finals Saturday vhen Hennessey developed a cramp in the leg. Shadows of the Past BY 1. C. BRENNER. ABEL KIVIAT. UT in Staten Island, where he first made his start as an ath- lete, a short, bandy-legged man may be seen almost every Saturday and Sunday working out with the voungsters of his neighborhood. He acts as a coach and when he cor- rects the faults of his pupils, one can readily see that he knows his A BC's. Abel Kiviat is the teacher. Those who follow track and field sports will remember this man as one of the greatest middle distancers developed in America a dozen years ago. At one time he was classed as second only to the great Mel Sheppard, with whom he teamed as a member of the famous Irish- American A. C, of which Lawson Robertson was captain. Today, Law- son is teaching Kiviat's son at Penn- sylvania what he taught Abel, sr., when he took him out of Curtis High School at Staten Island, N .Y., years ago, to develop him into one of the shining stars of American trackdom. Kiviat tried a come-back a few years ago and succeeded in winning the 1,000-yard Metropolitan cham- pionship, but age began to tell soon after and he decided to retire from active competition. Today he is a salesman for a jewelry concern that sells medals and trophies to athletic clubs and aids coaching the boys of his neighborhood. THREE AUTO RACERS DIE Akron, Oklahoma and Hohokus Races Marked by Fatalities. AKRON, Ohio! July 11 () —Sam Gibson, 25-year-old automobile racing driyer, of Youngstown, Ohio, was burned | to"death in the wrecking of his car at the North Hampton dirt track auto races. Gibson was running in third position on the thirtieth lap of the 50-lap race when his car swerved off the track, burst through the fence and over- turned. OKLAHOMA CITY, July 11 (P —Roy | Gillihan, 25, Purcell, Okla., professional | racing car driver, was killed in a race |at the State fair grounds here yester- day. Gillihan’s car skidded and over- turned. HOHOKUS, N. J, July 11 (# —Ar- thur Noll, 31-year-old auto pilot, of East Orange was fatally injured dur- ing a racing program here today. His car plunged through the fence on one of the turns. ed,fr@grant with smoke-joy AM O S gar!s EISENLOHR BLEND | man stout battling until late in the | | ice, & nice backhand and capable volle: MUEHLEISEN SEEKS SECOND NET TITLE New D. C. Singles Champion Pairs With Robinson Today in Doubles Semi-Final, Dom:- MUEHLEISEN, who yesterday won the singles championship in the annual District of Columbia tennis tourney over Dooly Mitchell, 6—4, 6—2, 6—2, and Lieut Stanley K. Robinson, Army singles titlist, were to face Maurice O'Neill and Barney Welsh in a semi-finals doubles match in the tourney this evening on the Wardman Park courts at 4 o'clock. Bob Considine and Bud Markey gained the final when they bowled over Lieuts. Gerry Smith and Bill | McCue, 6—1, 6—4, yesterday in the other doubles semi-final. Muehleisen, 25-year-old Army Air Corps cadet from California, found Mitchell, who time and again has been checked with the D. C. title almost | in his grasp, not such a stubborn op- ponent, Mitchell, slamming the ball with his usual burning speed, offered the Army ninth game of the first set. With the | game score 4-ali and Mitchell leading | 40-30, Muechleisen abruptly changed his dard-driving game to softer, elusive shots, and these, with an improved serv- ing, enabled him to keep well ahead of | the curly-headed Georgetown boy the remainder of the way. BEST IS YET TO COME L. 8. U.'s Crack Track Team Will Be Stronger Next Season. By the Associated Press. Louisiana State University's track team this year won the Southern Con- ference champlonship, but wait! Coach Bernie Moore in 1933 will have all the championship squad back but two men, besides some fashy sophomores. Sidney Bowman, broad jump artist | who placed first in the event at the conference meet, and Forrest Yawn, pole vaulter, are being graduated. but Moore has “Slats” Hardin of Green- wood, Miss., a freshman this year who | ran the quarter mile in 48.7, and sev- | eral other boys who look equally good. Nurmi’s Running as Boy Was Done in Bare Feet; Gave -UP, Eating Meat When He Was 12 Years Old| Banks of the Aurajoki River, which flows through Turku, Finland, along which Nurmi wandered with boyhood ! dreams of track conquest, are shown above. Nurmi is pictured (left) defeating Duquesne of France in the 3,000- meter steeplechase in the 1928 Olympics for one of the scores of victorles that followed. This is the sizth of a series of articles } by Paato Nurmi, in which the great | Finnish runner in his oun way tells the | story of his life. BY PAAVO NURMIL (Written for the Associated Press.) HROUGH the cracks in our fence I| followed the boys in the neighbor- | ing yard, how they played, romped | and fought. Now and then I even ven- tured over to them. I soon found out my gift of running, because in that I was better than the others right from the beginning. Among those boys I got the first idea for athletics. | Only 8 years old I made it the main Listen to LOWELL THOMAS . § SUNOCO NEWS VOICE OF THE AIR Monday to Friday Evenings, Inclusive 6148 E. Daylight Time Over NBC—WJZ Network purpose of my life to be a great run- ner. We had got into our hands in those days a sporting journal appearing once & month, and we swallowed with avidity the wonderful tales told there of the results achieved by professional runners in matches. The names | Shrubb. Dorando, Longboat, Hayes and some others made my eyes quite round Each of us thought in his heart of hearts: “If I only could become like him.” And in my childish brain there arose the following fancy: Once I can beat boys of my own age now, why | should I not be able to beat the other men when I am a man! And that was the beginning. For reasons of economy we were forbidden to wear boots or shoes. Therefore I ran in my bare feet behind the trams. In the dark evenings I often fell on the slippery street and hurt my feet and legs; my knees show still many a mark from those days, but I did not mind I ran because I had to run. When I was 12 years old. I cut out all meat; and yet I had in thcse days to be heartily thankful for hash even. In my days at the common school I was a | great coffee fiend. so that I even often gathered up the grounds from the bot- tom of the pot. but when I really got interested in athletics. I sacrificed even that. Tea, tobacco and alcohol never came in question. In the Summer I went to the swim- ming school. The distance there was four miles. but I made nothing of it— | twice a day! |, And, it the distance was long to ‘thfl swimming school, the woods were | near at hend. There I spent hours |upon hours, ~examining plants and birds. 1 gathered plants for school | children who would not be bothered with the work. I was a great one \for finding birds’ nests. In God's lovely nature I have spent many a quiet minute. Even now, when |I come home from a sporting trip, I £0 there. And there I always find new interest and energy On both my American trips T lived In New York near the Bronx Park. I loved the quietness of the park and liked to be there Without those walks in the park I could hardly have stood the Winter of 1925. At any rate, | T could not have performed my ath- | letic work with so small losses as I did. | Spending Leisure Time. | At home I sp still less than out- side. We ne athletic: any s 2per bool study ¢ great happenings in the world in the newspapers, and with {a certain interest I follow politics. My | fatrer used to take part in party poli- tics, but I have never done so. I am | no_friend of company, or even visitors. Tre authors who have interested me most are Tolstoy, Maeterlinck and Eimerson. I have also read profusely such authors as London, Poe, Kipling, Dumas and others. Of course I like our own native literature, Sillanpaa being at present the best of our authors. Cor All rioh oeiated Press ~Cinclu- Repro- SHOE ON OTHER FOOT By the Associated Pr Shuffieboard players here have re- versed the usual order of things with regard to a new club house at St. Petershurg, Fla. Instead of asking the City Council to build an addition to the club house Mirror Lake Park, the shuffleboard players have asked the city to let them o it It is proposed to spend about $6.000 on an addition to the building if City Council approves The NEW SUNOCO Motor olL +22 the only motor oif made by the Mercury Procesy LONG tasTING NO HARD cARsON SURPRISING MiLEAGE HIGH TEST PERFORMANCE plus KNOCKLESS POWER' regular gas price ... save 3c per gallon