Of all intercollegiate sports the most popular and the one most distinctively a college sport is football. The football season begins in the middle of September and ends with Thanks giving day. Intercollegiate contests begin about the first of October, since the last half of September is taken up with the training and conditioning of the players. Football, as it is played in colleges to-day, is a modification of the Rugby game. This country first saw it at Harvard in 1875. A match was arranged with Yale that year, and the latter was beaten. However, the lesson seemed to have been a good one, for since then Harvard's victories over Yale have been few and far between. To Walter Camp, Yale 1880, sometimes called •the father of football,D do we owe much for foot ball as it is played to-day. It was due princi pally to Mr. Camp's efforts that the number of players on a team, and positions were fixed in their present condition. Without going into a discussion, on the roughness of the game, let it be considered that what is rough — nay, bru tal — for a man in no condition to play, is merely a trial of strength, courage and clever ness, in which all unnecessary roughness is eliminated, for the trained athlete.
After the football season is over, beside work in the gymnasium, there is nothing done in the way of exercise until after the holiday vacation, when the various indoor or gymna sium sports are taken up. The principal winter sport is basketball and gymnasium work. It is very important, among other things, in that it brings out a part of the student body which takes no part in the other branches of sport. Gymnasium teams practise in tumbling, trapeze, horse and bar work. Many of the students also take special interest in wrestling, fencing and boxing. Although there is none or little intercollegiate competition in handball, this beneficial exercise is the principal mode of recreation for a great many of the student body.
Although it is long before the season of competition, the training season of both the baseball and track teams start immediately after the Christmas holidays. Baseball brings out more candidates than any other branch of sport, and the reason for this may readily be seen. Although there are many boys in col lege who have never played football, or sprinted, there is hardly one, physically able, who has not played the national game. The i indoor work in this branch consists of batting, throwing, picking up grounders and pitching. The squad, which in some instances numbers more than a hundred men, is gradually cut down, so that when they are able to play out of doors, in March, there remains probably enough men to make up two teams, beside the men who are trying for pitching positions.
In the East, Brown, Yale, Harvard, Prince ton; Georgetown and Holy Cross have always been among the leading schools in baseball. The baseball squads in almost all of these col leges are coached by professional players. In the West, Illinois and Michigan have divided all the diamond honors in recent years.
Training for a track team starts in the win ter. Almost every university gymnasium is fitted up with a running track. There, day after day, the candidates for the team get out and run under the eye of the trainer. Inter collegiate indoor track matches begin as early as February. They take place in the gymna sium, and consist of short dashes, hurdle races, middle and long distance runs, shot put, pole vault and high jump. To this list is often
added a relay race. As soon as the weather is warm enough the track candidates are taken out on the athletic field. During the spring dual meets are held, and in June, at the end of the collegiate year, a meet is held to which all the track teams of the colleges of a section are invited to compete.
Harvard, Pennsylvania, Yale and George town do the best work on the track in the field among the Eastern colleges. In the West Michigan and Chicago usually fight it out for leadership.
The following are the best records made in the respective events by the college track ath letes of the country in collegiate meets: 100 yards--9 4-5 s.—W. W. May.
220 yards-21 1-S s.—B. J. Wefers, One-fourth mile-47 2-5 s.—J. E. One-half mile-1 in. 53 E. Meredith, Pennsylvania. One mile run-4 rn. 14 2-5 s.—J. P. Jones, Cornell. Two mile run-9 in. 23 4-5 s.—_ Murray, S. Hodmire, Cornell. 120 yard hurdles—IS s.—P. S. Murray, Leland Stanford. 220 yard hurdles-23 3-5 s.—A. C. Kraenzlein, Pennsyl vania.
Running high • inp-6 ft. 44 in.—W. M. Alex, Yale. Running broad jump-24 ft. 4, in. — A. C. Kraenzlein, Pennsylvania.
Pole vault-13 ft. 1 in.—R. Gardner, Yale.
Putting 16 lb. shot-48 ft. 101 ins.—P. Beatty, Columbia.
Beside the sports already mentioned, row ing takes an important place in the athletic cat alogue of many universities. Perhaps a man has to train longer and more strenuously to make a college crew than if he went into any other branch of sport. Often the man on the crew starts to work in September and con tinues throughout the entire college year. The swimming tank in the gymnasium leads to many water games, such as racing, diving, water polo, etc., all of which tend to mould a man along healthful lines. Lawn tennis occu pies a very important place in college athletics. It is one of the most beneficial sports we have, but as it is not a game which is very interesting to spectators, it will never rank with football, baseball, rowing or track athletics as an inter collegiate sport. Golf is being taken up more and more by the colleges and this most excel lent game will increase in popularity, and we will hear of many intercollegiate matches where now there are but few.
The good of athletics in institutions of learn ing is incalculable. Between classes and lec tures. when there is nothing to take up the student's mind, the temptations are manifold. If he is of a studious disposition, there is the danger of excessive sedentary life. If he is not studiously bent, there are many tempta tions to attract the idle. If he is of a weak constitution, disease and its consequences soon follow; if he is robust, although he may stave them off longer, the consequences are the same. Then again, the athletic field is a place where all classes of students can meet on a common ground. It is the place where they can get rid of a superabundance of youthful enthusiasm. As a result, the town and gown riots, which formerly characterized every college town, are things of the past. One is thus inclined to agree with an eminent college president when he said, the athletic field does more toward keeping order in the student body than all our rules and regulations combined.)