Judge, 1931-10-17 · page 12 of 36
Judge — October 17, 1931 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Satire Analysis: Judge Magazine Page This page contains two distinct pieces of social commentary: **"Reversing a Popular Custom"** (main article with car illustrations): The author critiques sportswriters' power to select "All-American" football teams annually, arguing this is undemocratic. He proposes football players reciprocate by selecting an All-American team of sportswriters, then humorously imagines which writers would be excluded—like Dave Goose for bumming tickets, or an Indianapolis scribe for overusing a tired pun about Notre Dame. The satire mocks both the arbitrary nature of these selections and sportswriters' influence over athletics. **"To a Gentle Borrower"** (poem by George Neil): A lighthearted complaint about a friend who borrowed the author's lighter, books, racket, balls, clock, and trench coat—but hasn't returned them or "my love." The humor lies in cataloging increasingly absurd borrowed items, culminating in the romantic plea. **"Coach" cartoon**: Shows a football coach reproaching a player for tackling so aggressively he drove through the opposing team like a truck through a hole. All three pieces use gentle humor about contemporary social customs and interpersonal dynamics.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Reversing a Popular Custom [ Tis is free country, as so many people have sneeringly pointed out. That is one of the reasons why Tcan't — / see why football players let’ sports writers get away with these all-Ameri- selections every year. Not being a football player myself, haps [am not in a position to judg but I play squash and I know how I should feel if W. O. MeG Grantland Rice or some one pi chan or an all-American team of squash players and left me out. The only remedy, as far as I can see, is for the football players to turn right around and start picking an n team of sports writers. t's sauce for Dave Goose, half- back on the Colby team, is sauce for Herman ¢ , assistant sports edi- tor of the Atlanta Herald. If the football players of America will do this, no doubt a few years will see the end of what is after all an undemo- cratic and un-American custom. Picture the mort ion of one Tke O'Brien on reading this somewhere. “O'Brien might have been our choice — | for the team were it not for his habit of trying to bum tickets from us for his friends.” Or imagine if you can the crestfallen appearance of the In- dianapolis scribe who might have been an All-American sports writer if. it hadn't been for his one great weak- ness. A thoroughly brilliant writer, P famed for his handling of puns, he had included the erack, “Join Notre Dame and See the World in no less than sixteen of his articles. By that fatal lack of judgment he had lost his | To a Gentle Borrower ¥ lighter, forgotten, lies rusting 4 y best books, on a shelf In one of your cavernous closets; I'd almost forgotten, myself. t, I suppose, put your hand on The trench-coat you borrowed last week? I know you're still using my A few of my balls Don't bother to darling, i Just keep all the items above, You're welcome to them, dear, but really, You should be returning my love. Coacu—Why—there —Grorce New cket, d my cleek; ch them out, as a hole at tackle big enough } for you to drive your truck through! i 10 comicbooks.com