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Judge, 1932-02-13 · page 11 of 36

Judge — February 13, 1932 — page 11: what you’re looking at

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Judge — February 13, 1932 — page 11: Judge, 1932-02-13

What you’re looking at

# Judging the Sports: What This 1928 Cartoon Means This is a satirical article by Joe Williams about the 1928 Olympics, illustrated with two cartoons showing jubilant athletes waving flags and, below, a chaotic pile of brawling competitors. **The satire:** Williams mocks the widespread belief that Olympic competition promotes "international amity and the brotherhood of men." He argues this is naive—the ancient Olympics were equally commercialized and contentious. He cites "Professor Bangs of Cornell" discovering that ancient Olympic athletes demanded excessive prize money (500 drachmas), and communities bribed athletes with bonuses to compete for them (citing a fictional "Dracula" as treasury secretary and an athlete named "Asty"). **The point:** Modern nations haven't truly "progressed" morally through sports—athletes remain mercenary, communities still compete for prestige through athletic recruitment, and hostility persists. The cartoons visually reinforce that Olympic competition produces chaos, not unity. Williams suggests linking national virtue to athletic prowess is foolish. This reflects 1920s skepticism about sports' redemptive claims and competitive nationalism.

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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

JUDGING me: SPORTS iis being an Olympic year in sports—not to mention what kind rit is in Wall Street—steam- ship ‘piers, club rooms and consular offices are resounding to such stirring ind heart-warming phrases as inter- national amity and the brotherhood of men, In some fantastic manner — the theory has been developed that the fate of mankind, the principles of hu- man understanding and the exact status of Mr. R. Vallee as a boon to moonlight madness hinge on the ont- athletic meet in which a stone-cutter from Ho- opposes a tinsmith Czechoslovakia. Know from little about the influences which are popularly supposed to con- tribute to mutual devotion among na- tions T may be pardoned for a seem- ing lack of sympathy and enthusiasm for the theory, though o rat many people, more liberally endowed, per haps, with God's finer stuff, appear to view the matter with awesome seri- ousness. T hay son's pan: the red, roaring pits of strife (pretty?) has had any effect ‘in’ keeping the Japs out of Man- churia —or the Elk’s either, for that matter; and so E have my mis- vings about the spir- itual ities of the broad jump and ham- mer throw, As a matter of fact it has never been possible to run off a full Olympic program without some faint manifestation of hostility on the part of the competitors or the not noticed that Dr. Wil- for pe + conceived in y Joe Williams customers, or both, these usually tak- ing the form of gaudy riots, pitched battles, sharp — reeriminations—and what will the dear little lady in. the poke bonnet have this morning? The Broccoli is very nice. You can go all the way b » the early days of the Olympiad if you gate to (take'the Bronk aves nubeay and change at Mott street) and you will find that the games were not al together productive of good will, noble emotions and the better things of life. One Professor B. sof Cornell, studying the ancients. discovered that for three centuries the money demands of the Olympic athletes—the heroic Olympians no less !—we is to create so excessive the sus; noof vulgar An agreement was lly contrived by which the winning athletes were restricted to 500 drach form of currency so designated in honor of the first secretary of the treasury, a guy named Dracula—or young men of the period did not hesi- Jace personal welfa member, old Ast Crotona, the Al Syracuse offered him a bonus to jump. Asty was a practical amateur. He jumped, setting and distanc Then the Crete’s lea Sotades. sibly several real estate enterprises in the process of formation. k, Sorapes was needed to give the ! community prestige and esteem. up a purse man to come The simple fe was even touch gold. boys jump used to, oF was the instance of He was badly wanted in Ephesus, a community with a belated developed civie consciousness, and pos- and offered it the youn ind live among them. low ws It was adequate. to Ephesus. I don’t suppose it is true that the around as much as they that the proselyting i plored by the Foundation in sports, but it is true that the modern scene has not yet progressed to a point of complete per- fection, still runs a discouraged second to bronze med- als. free-for-all in any Dart- mouth club in the coun- try by merely mention- ing t race. Hanoveria tell you that if Arthur above lus—surely —was a big sho! Booth of his day. 1 new record, form sidered. athlete, Mr. Gus P. rior note of a su) The citizens got feeted. He counted the So he moved ons stoop to the evil manner di Carn college Brotherly love You can still start a 1900 inarathen s will (Page 26, please) comicbooks.com