Life — November 2, 1928 — page 18: what you’re looking at

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

SPORTSMEN and SPORTS When West Is East For some years past it has been the custom to hold frequent foot- ball encounters between Cali- fornia’s leading clevens and prominent teams from the East and the Middle West. Most of them have been post-season battles such asthe Tourna- ment of Roses affairs and the outcome has been cither thirty-one victories to fourteen defeats for the Californians or twenty-nine victories to seventeen defeats for the East- ern and Middle Western teams, depending n who tells the tale and what section ot the country he hails from. The important point, however, is that the Eastern and Midwest teams have had to cover a long distance by rail to get tothe football field and in some cases have had the full benefit of almost a week's con- tinuous practice in Pullman cars. Most coaches agree that it’s hard to get a line smash under way from a start in a lower berth. In addition to the confinement to narrow quarters and the rigors of over- land travel, there was the item of a change in climate. But it may be a mistake to bring up the subject of climate. Some Californian might take the chair and there wouldn't be anything more heard about football all day. The ordinary cus- tom, then, was for Eastern teams to fol- low Horace Greeley’s advice. This year, however, Stanford will reverse the field. Pop Warner's lads from Palo Alto will try that stunt of sig- nal practice in Pullman aisles as they roll across country to meet the Army at the Yankee Stadium in New York on Decem- ber 3. After that game it may be possible to state with authority whether or not a transcontinental trip slows up a backfield and how much damage can be done to a football team by a week's shaving while going around curves. It is known that California produces the most luscious fruit, the most beautiful by Jobn Kieran men, the greatest baseball players, the fastest runners, the cream of the tennis crop, the biggest trees, the most gorgeous flowers and the finest weather in the world (subject to postponement on account of rain). But football is a game of cold weather, of dark and blustery days, of chilling frosts and incipient snowstorms. When Californians attempt to establish a reputation for their state as a football sec- tor, they are out of character. They might as well boast of their icebergs and polar bears and the depth to which the frost penetrates in their lemon orchards every April. They have good, tall lads out that way, elegant playing fields, fine whistles for the referees. They have good coaches in Pop Warner (from the East) and Howard Jones (from the East). The views from the fifty-yard line are magnificent and soul-stirring in either direction. But California has no bleak New Eng. land Saturdays, no marrow -chilling No vember rains, no freezing winds running riot between the goalposts. It isn’t a nat. ural football sector. Flowers, runners, golfers, scenery, tennis stars, birds, oars. men, trees—yes! But football players? No! Those Coast teams simply lie in wait for the worn and weary tourists from the East and push them over before they realize they are no longer arguing with the con- ductor and a couple of Pullman porters. Don’t debate it, especially with Calj- fornians, all of whom are orators by in- stinct and boosters by profession. Just wait until Stanford: makes that trip East to meet the Army. You can keep mailing the score of that game to Californians for years to come. It will annoy them pro fusely. If I'm wrong, sue the Army. IN HAVANA “How did your host greet yo “With a salute of twenty-one gins, girls, the finest men, the brawniest cars-| Brute (to educated opponent) : Beg pardon, Mr. Gadgett, will you take one lump or two? VOTE FOR ROGERS VOTE FOR SMITH VOTE FOR HOOVER pur — VOTE! comicbooks.com