‘

18—THE DETROIT NEWS
; SDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1944 —

 

    

~ ByHGSalsing

LTHOUGH the voice of Dr.
-*% Forrest C. (Phog). Allen of
Kansas University, is frequently
raised in warning, his is a voice
-. erying in the wilderness. Dr.
». Phog keeps reminding the coun-
try of the dangers besetting col-
lege athletics and while no one
«denies the existence of the
<e dangers, no one seems inclined to

ee take the needed steps to guard | '

© against them.
» - Unless something is done about
- © it, Dr. Phog is‘much afraid that
%. the college athletic structure will
be toppled by scandal. The two
sports he is concerned about are
x» foot ball and basket ball. Heavy
gambling on these games is
bound, sooner or later, to de-
velop crooked competition, he
. thinks. The professional gam-
» .blers have already caused two
«wv “boys to throw basket ball games
in eastern collegiate tournaments,

according to Dr. Phog.
* *

ay Coaches Fear

ee HILE Dr, Allen is a basket
‘* © ¥ pall coach, and one of the
‘© best, he has a considerable
knowledge of foot ball as well.
The danger to foot ball is more
pronounced than the danger to

basket ball for the reason that’

- much more money is wagered on
. foot pallc, :- s

“The gambling angle has
_ worried many foot ball coaches.
“- "They are not concerned with the
~~ Joyal alumni bets, that are
prompted by sentiment, but the

- ‘wagering of professionals. _
Sentiment never enters into

’ the calculations of the professional

ambler. .He feasts on the sen-
timental alumni. He cashes in
on their loyalty. '
The professional gambler safe-
guards his bets as far as he can.
He is a sure-thing operator to
the limit of his ability and his
-& ability knows no moral limits.
He would not hesitate a second
- if he had a chance to “buy” a
ee: . college foot ball.player who might
~ be in position to lose a close
<< game and win a heavy wager fo.
ss» the gambler. ane ;

 

 
   

   

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IN tiated

 

* *

 

© Root of Evil — -

3 [ts LONG ceased to be a

“-sums of money. Others, while

: couldn’t miss in big-time foot

 

secret that more than a few | 4;
of our leading colleges and uni- mn
versities pay their foot ball play- ai

ets stipulated weekly or monthly

not paying them straight salaries,

reward them in a more subtle

way that, in the end, amounts to | lo

the same thing. / fc

_ This condition is known to |in

. practically all the people who |ir
attend foot ball games. It has

‘not shocked them. It has not {sis
driven them away from the foot |in

ball stadia. The general attitude | L:

is one of what-of-it? pee

The .public demands : winning I

]

 

‘teams. It doesn’t care a rap
whether the players are salaried
athletes or simon pure amateurs, C
The only thing the public is con-

 

 

cerned about (and by public we |. -
mean the alumni, student body, | th:
and non-alumni among the cus- | ov
tomers) is whether the boys can | D:
play foot ball. ca
* &® # : de
The Problem . -
pc

"TWENTY YEARS AGO the
_ foot ball stadia craze swept | bé
the country. Bigger and better
stadia were being built every- th
where. Millions were spent on
foot ball ampitheaters, most of |N:
them bonded. To pay off the
bonds coaches had to produce |R8
winning teams and to produce |!
winning teams they had to have | Gt
the necessary material and to get | Io’
the necessary material they, or |T!
the athletic associations, or the | Pe
alumni, had to provide induce- | N:
ments that would lure the best {Pt
prospects. bes a,
It developed into a bidding con- (
test. As many as 20 scouts for
major schools would ‘be bidding |
for the same player, one “who EF

 

 

 

 

COLLEGE foot ball has, for 2

an

ball.” The player, or his parents, ~ c
or both, considering all the bids.
cast his lot -vith the school that «.
either offered the most money or, .:
the best advantages and, why | Ml
not? It was being done all over | “
the country, wasn’t it? i
x * x ‘

_ Strictly Business 1s

' which they are secured. It is

sii ~ sing jinn SS Se,

the last 20 years, been strict- |__

a commercial proposition.
Coaches, regardless of their per- K
sonal inclinations and training, | .
had to subscribe to the general | Bi
Procedure to survive, ‘They | we
either became active in prosely- | toc
ting or pretended to know noth- | kn
ing about it, fig
They have received no help | Er
from the public. What the pub- |—

lic keeps demanding is winning
teams. It does not concern itself F

with the manner or method by

neither startled nor anno
the intermittent verdlacn. -
Proselyting ,and commercialism, ,
‘doesn’t give a tap whether the |J2
Players are semi-professionals. on!
out-and-out professionals, or att
eta pili Peas
at is w i 2
a. : at worries the

 

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