Will Yankees destroy
Canadian football?

Vankes

pety sports commentators are beginning to wonder if the influx of high-priced
ootball stars will finally result in the ruination of the Canadian game. Already

Sever; : ; ‘
te ig clubs are paying ‘so much for the services of U.S. talent that they are trying to
€ expenses by cutting wages of Canadian players. What incentive does that leave

youn,
ball?

ig 1952 “Canadian All Star”
ae Aeaested of 11 Yankees and
taway adian (Bob Simpson of Ot

In j
skin = €agerness to attract pig-
x a from south of the bor-
Made a ppaian Rugby Union
ankee ruling which transforms a
after fo Port into a “Canadian”
Our seasons here.

The 7 . .
abuseg tule is being shamefully

Saris Teams are bringing in
nkee oe to play one or two
far just to qualify them

Canadians” for the future.

Ottayw :
ames Py Roughriders _ president

Over this icCaffrey is hopping mad
the hi evasion of the spirit: of
Dose pee and says he will pro-
“hack six-year span for these
Would and forth” stars. “This
Playing eee this business of

hd €se fellows a game here
: aa there,” he says, “and
Who hay Only get US. players
; © really taken an interest

1 our y
» eague an
“ntribution to it »made a genuine

ie
bene

The

adiang are of Americans that Can-
ows ee ce mind coming in is fel-
t eee Trawick, tackle of
Turner. al Alouettes, and Howie
; Traw;

import (2 Who was the first Negro
has heogn tt WAS. back in 1946—
ow pnd 4 real Canadian. He
Ville 3 wn home in the town of
Ress (9 ees and runs a busi-

Near qp Parking lot and
the Montreal oN aa

. But

Just ae pany Yankees come up

the oe € the quick buck durin

home i al Season, then run Sak
the U.s. to spend. it.

tay ane cvelopment of Cana-

fe ony talent is being sadly

e high the race to grab off

Ssters in this country who have been thinking of making a career in professional foot-

WILLIE SHOEMAKER

Wee Willie is
easy on nags

While Eddie Arcaro is rightly

regarded as the greatest of Ameri-
ean jockeys, most of the plaudits
this year are going to Willie Shoe-
maker, leading vider of 1953, who
established an alltime world re-
cord by bringing in more than 400
winners in one season.

Secret of Shoemaker’s success is

that he works with, and not against,
his horse, Adopting the U.S. “mon-
key on a stick” posture well up on
the horse’s neck, he talks to his
mount, uses his whip sparingly,
and tries to save something for the
stretch drive.
“hasn't got it’ when they arrive at
“money lane” he doesn’t punish
the beast just to make a show for

If he finds the horse

their great sport.-
their views.”

Cricket called
a snob sport

Is cricket a sport for snobs?
Sports editor Bert Williams of the
South African paper Advance will
probably arouse the wrath of many
cricket fans by declaring that the
slow-moving English game is en-
joyed only by “the few who play
it, and those who fancy themselves
as aristocrats, regarding soccer and

| boxing as the vulgar sports of the
| rabble.”

Williams, who sticks his neck

'way out, continues:

“Even in England, where news-
papers make out it’s popular,

cricket pales into insignificance be-
sides soccer. Cricket matches draw

huge crowds, but soccer attend-

ances are often four times bigger.

“qt is the old story again, snob

appeal, which the naughty Oscar
Wilde describes so well in The

Importance of Being Ernest. As

long as there are dukes and so-
ciety, cricket will always be ‘pop-
jular.’

“The same is the case in India.

The princes and Maharajahs learn-
ed the game from their British :
masters, and have stuck to it ever
since. The peasant, however, loves
his football and wrestling matches.

“Cricket lacks fire and dash; it

is as slow moving as a silent film.
In sharp contrast, boxing and soc-
cer provide everything that a man

yearns for. 5

“Cricket fans are certainly not
going to like this aspersion on

The two Canadian athletes shown above are in the news these

days.

Bert White's |

ON Cockell is the second good
British heavyweight to appear
on the scene during the 25 years
I’ve followed the fight game.- The
other was Tommy Farr, who came
close to lifting Joe Louis’ crown
one hot August night at the Yan-
kee Stadium back in 1937.

They’re already referring to a
probable Céckell-Marciano title
HOt as. a
‘*Cockell -
Muscle’ affair.

much ~— chance
against Rocky
— but then,
nobody gave
Farr any
chance at all
against Louis.

Just 10 years

I'd welcome |
'to Farr, who was running a pub

ago I was stationed at Brighton
with the Toronto Scottish Regi-
ment, and dropped in to say hello

Few give Don.

ri
sts xenk Stars. the grandstand.

This is :

where pool should be built

Rile h

y 3 th ~~

Need aark to Unietish ne

SOUve, 2 SVitable rebribe of
‘ : es

wire Games swimming pool site from
ritish Columbia does not lessen the

t gh r 7

Ms Citizens: 'Ng the Civic Si Situated somewhere in central Van-

Ce ge Com Re ection campaign it is the intention of
@ Central Vancouver Swimming Pool

te carry ona campai
of such a pool. It co
shows location of par
tral site. The

plebiscite on the question.

v

gn though the press
uld be built at Rile
k to Capilano Stadiui
Citizens’ Committee is urg!

and radio for construction
y Park (aerial photo above
m) or at some other cen-
ng city council to hold a

World heavyweight weightlifting champion Doug Hepburn
(left) is favored to win the Hector McDonald Memorial Award,
donated annually by a local newspaper to the sportsman readers
name B.C. Athlete of the Year.
champion Earl Walls (right) scored a quick knockout over Joe
Kahut at Edmonton last week and may sign for a bout with former
world heavyweight champion Ezzard Charles.
Charles would put Walls in line for a crack at Rocky Marciano.

Canadian heavyweight boxing

A victory over

— SPORTLIGHT

near the station. The Welsh fight-
er had then been retired for three
years, and he certainly didn’t look
like a man who would ever climb
between the ropes again. He was
soft and suety, the only exercise
he took being a daily chase after
one of his buxom barmaids. As I
remember it, he had quite a turn-
over in barmaids.

By an odd coincidence, Joe
Louis and Tommy started their
“comebacks” on the same day,
September 27, 1950. Louis lost to
Ezzard Charles, but Farr fared
better, knocking out Jan Klein,
a clumsy giant billed as the
champion of Holland. ;

Louis fought a few more times
and was finaly knocked out by
Rocky Marciano. Farr won and
lost several fights, then reached
the end of the trail when he was
kayoed by Don Cockell.

Did I say kayoed? The Welsh-
man was still on his feet; face
pounded to a pulp, gamely taking
a terrific shellacking from Cock-
ell, when, at the end of the sev-
enth round, referee Eugene Hen-
derson signalled that the slaugh-
ter must stop. Farr protested
bitterly, to no avail.

Then he did a magnificent
thing for his Pontypridd audi-
ence — the Welsh miners who
had known him all his life. Gath-
ering his robe around him and
wiping away the blood and tears,
Tommy stepped to the micro-
phone and began singing the first
bars of Land of My Fathers. In
a moment strong Welsh voices
took up the haunting melody all
over the arena.

That was Farr’s farewell to
poxing. Now Cockell, the con-
queror of Farr, and Marciano, the
soon, with the top prize of the
squared circle, the heavyweight
championship of the world, at
stake. :

x * x

A Hungarian news _ service
provides this item: One day after
the opening of the 110,000 cap-
acity People’s Stadium in Buda-
pest, another new sports stadium
was opened in the city — one ae-
commodating 40,000 spectators.
It will stage football, volleyball
and athletic events. The dressing
rooms and showers will accom-
modate 300 sportsmen at any one
time.

* * +

Did you hear about that Mont-
real paper which ran a puzzle
contest recently? First prize was
a week in Toronto. Second prize
was two weeks in Toronto.

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — NOVEMBER 13, 1953 — PAGE 11