OCR Text |
Show W(V ELEVENS 1 PLEA! IS General Pershing and Oth- Sera See Championship - Won by Division. Ill j Former College Stars Make Contest Homelike for ;a; Overseas Soldiers. lit- By 'Universal Service. FARIS, March 'M. In a highly spectacular spec-tacular football paras witnessed by a crowrj of 13,000 persons, including General Gen-eral Pershing, the team representing Ihe Eighty-ninth division 'of the Third army ' defeated the team of the Thirty-sixth division of ihe First army, 14 to fi, yesterday yester-day afternoon, winning the championship ' V of tho American expeditionary forces. The game was flayed on tho Velodrcme : field of tho Pare des Frances, and, de- ' spite the muddy ground, was marked by-sensational by-sensational plays which gave the rootcrc . . for both sides full opportunity to display T their accomplishments as1 noisemakc-rs. I Resembles Big Home Games. - The Tvholo atmosphere wis reminiscent V of a fanif at Yale, Harvard or Princeton ,n or the annual Army and Navy game, rli with the exception of the colors in the stands. The spectators presented a solid i. mass of olive drab, relieved here and " there ty the blue of the uniform ot the women army workers. Most of the men in the field were for-r for-r mer eollep-e stars and their plays com- ; pared favorably with games seen at i" home. Both trams made a brilliant show- 555 Inc. but in the second half the Eighty- ninth eleven proved its superiority ?nd --, .. overcame the handicap of six points gained in the first quarter by the Thir-tv Thir-tv -sixth. -V .Lieutenant George (Patsy) Clark, the University of Ul'nois star, was the life :V of the Eighty-ninth team. He scored two co touchdowns and kicked both goals. i General Pershing v.a-s highly de lighted with the game and applauded the j.; numerous clever flays. With him in the grandstand were lieutenant General Life-'. Life-'. gett, near Admiral crnyran, Colonel W. '' ' r. Johnson, general athletic officer of the A. B. F. ; JIajor General Edwin R. Smith, commander of the ICighty-ninth division, ir' ur.d his staff, and Major General Frank I ' i I. Winn, commander of the Thirty-sixth ' division and his staff. Many officers .f.'.., came from the German border to witness '". the game. t Pershing Greets Players. 7K- At the end of the game (General Per- ' Fhiiig went out on the fiald and s,iook I' hands viih the mud bespattered players w and thanked them for the splendid exlii- ie" bition they had given of the American game. 1 "I am glad of the opportunity to thank you for the splendid game you have . played today and for the wonderful spirit you have shown." he said. "You have !r, carried out the letter and spirit ot the III'-! plan adopted to promote clean sports in ' the American expeditionary force3. You .SOB' have gone at this athletic program and this game today with the same dash and spirit you showed at the front, and that (y I is the spirit that makes America mid jOO i Americans great." sr Enthusiasm Contagious. The game at first was puzzling to the iTBs, many French officers and civilians in tho . t: stand, but all, even the women, soon " 1 caught the Yankee spirit and cheered the C plays with enthusiasm. They were par-0. par-0. llcu'srly stirred when the Thirty-sixth division rooters, figuring the game as good II as won. flocked out on tho field between the halves and started a snake dance. ' Two bands marched around the field as the human line turned and twisted fantastically; then several hundred sol-IQ'&l- filers, with a goorllv sprinkling of officers, Joined hand and" danced around in a Front circle that extended from one end of tho field to the other, and back of the 1 jroal posts. There was another demonstration at the enn of tho game when General Pershing . - had finished his remarks to the pl.yers. A great shout went up and small American flaw wero W'aved In honor of the commanding com-manding general and the teams. , , In the srles of games for the cham- plonshlp, the F,U?litv-ninth team has shown itself a slow starter, but a whirlwind whirl-wind finisher. It is a heavy outfit, averaging aver-aging nhout 170 pounds, and its lines-men lines-men know how to make weight toll. Cap-i. Cap-i. , tain Wlthlngton, former Harvard llnes- il'l man. has helped the team greatly by vlr- ;.n lo of his experience on the Crimson fit- eleven. |