Show PRO FOOTBALL IS I DESTINED TO BE ONE OF AMERICAS AMERICA'S WINTER PASTIMES Efforts in That Direction So Far Have Been Very Successful Successful Suc- Suc I Big Leagues Now low Are Being Planned 1 By Jack Velock jF I EW YORK Dec 25 Professional a.-Professional N IV I football is slowly but surely comi com com- le i Ing log into its Ita own jg Each succeeding season sees the thero pro ro grid game increasing in popularity and many followers of sports now be belf believe be- be lf lieve feve e that It will be only a matter matter- of ot fine until a professional football league will Vm be in operation The rhe he professional game has been played for many years ears by scattered teams With few exceptions these elevens ori or i dubs lubs have made a big success of the themo game gamo mo financially And Ana as is football grows popularity the chance for the professional Tonal onal game to flourish will grow in proportion Ohio Is the stronghold of off of the pro game s Jim Thorpe's brilliant aggregation aggregation tion the Canton Bulldogs who laid claim to o the national title in their their class after afler defeating the strong Massillon Tigers 3 jo 0 0 furnish a vivid example of what to the he game may develop if it is taken up b by competent promoters Professional Coot football ball players have been paid 1500 or more for Cor playing one game ame 1 many Instances There is big money 1 ti lt It for Cor the stars and there will always alwa's b plenty of good players available as aston l ton long tonas ri as the colleges keep on turning out experienced men who have wound wound- ip p JP their collegiate days das and who may till be tempted to play for the love of he lie e game as well as for the velvet ere iere Is In it it i. i A professional football league backed I big league baseball magnates has often been talked of The idea has never I liken ken roto for various reasons But it is possibility and that in the near fu- fu Wife Lore ore Monster crowds turn out in cities like anton Massillon and even smaller cities to root for fOl the home town teams against again t Invaders from rival cities or nearby states tates A team made up of stars such As the As-the the Canton and Massillon teams the the theW team m which represented Hammond Ind W he e strong estron Rock Island Ind eleven and bs s In Cleveland and many other cities O ogreater greater size is always alas sure of oC at- at tf attention not only local but I wherever football is popular And the game ame has become popularly contagious ous in practically every state in the I IY Y Union I I Charles A A. A Stoneham president of ot the Giants is thinking seriously of oC getting a I strong next professional f season S1 1 i and team mb bringing together the in ht New best I professional e 1 clubs in the the- CO country here to I Il Yr k ot play pity at atthe the polo grounds u New York as l the case with many large cities has no big university eleven of the first caliber caliber caliber cali cali- 1 ber to 10 root for But New York is wild about football A professional proCessional team here would make a a. barrel of money Suppose Chicago Boston St. St Louis Philadelphia Pittsburg Cleveland Detroit Detroit De De- troit or Cincinnati should be suddenly stung by the professional football bug and a a. league formed Do you vou think it would Rould lose money This has been the question on that has always stood in the way of the thea formation n of a professional I league ague together with the doubt that the Ue I same game could be exploited successfully on onal ai al professional o basis IS But fet the success c of f the Canton team and many others in even smaller cities which p pay Y surprisingly large salaries to tot players has set men like Stoneham to tot I t t thinking The major league parks stand c empty and gloomy for the e most part during dur dur- P tug ing C the football F season e lr Opportunity rr f t tur ur to tomake tomake make a big and popular game out of professional pro pro- professional pro pro-I football is kno knocking ing for atten atten- tion ton Some of these days daS the door will be he opened wide great team with the Indian II himself I as the outstanding star was composed of or Chamberlain Nebraska rowe T Fordham Buck Blick Wisconsin Pierce Michigan Feeney Notre Dame Spears Dartmouth Corcoran Geor Georgetown rigs s. s Texas Calac West Virginia Tech and Wesleyan Guyan Guan Georgia other players of wide reputation who made their marks on the gridiron during durin their collegiate days Such a team would draw monster crowds in every city of i size and six or eight teams of e equallY JUf brilliant caliber could easily be recruited N M Of course it would be necessary to take means to prevent one or two clubs from cornering too many of the outstanding stars and a a. professional proCessional club playing league football would need more players than the average club of today carries But this could be bo worked out in a satisfactory satisfactory satis satis- facto factory manner It would have to be beso 50 so before a football league could be j successfully successfully suc suc- operated |