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Show ' 'TPHE widest gap between college s- and pro football this fall wil involve the financial side. The colleges should play to the largest crowds they have evei w .. known, all at tor , prices and reduced I A expenses, if even ) f Par of e Sanitj f J Code works out. ' f The pros, due tc ' the knockdown and A. drag-out, cut-your- I I roat competition I r 1 between the Nail Na-il ,t --i tional and the All-Grantland All-Grantland Rice America confer-l confer-l ence, can easilj lead to a financial debacle. I don't believe more than one, possibly pos-sibly two, of the A. A. C. teams car break even. At least four or five will take a drubbing that runs from $300,000 to $500,000 in losses. Cleveland, Cleve-land, San Francisco and New York might break even, or make a little. In the National league, the losses will be nothing like those in some A. A. C. cities, but due to much heavier pay-roll expenses, ex-penses, there will be few profits. The National league grabbed most of the college stars of 1947 Lujack, Conerly, Connor, Layne, Evans, Gilmer, Minisi on and on. The A. A. C. passed up the stars, although al-though Chappuis must be rated one of them. The Chicago Rockets, caught between be-tween the Bears and the Cardinals, two great teams, may take the heaviest financial socking. Possiblj a $500,000 touch. The Brooklyr Dodgers, opening to 16,000 wheo they needed 30,000 to break even-badly even-badly beaten in their opener maj take the next dipping, at $300,000 oi $400,000. The National league is luckier in having such teams as the Giants, Bears, Redskins, Eagles, Ea-gles, Packers, Steelers, etc., established in cities where they have been planted for years. George Marshall of the Redskins is sold out in advance each season although George and many footbal writers are not exactly on speaking terms. As long as Mr. Marshal doesn't care, why should anybodj else bother? He has a monopolj that also won't make much monej in this football war. Tim Mara and George Halas have had the two richest franchises They should have. They built u; pro football. They've been on the job 27 years. There is certainly a place for two big leagues. But in many ways the new league was badly arranged and badly directed as its $4,000,000 losses prove. What will happen, nobody knows But it may not be pleasant readini for anv stockholder in either league |