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Show A MONG other somewhat tangled snarls the war department is facing a tough problem regarding sport for 1943. It is easy enough ana simple enough to say that sport will be abolished. '"This would be a bad thing," a high-ranking high-ranking officer tells me. "We need sport for future physical fitness, for revenue and for morale. There is no sense in solving headaches by cutting off heads. If And we'll have plen- GrantlandRice ty of headaches." "There is a very good chance that before 1943 arrives all our big league ball players, our professional football players and our college football players will be drawn into some branch of the service. We . need too many men. Being mar ried or having dependents won't help those between 20 and 45, especially es-pecially those who are physically fit, as most athletes should be. "There is little use in building up a sporting nation if these men can't be used in time of war for active service." Looking Ahead "What will happen to competitive sport?" I asked. "I'm referring largely to baseball and football." "Sport will have to get along with what it has left. There won't be any stars left on the professional side. I don't think there will be many stars left on the amateur side for college football either. There may be few big spectacles of any sort or none at alL" But that doesn't' mean all sport will be thrown overboard. That would be a serious mistake. With a draft limit fixed between 18 and 50, something almost certain cer-tain to happen, with more and more married men drawn in even those with families it is difficult to see now how the two major baseball leagues or the professional football leagues can operate after 1942 has slipped over the hill. Men physically physical-ly equipped to play hard games are the ones that are needed above all other types. What will be used to fill in the huge gaps is another guess. The College Side . College football may run into the same tangle. The season just ahead will be one of the most spectacular in football history. There will be far more men playing more games, when you include the different service serv-ice teams. But with the growing need for men, especially young man power, the colleges will get a terrific raiding. raid-ing. Which is the way it should be. On a general average to find the best type of man power we must look to youth to those between 18 and 30. So far as war and training for war is concerned, the best years range between 18 and 25. No one but a complete idiot can gamble on this being a short war. Suppose it isn't a short war, which few who should know think it will be? In that case the younger men, the athletes, will be among those who can help most. I saw a big chunk of the present German army in hard training around Berlin in 1936 during the last Olympic games. Kids by the thousands 12, 13 and 14 years old marched mile after mile up to 15 miles a day. No matter what the game, youngsters young-sters must be caught and trained early in order to reach any real heights. Training Plan There should be some plan for training and developing boys around 13 or 14 or 15 in this country today. Those to whom I have talked in the army and the war department in general agree with this. These youngsters will be a vital part of our service in case the war lasted five or six years. Not forgetting the force that will be needed-after the war is over. An athlete might be no better than one who was never cast in any athletio test. But he should be. Not ln the matter of courage, but along the line of physical condition and trained muscles in co-ordination and endurance. This country has been shy In leg strength and leg stamina for a long time. The place to start now is at far younger ages, and some war plan must be worked out to meet this vital situation. There never has been a bettei coach than Bob Zuppke to get set for one vital contest. Fritz Crisler, Michigan's able leader, discovered this when he happened hap-pened to say that Tom Harmon was better back than Grange ever was. That was all Zuppke needed. Using this as his theme in a series of blazing oratorical sorties, Zuppke had his team so steamed up by 5ame time that Harmon could find no exits. Buy War Bonds |