Show speaking of sports F its itis t two strikes A and i out at the old 01 ball game gam by ROBERT mcshane EPLER former high STEPHEN t school sell ool teacher who introduced si six x man an football to nebraska in 1934 1 has abbreviated another game T this his time the illustrious mr epler has kicked off three baseball players from the regular nine and has introduced six man baseball he saw it demonstrated demonstrate d recently an and d was more than satisfied with what he saw those who saw the game admitted readily that it looked like a lot of fun but were a little cent in their praise spectators said very plainly that it exactly baseball that bother epler who more or less agreed with them he introduced the game to please the players not the fans his abridged game he says is designed to give each player more action the spectators can take care of themselves for one thing the game require the space ordinarily used by a regulation nine its ideal for restricted TWO outfielders PITCHERS BOX I 1 I 1 I 1 strict ed areas youngsters who adequate playground facilities will find it much easier to play this new brand of baseball edlers new playing field has also eliminated one base first second and home bases are located in a triangle 90 feet apart the pitchers box is exactly the same distance from home plate as in the regular game one outfielder is eliminated due to the fact that with only three bases the foul line area in the outfield is lessened considerably the two foul lines start from home plate at an angle of 60 degrees instead of the usual 90 de gree angle the two players have little trouble in covering that limited area A pitcher a catcher and a man at first and second complete the team batting 0 rules chan changed 0 ed I 1 radical changes have been made in batting rules each batter is allowed only two strikes and four outs retire a side this was done in order to give each player more action with only half a dozen batters and four outs each inning every player gets about twice as many trips to the plate as in the usual game epler has inaugurated another radical change fouls coun count t only as half strike because the batter hits into a much narrower area it is his thought that the narrower fair hit area together with one less strike eventually will make for better regulation baseball players sharpening their batting eye an and improving their accuracy with only two strikes players cant afford to take many chances the game is also designed far for softball teams the only change is is in base lengths go 60 feet for softball instead of the usual 90 feet epler also suggests that players rotate positions after every putout butout that mandatory but was sug in order that each player might get his turn at catching pitch ing and other favorite positions same old game six man baseball anything new kids have been playing it for f or years its really the same old makeshift game played in back yards and vacant lots glorified with a set of official rules what epler intended with so many un der manned teams it is far better bett er to have them guided by definite regulations should his new baseball game prove as popular as six man football epler will have every reason to be proud his football game is five years old this fall and is showing a healthy consistent growth about 2500 high schools are playing the game this year which is 1 S equal to twice the total number 0 of f college football squads edlers ideas are sound and constructive tive his aim has been to introduce sports which can be played by smaller schools unable to promote big teams whether hether due to man power or finances I 1 |