Show PORTS aa 1 FOA released by western newspaper union TN N A recent piece dealing with frankie top college football player of 1942 who signed recently with the detroit lions we wa were guilty of underestimating the educational and cultural aspects ol 01 the national football league we said that there have been plenty of big names in college ranks who failed in their professional careers in fact most of the top professional fessio fess ional naI teams consist of individuals who never bothered going to college we were wrong just how wrong is proved by a gently remonstrative letter from george strickler able director of public relations for the league his correction since dick left the bears several seasons ago there has not been a single player in our league who has not had three years of college football experience this fall a number of promising youngsters whose experience had been limited to high school fo football went to the various camps and as far as I 1 know now pending a final check on the approved rosters there is only one left all other players now active in the league have been to college last year 91 per cent of our players had college degrees we apologize to the erudite players of the national league however we were never never guilty of underestimating their football playing abilities footballs future further word comes from maj john L griffith commissioner of athletics for the western conference who is exceedingly optimistic concerning the future immediate and distant of college football college foo football iball according to major griffith has bas been kicked around since pearl harbor by peacetime enemies and other seu self appointed pallbearers pall bearers but has survived its various acid tests with flying colors ile he feels that the 1943 season is destined to be one of the most successful cess ful according to major griffith footballs greatest victory since since the united states entered the war has 4 4 E MAJ JOHN L GRIFFITH been over influences both within and without colleges that would banish the game from the american scene even in peacetimes many of the old peacetime arguments against football have been revived since pearl harbor major griffith recalls one of the fallacious arguments of the opposition was that if a handful of boys were not allowed to play in intercollegiate competition such as football basketball ket ball track and baseball more students would get a chance to participate in widespread intramural activities the old argument since pearl harbor this argument has popped up to show that if football which admittedly conditions varsity team members were abandoned on an intercollegiate scale more of the men students awaiting call by the armed forces would benefit physically from intramural sports the argument is no better in wartime than it was before the war such schools as michigan minnesota indiana purdue and others athers which are carrying on their intercollegiate schedules have intramural programs just as comprehensive it if not more so than schools which have abandoned intercollegiate programs the give the game back to the students cry is little more than sound and fury it is recalled that at harvard university where 1943 intercollegiate football was dropped students organized their theira own teara team and challenged yie yale |