From Photographs taken of W. O. Hickok, Yale '95, Champion I.C.A.A.A.A.

W.O. HICKOK.

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Throwing the hammer and putting the shot are the only two weight events now practised by college and school athletes, although many of the athletic clubs still retain the putting of the 56-lb. weight on their cards. The last-named, however, is merely a sort of exaggeration of the second, and only practicable for very large and very strong men. The welfare of amateur sport will never suffer if the art of throwing the weight should be entirely lost, for there is nothing particularly interesting in the practice, and success in it is more largely due to beef than to skill. With the other two events it is different. Strength, of course, is a prime requisite, but to attain perfection in either of them the performer must combine skill with muscular power.

The inter-collegiate rules which govern the throwing of the hammer require that the hammer-head shall be a metal sphere; and the handle may be of any material. Up to within three or four years the handle used to be made of hard wood, but recently athletes have shown a preference for a flexible steel handle. The combined length of the head and handle must not exceed four feet, and the combined weight must be sixteen pounds. The hammer is thrown from a circle seven feet in diameter. In making an attempt a competitor may assume any position he pleases, but he must not step outside of this circle. In a contest each competitor is allowed three throws, and the best three men in the first trial are allowed three more throws. The measurement of a throw is made from the nearest edge of the first mark made by the head of the hammer to the point of the circumference of the circle nearest this mark. There are three kinds of fouls in hammer-throwing, which are not measured, but which count against the competitor as throws. They are: letting go of the hammer in an attempt; touching the ground outside the circle with any portion of the body while the hammer is in hand; or touching the ground forward of the front half of the circle with any portion of the body before the throw is measured.

The pictures on the opposite page are reproductions of instantaneous photographs, taken especially for Harper's Round Table, of Mr. W. O. Hickok, the Yale and Inter-collegiate champion. Mr. Hickok learned to throw the hammer when he was at St. Paul's School, Concord, and held the championship there while he was in school. He used to practise twice a day, half an hour each time, until he became a thorough master of the instrument. His experience taught him that it was necessary to assume the easiest possible position when at work with the hammer, so as to give the muscles the fullest play. When the hammer is thrown around the head it should be kept as far as possible from the body; the arms should not be bent nor the muscles tightened, and the shoulders should be allowed to move as easily as possible. Perhaps it will be easier to explain the method by following the illustrations in their numerical order.

First, the athlete steps into the ring holding the hammer, the head resting on the ground outside the circle. He secures a firm grasp on the handle, leaning over so as to keep the head as far away from his body as possible. The second picture shows the hammer just as it is being lifted from the ground to be whirled around the head. It is plain to see that the arms are holding the instrument as far from the body as possible. As the heavy ball gains in velocity, it stretches out so that the arms and the handle form a straight horizontal line from the shoulders. The fourth and fifth pictures demonstrate the attitude of the performer at various stages of the first two whirls of the hammer. The motion at the start is slow, and becomes gradually faster and faster, so that the top speed shall be reached just about as the athlete is ready to turn.

It is the usual custom to throw the hammer three times around the head before turning. The sixth picture shows this turn. When this act is performed the hammer should be kept well behind, and the thrower should try to move his feet around as fast as he can, and never under any consideration should he allow the hammer to get ahead of the motion of his body; he must keep it following on behind, or else the hammer will throw him, instead of his throwing the hammer. The reason given for jumping around on the last turn is that a man, when proficient in this trick, can gain about twenty-five feet on his throw. It is the Irish method of throwing a hammer, and has been in use over there for several hundred years. The Scottish way of throwing, still in use in Scotland, is to stand still. This used to be the method in vogue in this country, but within the last ten years the A. A. U. adopted the Irish method, and two years ago the Inter-collegiate Association followed suit. A man who has become accustomed to throw from a standstill has some trouble in getting accustomed to the turn, but as soon as he has caught the knack of the twist he will greatly prefer it over the old method.

The seventh picture shows the moment just previous to the final heave when the hammer is to be let go. This should not be done with a jerk, but the stick should be allowed to slip from the hands at the proper moment, otherwise any jerking will destroy the momentum obtained. The last picture shows the attitude of the thrower after the hammer has left his hands, the weight of his body being thrown backward so as to prevent him from stepping out of the circle.

The hammer is thrown from a restricted circle in the United States in order to make the event more scientific. A strong man with very poor form might make an excellent throw some time if he were allowed to follow it and go where he liked in his efforts. The circle prevents this go-as-you-please method, and makes it necessary for athletes to acquire form; it also gives a definite place to measure from, so that there can be no dispute as to the exact distance for the measurer to lay off. In England amateur athletes use a thirty-foot circle; this gives them a great advantage, for the more turns you can take before throwing, the greater momentum you can get into your throw. The Englishmen use a 3-foot-6-inch handle, which is a disadvantage to them, since the centrifugal force is lessened as the square of the distance from the centre. If athletes used a longer handle than the one accepted in America, which is 4 feet long, they could not throw the hammer so well as they do now, unless the performer were of unusual stature, because the head of the hammer would touch the ground in the first few turns and at the final lift.

Mr. Hickok throws better in games than he does in practice, although he practises hard and continuously when training for an important match. His record for throwing the hammer is 135 feet 7½ inches. At an early date we shall devote some space to comment and illustration on putting the shot.

The Constitution of the National Interscholastic Athletic Association as printed in these columns last week is incomplete in many minor details, as I stated at the time, for the copy sent to the Round Table immediately after the convention of December 28th was merely a rough draft. The Executive Committee are now copying and revising this first draft, and as soon as their work has been finished we shall try to offer it in its completed form to the readers of this Department.

It is very probable that a great many flaws will be found in the constitution, even when it has been completed and revised by the committee. It should be kept in mind, however, that when the delegates gathered last month at the first convention, they had no material to work on; yet they succeeded in establishing themselves. Now, we have an organization and a constitution. We have something to go by, and a goal in view. Wherever experience shows that the makers of the constitution have been at fault, let us make a little mark, and at the next meeting let us suggest remedies. A year from now the association ought to be on such a firm basis that nothing can interfere with the success of its aim. It is very gratifying to feel that so very much indeed has been accomplished.

While speaking of suggestions, it may not be out of place for this Department to make one at once. At first thought, it seems as if the date for the field meeting—the last Saturday in June—has been placed a little too late in the season for the general convenience. This may not be so; the makers of the constitution may have discussed this question thoroughly, and may have concluded that the last Saturday in June is best suited for the occasion. The schools of this city close late in May or early in June. That is one objection for New York and Long Island. A second and more important objection is that the college examinations are usually held the last week in June, and unless I am greatly mistaken, the final ones come on that very Saturday. This is at least a matter for the executive committee to investigate. It is fortunately, too, a matter that can be very easily remedied.

It is deeply to be regretted, just as we are congratulating ourselves over the formation of a National I. S. A. A., that we must also announce the failure of the plans made for an Eastern trip by the Oakland High-School, of California. One of the officers of the California Association writes to me as follows concerning it:

"We have had a lot of trouble with the faculty in regard to that trip, and as they are opposed to it for several reasons, we have reluctantly desisted from raising money, and, I am sorry to say, we will not come East next summer. We should have had in the bank about a thousand dollars by Christmas if we had been allowed to proceed with our plans. As it is, we have several hundred dollars, which we will doubtless find some use for."

And so end, for this year at least, the hopes and ambitions of our California fellow-sportsmen. We all regret that this must be so, and knowing how great the interest of Eastern scholastic athletes has been in this proposed visit, I feel warranted in devoting space to the letter from the O.-H.-S. faculty to the Oakland Board of Education which put an end to the trip. It fully explains the situation:

"In view of the fact that quite recently a new phase of athletics in the High-School has made its appearance, and as the results are already proving detrimental to the interests of our pupils, we consider it to be our duty to express to you our views upon this subject.

"We deem it to be not only unwise but positively injurious to the proper prosecution of the studies of our pupils that they should give repeated entertainments for the purpose of raising a fund to defray the expenses of some of their number to visit Eastern cities to engage in competing athletic games. As we are informed, at least two entertainments have been given already, and others are in contemplation. All this requires considerable time and thought, and if an argument were necessary to convince you that this means a serious interference with the school duties of all who engage in these entertainments, either in taking an active part in their public performances or in selling tickets for them, we have in evidence the statement of some of our number that already several of the pupils thus actively engaged have materially deteriorated within the last three weeks.

"We fully realize that the relation we sustain toward the citizens of Oakland who so generously support the High-School, and toward the pupils we are required to instruct, demands that we zealously guard the interests of those placed under our care. Deeply impressed with this fact, we cannot see anything, however important it may be in itself, precede that for which the High-School is organized and supported.

"The High-School is part of the educational department of our city, and is under the supervision of the Board of Education. We believe it should be fully recognized that neither the name of the High-School nor any of its interests should be used for any purpose whatever without the sanction of the supervising board.

"We furthermore wish to express our entire disapproval of having any one visit the East, for the purpose contemplated, in the name of the Oakland High-School.

"We do not wish it to be understood that we are in any degree opposed to athletic sports when kept within reasonable bounds; on the contrary, we encourage them, and are pleased to see our pupils interested in them. We believe, however, that their place in our school should be secondary. When they aspire to a first place and seriously interfere with the proper work of the school, we consider it to be our duty to enter an earnest protest."

Our nearer neighbors in Iowa, however, have as yet met with no obstacle to their joining the N. I. S. A. A., and the president of the association writes to me from Clinton that "the people of Clinton are awake more than ever since the article in Harper's Round Table of December 24th. It came just at the right time. Our first entertainment will come off about the last of the month, and we expect to clear $400. The State Delegates' meeting is to be held at Muscatine, Iowa, Friday, January 3d, and at that meeting our interests in the National Association will be talked of. I was greatly disappointed in not being able to have a delegate at the National Interscholastic meeting, but the notices came too late to hear from all the schools of the Association. You may depend upon it, however, that if everything goes on as smoothly as it does now, Iowa will have a team at the National Meet." It cannot be urged too strongly upon the officers and the Executive Committee of the National Association to enter into communication at once with all the associations that they can reach.

The standing of the Junior League of the New England Interscholastic Football Association, as given in these columns on December 31st, shows the relative positions of the teams before Dedham High played off the tie with Hyde Park High. To make the record complete, the final standing of the teams is here added:

GamesGamesPointsPoints
won.lost.Tied.won.lost.
Somerville High.50110610
Newton "4116932
Chelsea "3206674
Dedham "3202442
Roxbury Latin3308241
Hyde Park High.1502292
Roxbury High.060670

The formation of an Interscholastic Polo Association in Connecticut puts an additional event on the list of competitive sports for the winter, and for that reason it should be welcomed. It is a healthy exercise out-of-doors, and is the best kind of sport to develop good skaters. The schools that have thus far joined the League are the Hill-house High, Bridgeport High, New Britain High, Hartford High, and Meriden High schools, and it is probable that the New London schools will come in too.

The game of ice polo is a simple one, and ought to find favor wherever there is a frozen pond or river. The rules of the sport may be found in almost any book of sporting regulations, but, briefly, the principle of the game is as follows: There are two teams, of five men each, playing against each other. The players are called first and second rushes, centre, half-back, and goal. There is usually no limit placed upon the size of the field (ice-field, of course), although commonly it is marked off from fifty to seventy-five feet in length, and about half as wide as it is long.

The officials consist of an umpire and a referee, or frequently of an umpire only. The referee has duties similar to the official of the same name in football—that is, looks after the ball, calls goals, brings the ball in when it is driven out of bounds, etc. The umpire looks after the men, calls fouls, etc. The ball is placed in the centre of the field, and at a signal the first rush of each team skates toward it, the second rush following immediately. As soon as one of the first rushes touches the ball it is in play, and every other man has the privilege of knocking it.

The object of each side is to get the ball into the opponents' goal. Each goal counts one for the side making it. As a general thing the aggressive work is done by the first and second rushes, and the defensive by the half-back and goal. The regulation ball is three inches in diameter; the polo sticks are about 3 feet 6 inches in length, or according to the taste of the players. Fouls consist of tripping, hitting, and pushing an opponent, kicking the ball with the foot by any player except goal-tender. The penalty for fouling is a goal added to the opponents' score. Space prevents giving a more detailed description of the game, but I shall cheerfully answer any questions that the readers of this Department may wish to ask.

In the All-New-York Football Team, published last week, I committed the error of mentioning Mr. Carey as a member of the Columbia Grammar School eleven. Mr. Carey played with the Hamilton Institute team.

The Graduate.