| Pratt Institute, 18—High-School, 0. |
| Pratt Institute, 66—Adelphi, 0. |
| Pratt Institute, 26—St. Paul's, 0. |
| Pratt Institute, 24—Poly Prep., 4. |
| St. Paul's, 36—Poly Prep., 0. |
| St. Paul's, 18—High-School, 0. |
| High-School, 18—Latin School, 0. |
| High-School, 16—Poly Prep., 12. |
| Poly Prep., 20—Latin School, 10. |
Adelphi forfeited to all except Pratt Institute; and Bryant and Stratton's forfeited to everybody. The Latin School forfeited to Pratt Institute and to St. Paul's. Poly Prep. was the only team to score against Pratt Institute.
Matters of importance have been occupying the New York Inter-scholastic Athletic Association's attention for the past two weeks. These matters are of importance not only to students of the New York schools immediately interested in the questions in dispute, but also to all readers of this Department who favor cleanliness and honesty in school sport. Space will not allow me to go very fully into the questions that came up for decision at the two meetings of the N.Y.I.S.A.A., recently held here and fully discussed in the daily papers; but I shall try to touch broadly enough upon the principles involved to make the resulting lesson of service even to those who may not be familiar with the details of the two cases. The N.Y.I.S.A.A. this fall found that it had two difficult matters to settle. One of them was a charge brought by the rector of Trinity School against the head-master of Barnard School, accusing him of calling upon and personally asking a member of Trinity School to leave that institution and to accept a free scholarship at Barnard. The purpose of this inducement was said to be that Barnard wished thus to add to the strength of her football team. At the meeting of the committee intrusted with the task of deciding whether or no these charges were justified, Barnard School was represented by a lawyer, two teachers, and a stenographer, and doubtless with a very strong defense, because the committee after a protracted session decided to dismiss the complaint. The second question that the Arbitration Committee had to pass upon was the protest against Ehrich, of Harvard School, filed last spring by De La Salle.
The Ehrich matter is already familiar to readers of this Department, for I touched upon it at the time the protest was made in June. It will be remembered that in the game for the championship of the New York League in baseball, Ehrich caught for Harvard in spite of the fact that De La Salle claimed he had no right to play, having been a student at the College of the City of New York. Harvard School won that game, and as a result the pennant was subsequently awarded to them. At the recent meeting of the Arbitration Committee to decide the question of fraud on the part of Harvard, this school claimed that the association had already legally awarded the championship, and that therefore no further action could be taken. De La Salle, on the other hand, contended that they had protested Ehrich before the final game of last year, and showed that he was ineligible to the Harvard team because of having been enrolled the previous autumn in the Freshman class of a college.
According to the constitution of the N.Y.I.S.A.A. any violation of the rules is fraud. There is a rule which says that no one having attended a college may thereafter play upon a school team. De La Salle therefore charged Harvard School with being guilty of fraud, and tried to have the question settled last spring. Three attempts were made to have the protest decided. The first time there was no quorum present; at the second meeting the Condon delegates left the room, refusing to pass on any question of fraud; at the third meeting, on June 19th, the championship was awarded to the Harvard School; but from all I hear, the voting was carried on in a most questionable and peculiar manner. I hope there is no truth in the report that clerks from the drug-store located in the building were brought in as delegates, to make a quorum, and voted as such.
When the question came up before the Arbitration Committee last week, De La Salle claimed that, according to the constitution, charges of fraud must be referred not to the Executive Committee of the I.S.A.A., but to an Arbitration Committee, which is an entirely different body. De La Salle also asserted that their delegates had never been notified of the meeting at which the championship was awarded, and that even had they been notified they could not have been present because their school closed a week before. After a long debate Harvard School was found guilty by the Arbitration Committee of violating the constitution and, consequently, guilty of fraud.
The penalty for fraud is expulsion from the Association. Harvard now cries that it has been unfairly treated, and the principal of the school has stated in the newspapers that he will withdraw his school from the Association. This, of course, he cannot do, because Harvard has charges pending against her, and under these conditions resignation is out of the question. The action of the Arbitration Committee in thus stamping out the least semblance of professionalism in the Association cannot be too highly commended. Last year the N.Y.I.S.A.A. was run almost entirely by a few schools, and there was a great howl against "ring politics" from certain quarters. The outsiders formed themselves into a "reform party," and early this fall selected the men they chose to have represent them in the Executive Committee of the Association, nominated these men, and elected the entire ticket. It is to be hoped that this "reform party" will stick to its determination to keep scholastic athletics in New York clean and honest, and absolutely free from even the slightest rumor or suspicion of professional tendencies.
If the managers of New York school athletics cannot do this, if they cannot keep the professional spirit out of sport, they had better disband their elevens and their nines, rather than make sport a farce and a masquerade for dishonesty. A commendable step in the "house-cleaning" now going forward is the revision of the constitution.
The most interesting, most scientific, and most important game of the Boston season was that played Thanksgiving morning between Boston Latin and English High Schools, before three thousand spectators. English High pulled out the game, and thus won the championship with a clean score of victories. The Latin School played desperately, realizing that to win the game meant to tie English High for the championship.
After an exchange of kicks at the start, English High took the ball at the centre of the field, and worked it over the line for the only score of the game, without losing it. It was brilliant, hard, irresistible playing that did it, and it won the game. It was the best football that has been seen in the League this season. The only thing to be compared to it is the game that Boston Latin played from that moment until time was called. Latin forced the playing, after that fatal touch-down, until the end. English High was on the defence throughout. But that defence was so good that Latin, with an attack far better than it has ever shown before, was unable to score. Three or four times Latin carried the ball to the five-yard line of their opponents, only to be held for downs, and see the ball kicked safely down the field. The play on both sides was of the surest and most satisfactory order. There were no flukes to regret, no incompetent officials to turn the result of the game.