Cook, in the box, is a new man, and promises to develop into a strong pitcher. He is liable to be wild at times, but grows steadier at critical points of the game. He bats well and he runs well. Noyes, at first, is very strong on high throws, but muffs badly on grounders. His throwing is only fair, but he handles the stick pretty well. McKelvey, at second, is a veteran, and is keeping up to his old standard. He still retains his old fault, however, which is a very bad one, of stepping back from the ball when he is batting. This is a fatal weakness for a man who hopes to become a hard hitter. He slides well, but does not run quite fast enough around the bases.
Decrow, r.f. Cook, p. Noyes, 1 b. Coy, l.f.
Fincke, s.s. Camp (Capt.), 3 b. Warner, c.
McKelvey, 2 b. Parton, c.f.
HOTCHKISS SCHOOL BASEBALL NINE.
Fincke, at short-stop, is a good athlete, and comes from good athletic stock. He is a cousin of the quarter-back of last year's Yale team, and he has only recently made a record for himself by winning the Yale Interscholastic Tennis Tournament. This is his first year on the team. He throws and fields well, but bats only fairly. He is slow on the bases, but has the promise of an excellent ball-player. Captain Camp, at third, is steady both in fielding and in throwing. He bats well, but would have a better average if he were not constantly trying to make home runs. He is a good base-runner, but his responsibilities as captain have somewhat weakened his all-round work.
Coy, in left field, is another new man who has also done well on the tennis-court. He is sore on high flies, but unreliable on running catches. He does not throw well, and his batting is only fair, whereas his base-running is open to great improvement. Parton is also new to the team. He is not sure of line drives, and would be an excellent thrower if he could cultivate accuracy. He is good on the bases. Decrow is probably the best fielder on the team; he covers more ground than any of the others, and shows good judgment on flies. He throws better than he did last year, and his batting is improving, but he needs a good deal of coaching on base-running and sliding.
The Fourth Annual Interscholastic Meet of the Illinois high-schools was held at Champaign on May 16, and the banner went to Rockford H.-S. with 23 points, Englewood High, the favorite, coming second with 21 points. But as the bicycle-race was protested, and has gone to the L. A. W. for final decision, Englewood may yet attain the title of champion.
On account of heavy rains in the morning, the events were postponed until afternoon, and considering the heavy track, the performances were very creditable. A dark horse, Machin of Duquoin, took a good many points away from Englewood in the sprints, and proved a surprise to the knowing ones. These dashes and the mile run were the most interesting events of the day, although the quarter-mile afforded a spirited finish. The field events were fairly well contested, but the wet condition of the turf hindered the hammer-throwers considerably, and many fouled repeatedly.
The list of events is one of the most acrobatic and non-athletic that I have seen for a long time. It included such events as the high kick, which must have been an imposing event to watch on an athletic field, and a hop, step, and jump; the standing broad jump, a quarter-mile bicycle-race, and a 50-yard dash. Of course there is no special objection to the last two events in themselves, although they are not recognized as standards for interscholastic field days in this part of the country, or in any place where track sports have become thoroughly systematized. But there is an objection to them when they are put on the programme to the exclusion of such standard events as the hurdles.
Some of the performances in the standard events, however, were above the average. The mile was run in 4 min. 46-2/5 sec.; the 100-yards was taken by Machin in 10-2/5 sec.; the quarter went to Egbert in 53-1/5 sec.; Martin ran the 220 in 23-3/5 sec.; and Hutchinson cleared 20 ft. 3 in, in the broad jump. The score by points follows: Rockford, 23; Englewood, 21; Hyde Park, 11; Duquoin, 10; Chicago English High and Manual Training, 9; Peoria, 9; West Aurora, 8; Urbana, 8; Canton, 7; East Aurora, 6; Champaign, 6; Springfield, 5; Mattoon, 5; Chicago Manual Training, 5; Macomb, 5; Jacksonville, 5; Lake View, 4; Winnetka, 3; Tuscola, 3; Pekin, 1.