FRANKLIN SATTERTHWAITE, a genial sportsman, a good fellow, and a journalist whose pen ofttimes described the sports and pastimes he loved so well, died September 16, at his home in Newark. Mr. Satterthwaite was among the best known writers on field sports in this country. He was the son of John B. Satterthwaite, who married Miss Duane, a daughter of the celebrated W. J. Duane, Secretary of the Treasury during Andrew Jackson’s presidency. Franklin Satterthwaite was brought up in Philadelphia. The name of Franklin descended to him from his great grandfather, Benjamin Franklin. He had a wide circle of friends. His place will be missed among the men who love outdoor sports, for Franklin Satterthwaite was not only an enthusiast in their pursuit, but his ready pen never flowed so freely as when recounting some exciting or interesting adventure of flood or field. May his name continue as green in the memory of those who knew and loved him as the sod which covers his grave!
THE DISSENSIONS IN THE ATHLETIC WORLD.
IT is a matter for regret, that just at this season the National Amateur Athletic Association and the Amateur Athletic Union should be at daggers’ points with each other. It is to be deplored particularly now, when a visiting organization is here, three thousand miles from home, to engage in contests for championship honors. That the main object the two great organizations of amateur athletes have in view is praiseworthy is not for a moment put to question. It is to be presumed that both are influenced by a similar idea—the purification, or the attempted purification, of the athletic arena from the taint of semi-professionalism.
Young men who interest themselves in outdoor amusements belong to one of two classes—the amateur or the professional. Strange as it may seem, it is not so easy to draw the line between the two. The gentlemen, however, who are in a position to pilot the course of the great athletic bodies, and frame the rules for their government, certainly ought to be able to discriminate. A man who interests himself in athletic sports is either an amateur or a professional. He either goes in for pastime or sport; for the love of it, or for the gain it affords him; the badge or medal for the one—the purse for the other. The lines between these two are so strongly marked that a blind man can feel them. There is, however, a class of men who have crept into the amateur ranks which requires careful watching. We refer to those who are neither amateurs or professionals, but for want of a better designation may be classed as “professional amateurs.” These men will not enter the professional arena for purses, but they do not hesitate to become members of amateur clubs under questionable conditions. Men who devote nearly all their time to training on the cinder track, on the river, on the bicycle path, or in the baseball field, and who do not pay club dues, or who have their club dues paid for them, are tainted with the worse taint of professionalism. To pit one of these men against the amateur enthusiast, who goes in for outdoor sports for the pure love of them, is manifestly unfair. He has no chance to distinguish himself, if he feels so inclined, against such odds. It also discourages other younger amateurs from making a trial in the public contests. To protect the honest amateur athlete, the genuine lover of sport, against the tricksters who, under the guise of amateurs, do nothing else but hang about club-houses, and who are encouraged because they are “smart”—“smart” in more senses than one—is an accomplishment worthy of any great body. If this is the knotty problem which lies directly at the base of the difficulty between the two great central bodies of American amateur athletes, it ought not to be a difficult one to solve; but on the other hand, if it is a desire on the part of one to carry out a policy of rule or ruin, the sooner an understanding is arrived at the better. We have invited both the National Association and the Amateur Athletic Union to state their cases fairly in the pages of OUTING, and we await their action without further comment.
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THE FOOTBALL SEASON.
THE season of football just inaugurated gives every evidence of being an active one. The interest in the game has increased to such an extent in the last few seasons that the sport has rapidly advanced to a leading position among the outdoor amusements of this country. The recent victories of the Canadian team in England and Scotland, too, have given an additional impetus to the game with the sturdy young men across the border. If the promise of the preliminary preparations produce good fruit the present season of football here and in Canada will be a most exciting one.
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