The Twenty-Fifth Round Still Counts
There is a temptation to report a long boxing contest as though only its conclusion mattered. Rube Ferns and Mysterious Billy Smith occupied twenty-five rounds before the judges supplied their unanimous answer. Ferns won fifteen rounds by the majority of their cards, Smith ten. All three judges preferred Ferns at the finish. An afternoon of that length is not adequately described by writing merely that no knockout occurred.
Ferns receives the Historic honour for sustaining his advantage through the whole distance. Athersmith’s three goals in Villa’s six-to-three victory and Walker’s three in Albion’s six-to-one success are worthy alternatives. So are the contributions which decided the week’s hockey contests. An editorial choice is useful only if its reasons are stated; it need not pretend that all other performances have vanished.
Villa’s match deserves particular notice. Blackburn recovered from three down to draw level, only for Garraty and Athersmith to restore the visitors’ command. There is a small lesson there for anyone inclined to confuse a recovery with a conclusion. The ball insists upon being played again after the crowd has reached its preferred verdict.
Saturday supplied twenty-eight football results across several competitions. The three Cup replay decisions carry January twentieth dates even though the editor received them earlier. They therefore enter this week’s account. The First Division, Second Division, Scottish leagues and Inter-City competition retain separate tables. A crowded page is no excuse for putting everybody’s points into the same purse.
Morton’s six goals include four assigned to an unresolved centre-forward observation labelled Oswald in the match book. We print the performance with its limit intact. A name upon an estimated selection does not establish a historical career identity by itself. Enthusiasm is welcome in a sporting newspaper; certainty ought to arrive with its papers in order.
Montreal contributed the week’s closest argument upon the ice. The Shamrocks trailed the Victorias at the interval, scored three times in the second half and won by three to two. Tansey supplied the deciding goal. Across the border, Brooklyn won by one and St. Nicholas by three. Each deserves its own account, even when a twelve-goal fictional spectacle has borrowed most of the larger type.
The fourth regular issue closes a third complete week. Some sports have no fresh finish to report; several historical appointments remain held for preparation. Their silence is preferable to a result supplied merely to fill a column. The next sporting week will provide enough uncertainty of its own.