The Question: Robert M. Hutchins, former president of the University of Chicago, says that pro football will eventually kill the college game. Do you agree?
ELIZABETH CRASTER, New York, N.Y.
Writer
"Yes. Many college games are boring. The pros play slick, fast football. When I was at the University of Pennsylvania, it seemed to me that the football stars were not there to study. I'm glad to see Penn deemphasize. We belong in the Ivy League, not with the big teams out west."
PERRY SMITH, Locust Valley, N.Y.
President
Board of Education
"Yes. In the TV game of the week, the players play like pros. I'm sure they are pros. But they can't compete with the great teams in the professional league. College football can survive only if there is a sensible de-emphasis. The public will support the college game if it is an amateur sport."
ASA S. BUSHNELL, Princeton, N.J.
Commissioner
E.C.A.C.
"No. Pro football has gained full stature without lessening the popularity of the college game. Indeed, in this period, college football has enjoyed some of its most successful seasons. There are enthusiastic followings for both branches of the sport and they have remarkably little overlap."
ADMIRAL J. H. (BABE) BROWN, USN, Ret.
President
Football Hall of Fame
"No. Football has too firm a hold on communities, colleges and alumni. The Army and Navy believe in football as a developer of men. The Football Hall of Fame is more than a building. We plan as its main function the strengthening and improvement of college football."
GEN. JOHN R. KILPATRICK, New York, N.Y.
President
Madison Square Garden
"Hutchins is wrong. Education must be all-round. Football teaches lessons a man will never get in the classroom. The game is a must for colleges. I love pro football. And I love the college game which I played at Yale. I'd never give up the college game for a pro contest."
JULIA CHERRY, New Orleans
Tulane University
Cheer leader
"No. People like college football because it is spirited and colorful. It's more than just a test of which set of boys is bigger and faster. A student or alumnus loves his team. He's a part of it. I've never heard of a pro team with that kind of appeal. I wonder if Dr. Hutchins could cheer at a rally."
JIM LEE HOWELL, Lonoke, Ark.
Coach
N.Y. Football Giants
"No. The pros play in 12 cities. And only on Sundays or Saturday nights. We do not compete with colleges for attendance. And we won't sign a player until his class has graduated. The pros must have college football as a source of material. It's like a vast farm system without the overhead."
GEORGE P. MARSHALL, Washington, D.C.
Owner
Washington Redskins
"No. That would be the end of all football. College football is an essential. It creates loyalties and good fellowship. It is responsible for the college rally. Boys don't rally behind a debating team. Anyone trying to destroy football helps to destroy the American way of life. That includes Hutchins."
EIGHT PHOTOS
ILLUSTRATION