The Question: Why are small towns and cities usually better football towns than New York? (Asked at a meeting of the N.Y. Touchdown Club)
CLARENCE E. ELDRIDGE, Camden, N.J.
Executive vice president Campbell Soup. Co.
"Because small communities develop a greater loyalty per capita. When I was at Michigan, we had 5,400 in the university and not more than 15,000 inhabitants in Ann Arbor. A highly loyal following developed. Today, Michigan sells out its stadium, 97,000, at least four times a season."
GEN. RODNEY H. SMITH
U.S. Army (ret.) Captain at West Point, 1907
"There are fewer distractions in a small city, in fact, almost none. And there's no large football stadium in New York. Even so, New Yorkers would support college football if it were big time. Inadequate as is Yankee Stadium, built strictly for baseball, the Army-Notre Dame game filled it."
HENDERSON E. VAN SURDAM
Chairman of the board N.Y. Touchdown Club
"The greatest city in the world has no great football stadium. With a great stadium, we could stage the biggest football games. Baseball prospers because we have good baseball parks. It's hard to believe that in New York City, Columbia University has the only representative football team."
BOB HALL
Former athletic director Yale University
"New York is a wonderful town. There's a great deal of competition for one's spare time. Only the really big games will draw here. A very large city cannot create college football atmosphere. New York colleges haven't been able to support their teams and have dropped them, one by one."
ELMER OLIPHANT
Former star Army halfback
"Because New York is not a college town. In football, there's no substitute for campus life and the college rally. NYU and Fordham gave up. Now Brooklyn College, which hadn't won in 29 straight games, has finally dropped the sport on account of injuries and a lack of skilled players."
CLIFF MONTGOMERY
Captain, Columbia's 1933 Rose Bowl team
"Unfortunately, less than a third of New York's public high schools play football. That's where football enthusiasm should begin. Columbia is the only major college that plays. Our sports pages are full of baseball right into October. More publicity would stimulate and help New York football."
HERMAN HICKMAN
Si's football expert
"Because there's more civic pride in a small town, where sports fans know their players intimately and enjoy rooting for them. In a big city, there's such a mixed-up mass that knows so little about sports in general that it is almost impossible to educate and interest them in college football."
RAYMOND L. REEVES, Garden City, N.Y.
Operations manager
"New York City is too big and impersonal. I live in a small school district which supports Sewanhaka High School. My taxes help support school athletics, principally football. Everyone in our school district is proud of our team and thousands flock to the games. That doesn't happen in New York."
CENTURY MILSTEAD
President, N.Y. Touchdown Club
"New York's school athletic facilities are poor, so that our kids don't get the proper high school spirit that leads to college spirit. In New York, there's little interest in Saturday high school games because of competition from other events. Why not play on Sunday when parents can go with the kids?"
ART FRENCH
Captain at Harvard, 1928
"There isn't the intense college spirit in New York that exists at typical college towns. Nevertheless, some years back when Ford-ham and NYU were playing outstanding teams, they drew great crowds. Army v. Notre Dame was always a sellout, in spite of an inadequate Yankee Stadium."
JACK MOHR
Vice president N.Y. Touchdown Club
"New York used to be a good football town. Then the Army-Navy game moved to Philadelphia because we have no good stadium, and Army and Notre Dame called it quits. NYU gave up the ghost and Fordham couldn't make the game pay. So the great mass of fans in New York lost interest."
ILLUSTRATION
ELEVEN PHOTOS
NEXT WEEK'S QUESTION:
How do you feel about the use of motorized carts on golf courses?