Outdoor Sports and Games Part 21

This game is known to every one by name and yet its simple rules are often forgotten. A couple of dozen bean bags are made in two colours of muslin. The players stand in two lines opposite each other and evenly divided. At the end of the line is a clothes basket. The bags are placed on two chairs at the opposite end of the line and next to the two captains. At a signal the captains select a bag and pa.s.s it to the next player, who pa.s.ses it along until finally it is dropped into the basket. When all the bags are pa.s.sed they are then taken out and pa.s.sed rapidly back to the starting point. The side whose bags have gone up and down the line first scores a point. If a bag is dropped in transit it must be pa.s.sed back to the captain, who starts it again.

Five points usually const.i.tute a game.

BEST COLLEGE ATHLETIC RECORDS

These records have been made in the Intercollegiate contests which are held annually under the Intercollegiate Amateur Athletic a.s.sociation of America.

100-yard dash 9-4/5 seconds made in 1896 220-yard dash 21-1/5 seconds made in 1896 440-yard dash 48-4/5 seconds made in 1907 Half-mile run 1 min. 56 seconds made in 1905 One-mile run 4 min. 17-4/5 seconds made in 1909 Two-mile run 9 min. 27-3/5 seconds made in 1909 Running broad jump 24 feet 4-1/2 in. made in 1899 Running high jump 6 feet 3-1/4 in. made in 1907 Putting 16-pound shot 46 feet 5-1/2 in. made in 1907 Throwing the hammer 164 feet 10 in. made in 1902 Pole vault 12 feet 3-1/4 in. made in 1909 120-yard high hurdle 15-1/5 seconds made in 1908 220-yard hurdle 23-3/5 seconds made in 1898 One-mile walk 6 min. 45-2/5 seconds made in 1898

BLIND MAN'S BUFF

This game is played in two ways. In each case one player is blindfolded and attempts to catch one of the others and to identify him by feeling. In regular blind man's buff, the players are allowed to run about at will and sometimes the game is dangerous to the one blindfolded, but in the game of "Still Pon" the one who is "it" is turned several times and then announces, "Still Pon no more moving,"

and awards a certain number of steps, which may be taken when in danger of capture. After this number is exhausted the player must stand perfectly still even though he is caught.

BULL IN THE RING

In this game the players form a circle with clasped hands. To be "bull" is the position of honour. The bull is supposed to be locked in by various locks of bra.s.s, iron, lead, steel, and so on. He endeavours to break through the ring by catching some of the players off their guard. He will then run until captured, and the one who catches him has the position of bull for the next game. In playing, it is customary for the bull to engage one pair of players in conversation by asking some question such as "What is your lock made of?" At the answer, bra.s.s, lead, etc., he will then make a sudden rush at some other part of the ring and try to break through.

CALL BALL

In this game a rubber ball is used. One of the players throws it against a wall and as it strikes calls out the name of another player, who must catch it on its first bounce. If he does so he in turn then throws the ball against the wall, but if he misses he recovers it as quickly as possible while the rest scatter, and calls "stand," at which signal all the players must stop. He then throws it at whoever he pleases. If he misses he must place himself against the wall and each of the others in turn has a free shot at him with the ball.

CANE RUSH

This contest is usually held in colleges between the rival freshman and soph.o.m.ore cla.s.ses. A cane is held by some non-contestant and the two cla.s.ses endeavour by pulling and pus.h.i.+ng and hauling to reach the cane and to hold their hands on it. At the end of a stated time, the cla.s.s or side having the most hands on the cane is declared the winner. It is a very rough and sometimes dangerous game and in many colleges has been abolished on account of serious injuries resulting to some of the contestants.

CANOE TILTING

This is a revival of the ancient game of tilting as described in "Ivanhoe," except that the tilters use canoes instead of horses and blunt sticks in place of spears and lances. The object is for the tilter to shove his opponent out of his canoe, meanwhile seeing to it that the same undesirable fate does not fall to his own lot. In singles each contestant paddles his own canoe with one end of his pike pole, but the sport is much greater if each canoe has two occupants, one to paddle and the other to do the "tilting".

CAT

A small block of wood pointed at both ends is used in this game. The batter strikes it with a light stick and as it flies into the air attempts to bat it with the stick. If the cat is caught the batter is out. Otherwise he is ent.i.tled to a score equal to the number of jumps it will take him to reach the place where the cat has fallen. He then returns to bat again and continues until he is caught out.

COUNTING-OUT RHYMES

Almost every section has some favourite counting-out rhyme of its own.

Probably the two most generally used are:

"_My mother told me to take this one_,"

and that old cla.s.sic--

"_Eeny, meeny, miny, mo._ _Catch a n.i.g.g.e.r by the toe;_ _If he hollers, let him go._ _Eeny, meeny, miny, mo._"

This is also varied into

"_Ena, mena, mona, mite._ _Pasca, laura, bona, bite._ _Eggs, b.u.t.ter, cheese, bread._ _Stick, stock, stone dead._"

The object of a counting-out rhyme is to determine who is to be "it"

for a game. As each word is p.r.o.nounced by the counter some one is pointed at, and at the end of the verse the one last pointed at is "it."

COURT TENNIS

This game, though very similar to rackets and squash, is more scientific than either. The court is enclosed by four walls. A net midway down the court divides the "service" side from the "hazard"

side. The rackets used in court tennis have long handles and a large face. The b.a.l.l.s used are the same size as tennis b.a.l.l.s, but are heavier and stronger. In play, the ball rebounds over the court and many shots are made against the roof. While somewhat similar to lawn tennis, the rules of court tennis are extremely complicated. The game is scored just as in lawn tennis, except that instead of calling the server's score first the marker always announces the score of the winner of the last stroke.

CRICKET

A game of ball which is generally played in England and the British provinces, but which is not very popular in the United States. There are two opposite sides or sets of players of eleven men each. At two points 22 yards apart are placed two wickets 27 inches high and consisting of three sticks called stumps. As in baseball, one side takes the field and the other side is at the bat. Two men are at bat at a time and it is their object to prevent the b.a.l.l.s from being bowled so that they will strike the wickets. To do this a broad bat is used made of willow with a cane handle, through which are inserted strips of rubber to give greater spring and driving power. The batsman will either merely stop the ball with his bat or will attempt to drive it. When the ball is being fielded the two batsmen exchange wickets, and each exchange is counted as a run, and is marked to the credit of the batsman or striker. The batsman is allowed to bat until he is out.

This occurs when the ball strikes the wicket and carries away either a bail, the top piece, or a stump, one of the three sticks. He is also out if he knocks down any part of his own wicket or allows the ball to do it while he is running, or if he interferes with the ball by any part of his person as it is being thrown, or if one of the opposing players catches a batted ball before it touches the ground, as in baseball.

When ten of the eleven men on a side have been put out it const.i.tutes an inning, and the side in the field takes its turn at the bat. The game usually consists of two innings, and at its completion the side having scored the greater number of runs is the winner. The eleven positions on a cricket team are called bowler, wicket-keeper, long stop, slip, point cover-slip, cover-point, mid-off, long-leg, square-leg, mid-on. The one at bat is, as in baseball, called the batsman. The two lines between which the batsmen stand while batting are called "popping creases" and "bowling creases."

CROQUET

A game played with wooden b.a.l.l.s and mallets, on a flat piece of ground. The game consists in driving the ball around a circuitous course through various wire rings called "wickets" and, after striking a wooden peg or post, returning to the starting place. Any number may play croquet either independently or on sides. Each player may continue making shots as long as he either goes through a wicket, hits the peg or post, or hits the ball of an opponent. In this latter case he may place his ball against that of his opponent and, holding the former with his foot, drive his opponent's ball as far as possible from the croquet ground. He then also has another shot at his wicket.

A croquet set consists of mallets, b.a.l.l.s, wickets, and stakes and may be bought for two or three dollars. Experts use mallets with much shorter handles than those in common sets. They are made of either maple, dogwood, or persimmon. In place of wooden b.a.l.l.s, champions.h.i.+p and expert games are often played with b.a.l.l.s made of a patented composition. All croquet implements are usually painted in bright colours. The game of "roque" is very similar to croquet.

Croquet can be made more difficult by using narrow arches or wickets.

Hard rubber b.a.l.l.s are more satisfactory than wood and also much more expensive.

As a rule the colours played in order are red, white, blue and black.

According to the rules any kind of a mallet may be used, depending upon the individual preference of the player.

CURLING

An ancient Scotch game played on the ice, in which the contestants slide large flat stones, called curling stones, from one point to another. These points or marks are called "tees." In playing, an opportunity for skill is shown in knocking an opponent out of the way, and also in using a broom ahead of the stone as it slides along to influence its rate of speed.

At the present time the greatest curling country is Canada. Curling is one of the few outdoor games that are played without a ball of some kind.

DIXIE'S LAND

This game is also called "Tommy Tiddler's Land." It is a game of tag in which a certain portion of the playground is marked off as the "land." The one who is "it" endeavours to catch the others as they invade his land. When a player is tagged he also becomes "it," and so on until the game ends because all the invaders are captured. The game is especially interesting because of the variety of verses and rhymes used in various parts of the country to taunt the one who is "it" as they come on his land.