Commerce High School - Commerce Yearbook (Cleveland, OH)

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Sljr (Srnnm (6arnr MARCH the first was a great day for the basketball team: great because victory made us another visit on that day; and great because of the fun we had on our first out-of-town game. On that day the team took a trip to Geneva to play the so-called “Geneva Hayseeds.” To say that we were almost scared to death at the sight of the town marshall “Uncle Zeke” would put it mildly. No sooner had the manager of the Geneva team taken us from the station to the armory, than he, the town marshal, made his presence felt. He informed us that we would have to behave ourselves in a way that would be satisfactory to him or we would be made to feel the hand of the law as administered in that town. We were to walk along the street without making any noise and we were to keep away from the girls of the Geneva High School. The thing that impressed the boys most was his enormous badge, which glistened like the moon and resembled our neighboring plauet Mars in size. When we entered the armory to practice a short time before the game started, we noticed that the girls of the town sat in one part of the armory and the boys in another. The girls did the rooting and the boys did the yelling for our blood. On one side of the hall the village notables were seated on a stage, and they included everybody from the mayor to the truant officer, the last of whom, afterwards played an important part in one of the scenes. The notables became as much excited as the boys and the girls, as the game went ou. and they also became thirsty for our blood. To emphasize this they showed the boys a little old fashioned cheering. It was about ten minutes after the game started that the marshal was given a chance to show the town officials and voters that they had elected a man that would stand for home interests. Mr. Evans called time, so as to talk to the referee about one of the rules and as the Geneva team was still scoreless, the marshal thought that he would help them to score by not letting the referee explain the rules; so he marched out on the floor and ordered the coach off under the penalty of arrest if he disobeyed. The village lads applauded this act with great gusto and the marshal threw out his chest as if he had actually succeeded in capturing a great burglar. Zak had his head injured and the truant officer put in a bid for fame by escorting him to the doctor for repairs. The shedding of blood seemed to have a maddening effect on the crowd for they yelled for the death of a few of our boys. The Geneva team had a colored man to rub them down before the game but he was a “hoodoo” rather than a help, and after the game he told us the reason his team lost was because the star of the team played only thirty-five of the forty minutes it took to play the game. As a side issue to this scene in real country greatness we succeeded in trouncing the “Hayseeds” to the tune of 18 to 13, and in consequence we left town in a joyful state singing all the way home. LIONEL RUSSON, 1913. 97

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Sankrt Sail § rljpbulr Date, 1912. Score. Jan. 5............II. S. C..............16 West .................... 7 Jan. 12.............H. S. C..............24 Glenville................ 8 Jan. 19.............H. S. C..............25 East.................... 12 Jan. 26.............H. S. C..............11 South.................... 9 Feb. 2.............H. S. C..............11 Central ................. 5 Feb. 9............II. S. C..............25 Tech ................... 28 Feb. 16.............H. S. C..............11 Lincoln ................ 17 Mar. 1............II. S. C..............17 Geneva ................. 12 Dec. 15 (1911)........H. S. C........•....... 7 Faculty ................. 8 Total ...................................147 106 LINE-UP. Weintraub (Captain) Broz............... Russon ............ Zak ............... Lebowitz........... Hilberer, Twitchell . Thomas Albertson .. Right Forward .Left Forward ...... Center . .Right Guard Left Guard .........Subs .....Manager ®ljr Sootrra' (fllub NEVER before was such spirit shown in Athletics and Debating as that displayed this year. Some credit for this school spirit is due, of course, to the winning teams we placed in the field, but a great part of the credit is due to the Rooters’ Club. On Thursday, January the eleventh, at the call of Mr. Ross Baxter, the first meeting of this Club was held in the auditorium, at which yells, new and old, were rehearsed. For the way he handled the fellows through the yells, Ross deserves much praise. The writer knows that a good yell, from his side of the fence, goes a long way towards victory, for it instills a certain desire to forge ahead, inspired by the knowledge that one is well backed. Ross will be with us next year and it is hoped the Rooters’ Club will again be able to cheer a winning team on to victory. THOMAS V. MURPHY, Editor. 9«

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Basket Ball (Same—iFarulty us. Harsitg UPON entering the home rooms on December 14, 1911, attention was attracted by an encircled sign in one corner of the blackboard, which read: “Watch this space, tomorrow.” Of course all the pupils were anxious until tomorrow came, for they wished to know what was going to take place. The first thing the pupil had in mind, upon his arrival at school the next day, wa,s to go to his home room and look for the empty space. All were surprised at reading, “Scrape up fifteen cents for Friday.” But the secret had spread all over the school when this announcement was made, for the pupils knew, by intuition it seemed, that it would not be anything except a basket ball game. The students reasoned that as the basket ball season had not yet opened, this must be the Faculty and. Varsity game. The reasoning was good, and it took place on December 21, 1911, at 4:00 P. M., immediately after school. The effects of last year’s game between Faculty and Varsity brought about a decided change in the time of playing, the Faculty team, seeming afraid of ill luck, decided to alter their time of play from Tuesday to Friday, so that in case of a second defeat, they would not be noticed the next day, as would be the case had they scheduled the game for Tuesday. As if a flock of sheep were scared away by a wolf, there was a rush and a tumble for the Gymnasium door, for everyone wanted to witness this grand game. After all had settled down in their seats and the atmosphere had cleared away, the game began. Among the varsity men were, Capt. Weintraub and Bros, forwards; Rus-son, center; Zag and Lebowitz. guards; while Hilberer and Twitchell were substitute men. The players picked from the faculty were: Mathematic Mc-Myler and Civic Weber, forwards; Coach Evans, center; Physical Director Warfield and Music Tutor Manville, guards; Shorthand Harrison acted as first assistant referee to Coach Evans. Dr. Dutton had been called upon to act as first aid to the injured and the last man to be signed up on the team was Chemical Harsh, as chief water boy. During the interval of time that had elapsed between the assigning of teachers to their respective positions, and the time of play, there had been set up by the Faculty team excluding any of the Varsity representatives, a new code of rules governing the game. After the game, the Varsity team demanded from Mr. Harrison an explanation regarding the change of rules. Suspicions were aroused from the fact that the Faculty had induced the referee to stay in the Gymnasium office and to refrain from talking to any of the Varsity players. The one hundred and fifty spectators present, were astonished to see the Faculty arrayed in last year’s Varsity basket ball togs, and in the meantime, the present Varsity men had got. in return, each a new suit. Mr. Manville furnished all the comedy necessary to make every one hold his sides. He insisted on grappling w ith his opponent, even when Referee Har- 08