Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 11, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 January 1915 — ALL-STAR TEAMS ALL BUNK, SAYS STAGS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

ALL-STAR TEAMS ALL BUNK, SAYS STAGS

Coach A. A. Stagg of the University of Chicago gives an enumeration of some of the greatest Maroon football players and at the same time hotly rebukes the custom of newspapers selecting all-star elevens in a lengthy contribution to the Daily Maroon, the university student daily paper. The coach catalogues Des Jardien, Shull and Russell as three of the best Chicago. players of the year, and lists Des Jardien and Russell with the football immortals of the Midway school. In discussing the custom of selecting all-star elevens at the close of the annual football season Director Stagg states that “there is no person living who is qualified to make a selection of even an all-conference team, let alone an all-western or all-American eleven. This, according to the coach, is because the newspaper writers are likely to overlook the work of players oh defense for the men who are constantly carrying the ball. An error often made by sport writers. "Bunk," is the term used by the coach to describe most of the football writing, as well as "four-fifths of the baseball Stuff.” r “All coaches who have had much experience know that it is only by close watching of their own candidates through days of practice that they can

fully determine who are best qualified to fill the different positions, and to concede that it is possible for any newspaper man who is busy creating his story to be able to do justice in the selection of an all-conference or all-western team, after seeing some of the teams, or even all thd teams in action, throughout the season, is most preposterous. "A statement gives the Impression that Captain Des Jardien had not played up to the standard of last year. This in my opinion was not true. Because of his being invaluable, I took the precaution of changing his defensive play in three pf the big games by using the guards to occupy the central defensive position on shifted formations, while he took the place of guard. Under this plan he was safeguarded from carrying th 6 burden of the work. 1 feel that Des Jardien so far surpasses the other centers that the University of Chicago has had that no former player will feel hurt when I say he stands first and foremost in the position. “There have been three great quarterbacks on the University of Chicago teams, and Pete Russell is one of them. Furthermore, in my opinion, he easily classes up with Eckersall and Steffen.”

Pete Russell, Maroon Quarterback.