BOXING TEAM OPPOSED BY MOORE AND SHEVLIN

Both Major F. W. Moore '93, graduate treasurer of the Athletic Association, and Coach Shevlin expressed their disapproval of making boxing an intercollegiate sport at Harvard yesterday when interviewed by a CRIMSON reporter.

"Boxing is liable to be too much tainted by professionalism," said Major Moore. "As soon as it is made an intercollegiate sport prominent boxers get mixed up with professional fighters in Boston and the real sport element is lost."

Would Mean Much Smaller Squad

"Furthermore," Major Moore continued, "under the present conditions well over 200 men take part in boxing, and Coach Shevlin is able to give them all his attention. If the sport were made intercollegiate he would have to concentrate in developing just a few boxers to form the team, and those who were not good enough for the team would receive less attention. The crowd at a fight is apt to be obnoxious, yelling not so much for the college as for a good scrap. Newspaper accounts of intercollegiate boxing are exactly like the write-ups of professional pugilistic combats. Each bloody detail is vividly described and emphasis is laid on all the more unpleasant parts of the bout. In this way the sport of boxing is lost."

A dozen or so men were shadow boxing as the reporter entered the boxing room of the Hemenway Gymnasium. "Three days a week I have an average of 115 men boxing here, and the other days about 40," said Coach Shevlin. I am sure that I would have excellent material for a team, but I am against having this sport made an intercollegiate one.

"If a boxing team were established," the coach said, "boxing would become too important in the lives of the members of the team. I know from experience that when boxing gets a hold on a young man he cannot get it out of his mind. If this happened boxing would lose its place in the college, which is merely that of a form of exercise and physical development. It should at all times be subordinate to the academic work."

Would Cause Individual Enthusiasm

"Another argument against its being made an intercollegiate sport is that the idea of a team would give way to enthusiasm in certain outstanding individuals Too much competition is also bad for the members of the team. A professional boxer knows when he has had enough, but a young college fighter will come back for more again and again. The latter has so much energy that he does not know when to stop."

Mr. Shevlin had one suggestion to make about the present system. "I think," he said, "that there should be about three tournaments each year instead of just one, so as to give the boxers more incentive."