Crítica
- South American Athletics Congress Approved a Definition of “Amateur”
- In Chile It Is Believed Uruguay Will Not Grant the Rematch
- He Tried to Enter the Tiger's Cage, but the Beast Drove Him Back Brutally
Crítica's page of 27 October 1926 reported that the South American athletics congress had adopted the latest amateur definition approved at the Prague congress. It also heard an account of the case of Chilean distance runner Plaza: his government had offered him money that he never collected, and the money sat in a bank in his name while the rules remained unsettled. A special report from Chile said Uruguay's Mr. Gómez had left an Argentine proposal for a football rematch to an emergency committee in Montevideo, and that informed opinion expected it to be refused. An Associated Press wire from Houston described a North Dakota parks official who was badly mauled inside a tiger's cage until the zoo superintendent shot the animal.
Translation
South American Athletics Congress Approved a Definition of “Amateur”
(Agencia Austral)
As to the definition of the word “amateur,” the latest definition, approved by the International Federation at the Congress of Prague, was accepted. Muller explained at length what had been considered the professionalism of Plaza, the Chilean distance runner. A sum of money that the Chilean government offered to Plaza was never received by this amateur, and the money is currently deposited in a bank to the athlete's order. The case has not yet been legislated on, and there is no doubt that it constitutes a new aspect of the difficult question of professionalism.
In Chile It Is Believed Uruguay Will Not Grant the Rematch
(Special for CRITICA)
Mr. Gómez repeated that the matter was left to the Emergency Committee in Montevideo, and that he would take charge of carrying out whatever measures were decided. It has also become known that three matches were being proposed, to be played in Valparaíso, Buenos Aires and Montevideo. The general impression among those qualified to give an informed opinion is that the Argentine proposal to hold a rematch between the Argentines and the Uruguayans will not be accepted.
He Tried to Enter the Tiger's Cage, but the Beast Drove Him Back Brutally
(Associated Press)
HOUSTON (Texas), 27. — Mr. C. A. Wilson, superintendent of parks of Minot (North Dakota), fought a desperate struggle against a ferocious tiger while shut inside its cage, and was saved from certain death by Hans Nagel, superintendent of the zoological garden of this city, who shot the beast dead after it had gravely wounded Wilson. The incident occurred while Wilson was making a tour of inspection accompanied by Nagel
Context
What the 1925 Prague congress laid down about amateurs
Crítica reports that the South American athletics congress accepted the “latest definition” of an amateur, approved at the Congress of Prague by “the International Federation.” The Prague meeting on record is the Technical Olympic Congress held from 29 May to 4 June 1925. It had 94 delegates, representing the IOC, 24 national Olympic committees and 17 international federations. Earlier congresses had left the definition of an amateur to the individual sporting federations, but Prague agreed a minimum condition. It barred professionals, and it also barred anyone who had been paid for time away from work in order to practise sport, the so-called broken-time clause. A rule this broad helps explain why money offered by a government to a runner could be described as a question of “professionalism,” even though the paper insists the money was never received. The paper credits the definition to the International Federation, while the Prague record describes an Olympic congress at which the federations took part. These sources do not show whether athletics' own federation separately adopted the same text.
Why Manuel Plaza's eligibility mattered to Chile
The runner at the centre of the dispute is Manuel Plaza, Chile's dominant distance runner of the decade. He grew up working as a newsboy and later credited that job with developing his athletic abilities. In April 1926 the South American Championships in Athletics were held in Montevideo. Plaza won four gold medals at each of the 1924, 1926 and 1927 editions, so a ruling that he was a professional would have taken Chile's strongest athlete out of regional competition. Crítica's report leaves the matter open: the government's money lay unclaimed in a bank in his name, and the case had “not yet been legislated on.” These sources do not record a formal ruling. They do show that Plaza competed again at the 1927 championships and went on to win a silver medal in the marathon at the 1928 Amsterdam Olympics, Chile's first Olympic medal. That record suggests his amateur standing survived the controversy.
The Argentine rematch proposal followed a defeat by Uruguay in Santiago
Chile hosted the 1926 South American football championship from 12 October to 3 November. On 24 October, Uruguay beat Argentina 2–0 and drew level with them on points at the top of the table. Crítica's special report from Chile, printed three days later, describes the aftermath. It says an Argentine proposal for a rematch between Argentines and Uruguayans was circulating, with three matches suggested for Valparaíso, Buenos Aires and Montevideo, and that informed opinion in Chile expected Uruguay to refuse. The tournament then went Uruguay's way. On 1 November, Héctor Castro scored four goals against Paraguay and Uruguay won the title with four wins in four matches. Uruguay therefore had little sporting need to grant Argentina a second chance outside the championship.
Who “Mr. Gómez” probably was
The report names only “Mr. Gómez,” the man who referred the rematch question to the Emergency Committee in Montevideo and promised to carry out whatever it decided. The leading Uruguayan football official bearing that name was Héctor Rivadavia Gómez, whose second, maternal surname it was. He was a journalist, a Colorado Party politician and a director of the Uruguayan Football Association, and he created the South American football confederation, CONMEBOL, and served as its first president. A man in that position would naturally defer to his association's governing body in Montevideo rather than answer for it himself. The identification rests on his name and role; the excerpt does not give his full name.
Original
EL CONGRESO SUDAMERICANO DE ATLETISMO APROBO UNA DEFINICION DEL “AMATEUR”
Respecto a la definición de la palabra " amateur ", se aceptó la última definición, aprobada en el Congreso de Praga, por la Federación Internacional. Muller explicó ampliamente lo que se consideraba el profesionalismo de Plaza, corredor de fondo chileno. Una suma de dinero que el gobierno chileno le ofreció a Pla: z nunca fué recibida por este aficionado, y el dinero se halla actualmente de [?] ositado en un Banco a la orden del atleta. El caso no la sido aún legislado, y no hay duda que constituye un nuevo aspecto de la difícil cuestión del profesionalismo.
EN CHILE SE CREE QUE URUGUAY NO DARA EL DESQUITE
El Sr. Gómez repitió que el asunto quedaba librado al Comité de Emergencia de Montevideo, y que él se encargaría de ejecutar las disposiciones que se tomasen. Se ha llegado a saber también, que se proponían tres partidos a jugarse en Valparaíso, Buenos Aires y Montevideo. La impresión general, entre los que están autorizados para opinar con conocimiento de causa. es que la propuesta argentina para la realización de un match de revancha entre argentinos y uruguayos, no será aceptada.
QUISO ENTRAR EN LA JAULA DEL TIGRE; PERO ESTE LO REPELIO EN FORMA BRUTAL
HOUSTON, (Texas), 27. - Mr. C. A. Wilson, superintendente de parques de Minot (Dakota Norte), ha sostenido una desesperada lucha contra un feroz tigre. encerrado dentro de la jaula de éste, siendo salvado de una muerte segura por Hans Nagel, superintendente del Jardin Zoológico de ésta, quien mató a tiros a la bestia, después que ésta había herido de gravedad a Wilson. Ei hecho se produjo mientras Wilson realizaba una jira de inspección acompañado de Nagel
Source: Source: Internet Archive / Biblioteca Nacional de la República Argentina