The management of a pedestrian match of whatever kind is by no means an easy matter, and one that increases in difficulty with the magnitude of the prizes involved. Large prizes are sure to attract numerous competitors, and large crowds of spectators generally follow the athletes. Every year sees a number of athletic games held in our large cities, such as New York, Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Cincinnati or St. Louis, but it is safe to say that not ten per cent. of these are even fairly carried out, while most are sad scenes of confusion. In New York city the only club that gives thoroughly satisfactory exhibitions is the New York Athletic, and the only well-conducted six-day matches involving more than two competitors have been the Astley and O'Leary Belt matches.

This statement involves a short account of the difficulties incident to a large pedestrian match or athletic meeting.

The troubles arise from two causes, numerous competitors and numerous spectators. These require a numerous staff to attend to their wants and prevent disorder and waste of money.

Let us first take the spectators. To bring them in is the ambition of every man or club that gives a match. To do so requires that the entertainment shall be well and plainly advertised; and it is not every one who can draw up an advertisement properly. The daily papers must be visited by the managers to secure notices in the news columns; and the walls of conspicuous buildings must be lined with show-bills, setting forth the place and date of the show, with the price of admission. Every bill should contain this information, but a great many amateur club bills do not contain it.

Having attracted the people, the next thing is to admit them in such a way that no one shall get in without paying or on a complimentary ticket, and that the tickets shall act as a check on the money-takers' accounts. We have seen amateur shows where the man at the door took money and tickets indifferently, so that the managers were entirely at the mercy of his honesty. It is therefore absolutely necessary that two persons should be at the door, one to take the tickets, the other to sell them, and no person should be admitted except by a ticket of some sort. The tickets should, as fast as received, be dropped into a box with a slit at the top, the box to be locked and the manager to have the key. The tickets sold at the office should be of different color from the complimentaries, of which the manager should be sole custodian.

At the "counting of the house" the ticket-box is unlocked, the tickets carefully counted, and the result shows how much money ought to be in the box-office. In a six-day match, where the receipts are very large and constantly accumulating, it is usual to have two sets of ticket-takers and box-office men, and to count the house morning and evening.

In large matches, too, the managers are sometimes obliged to change the shape, color and appearance of their tickets from day to day, to avoid the introduction of forgeries, while detectives are necessary to watch the ticket-takers for fear they may be in collusion with the box-office man.

Within the house, if there are any reserved seats, it is necessary to have ushers to direct the holders of coupons to their proper places, but reserved seats are not much in favor at walking matches.

In large matches where there is a great mixed crowd, the attendance of the police is frequently advisable to prevent attacks on competitors by the backers of men opposed to them. Had it not been for the police, Rowell and Hazael would have both probably been severely hurt, if not disabled for life at the last Astley Belt match.

With regard to the competitors, the duty of the management is confined to giving them a good track, air as pure as possible, with responsible scorers and timers. Their quarters and diet are matters for their own attention, and depend on the finances of each. It has become customary to set up tents for all competitors in a six-day match round the inside rail and opening on the track. These tents are in fact preferable to huts of board, unless the weather is very cold indeed, but they should be provided with camp stoves in case it becomes necessary to give the competitor a warm bath, as frequently happens.

The duties of the management as regards a good track for a six-day match have already been explained. It is also their duty to see that a sufficient force of scorers and timers is on hand. Where the competitors are few this is not difficult, but where there are fifty or more it demands great care to prevent confusion. In a six-day match it is usual to have twelve relays of scorers, volunteers from the various athletic clubs who take every alternate twelve hours from Monday to Saturday inclusive.

The system of scoring adopted and used at the late great walk in Madison Square Garden was a great advance on all previous efforts and could hardly be excelled for simplicity and accuracy. There were sixty competitors, and each had to be recognized and scored eight times for every mile, or four thousand times in five hundred miles, in such a manner that there could be no mistake as to his identity. To effect this result the following were the arrangements:

Each competitor carried the number of his entry in figures a foot long on his left breast, and they were started in sets of four or six, to each of which was given a special timer and scorer. It was the timer's business to watch for his numbers and no one else's, and to call them out every time they came by the stand. Behind him sat the scorer with his book, and it was his business to make a mark against each number as called by the timer, columns being ruled for that purpose in the book. Thus each man attended to his business, without any temptation to increase or diminish his scores.

Besides attending to the scoring of the competitors, the management owes a duty to the spectators of announcing the results of that scoring through the varying fortunes of the race. This is generally done by means of a large blackboard, whereon the names and scores of the leaders are chalked up, so that every one can see them; but where the competitors are numerous this will not serve for all, and another method is taken at the scoring stand where each man has his name on a placard two feet long, underneath which are placed two more placards one bearing the word "miles," the other the word "laps." Before each of these is a vacancy where a number can be hung, and each name has a man to attend to it, whose duty is to move the "mile" and "lap" numbers as they change. In the last match dials with pointers were substituted for the cards, with the advantage of increased simplicity.

So much for six-day professional matches, which are the best managed as a rule. Something remains to be said about amateur walks and runs, because they are subject to much mismanagement. The New York Athletic Club is in fact almost the only organization in the metropolis that gives thoroughly enjoyable entertainments, because they are properly managed.

The reason of the trouble at most amateur matches is that the competitors are not kept in proper discipline, but are allowed to run over the management, violate rules, interfere, argue, protest and grumble, till the managers lose their heads in the confusion. The first thing for the managers of an athletic meeting to do is to make a set of rules that will cover all conceivable cases, and then to stick to them, and no better example of such rules can be given than those of the New York Athletic Club, which will be found in a later chapter.

The troubles generally arise in questions of time and precedence among a large number of walkers, for it is in square walking contests that the dispute generally occurs. There may be fifty or more men at the scratch and all or most have walked fairly enough till near the finish, when they have tried on their most knowing tricks to cover up a run and get in first. It is here that the experience and temper of the judges are most severely tried. They may have to rule out as many as three or four men and give the first prize to a man who crosses the score third or fourth, and this is a difficult thing to do without appearing unjust.

The competitors in such matches must always wear numbers to save confusion, and the scorers and timers have less work than in a six-day race.

"Timing" a man correctly requires two men; one to hold the watch with his thumb ready on the stop looking at nothing else; the other to watch the man and call out "stop" as he crosses the line. No man can do timing single-handed. He is sure to make mistakes from disturbance of mind on account of divided attention.

For the convenience of those without practical experience in conducting athletic meetings we print an additional chapter containing the most approved rules, to which we refer the reader.