Needham
NeedhamIt did not take me too long to pick up the tone Needham was using throughout his article. Needham's tone was one of great annoyance and frustration. Needham wanted the entire nation to know what was going on in college athletics. Most importantly he wanted his message to reach those who could make a difference, like important political officials and wealthy, �honest� alumni. Needham�s message was, enough special treatment to athletes and eliminate the sneaky recruitment tactics used on the young men attending prepratory schools. Needham gets his point across by using actual examples of young men receiving special treatment, as well as the schools providing this treatment. The names Needham refers to are unfamiliar to me and therefore have less of an impact on me as I read. I can only imagine the impact an article of this magnitude would have using the names of today�s college athletes.
Needham�s real life examples are his most convincing source by far. The readers of the time could put a face to the name. People knew of William Matthews and James Hogan and put their faces to their names when they read Needham's article. It would have the same effect on our time if an article suddenly emerged revealing that Tradjen Langdon and Rickey Williams were playing professional ball in Europe under assumed names and getting paid for it. The public would be outraged. Needham acquired his information first hand; he uses actual quotes from his sources. He also uses letters written by the athletes and trainers of the time. The use of example evidence such as actual letters written by athletes is very convincing. Throughout his article Needham wants to convince his readers that college players are playing summer ball under assumed names and getting paid for it. He produces a letter written by the manager of the summer nine to Walter C. Clarkson, the Harvard captain. �Such a pitcher (referring to Clarkson) would be used most liberally here-in fact, he could almost have anything he wanted, and he would be protected in the matter of privacy concerning any arrangement.�...
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