238 Union Bay 



shades of gray, and their legs of pinkish, yellow, or yellowish- 

 green, which told me that all of our common gulls— the her- 

 ring, the short-billed, the ring-billed, the California, and the 

 glaucous-winged— were present. 



If this had been a practice day for the football squad, the 

 space back of the athletic pavilion and to the south of the 

 road would have offered more proof that fall had come, for 

 this was the spot where the team prepared for the season, 

 where two hundred of the University's brawniest gathered 

 and submitted to the formidable training that would put 

 them in condition to qualify as defenders of the football 

 honor of the University. 



I had often stopped to watch while they practiced. They 

 went through bending exercises, they lay flat on their backs 

 and did the bicycle, they sprinted madly up and down the 

 field, they passed and kicked the ball. They shifted and sig- 

 naled and plunged from formations. The coach, megaphone 

 in hand, observed everything from a small tower, and when- 

 ever necessary gave instructions which were put into effect 

 by the assistant coaches on the field. Although the men were 

 soft and out of condition at the beginning, the practice pro- 

 ceeded rapidly. No time of year was tougher for a football 

 squad, but for the gulls in the field no time was easier. Their 

 young had long been able to shift for themselves. The ma- 

 ture birds could sleep the day out, if they chose, in the mild 

 sun. The complete immobility of the whole flock showed its 

 total relaxation. 



I had seen no such relaxation among the coaches and 

 players. Football was a sport for the multitude, but for the 

 participants it was grim business where wisecracks and 

 friendly smiles seemed to have no place. From among the 

 candidates would be selected the fourscore men who would 

 make up the regular squad to represent the University dur- 

 ing the football season. From thirty to sixty thousand people 

 would see each of the games. A million more would hear the 



