Waterbury evening Democrat., 1889-12-02
FOOTBALL CAPTAINS.
Mon Whc, arc Training the College
 Teams for the Struggle.
Gill, of Yale, and His Magnificent Playing. Cowan, of Princeton. as an "ipter- fercr" Which Eleven Will
 Capture the Prize.
COPYRIGHT 1889.

COPYRIGHT 1885
 Football furnishes the all-absorbing topic in the American colleges at the present time, and speculation is rife as to tho prospects in the coming struggle between Yale, Princeton and Harvard for championship honors. Every year increases the interest taken in the sport by tho colleges, and since the sup pression of slugging by the resolute action of the faculty of Harvard in 1883 there has been marked improve ment in the game. It is no longer nero contest of physical strength-a battle between giants which in former years degenerated into a free fight" It is game in which science does more, perhaps, to give the mastery than it does in any other athletic sport now in vogue in this country.
 In the early days of football. Yale and Princeton led all the other colleges at the game. Their elevens were little else than sluggers, and when they got the ball they rushed it through the lines of their opponents without mercy. Harvard usually played more gently and | with some show of science. The result was that it was left far behind in the | race by the other universities and 1t | was not till Harvard had encountered 1 repeated defeats that it decided to adopt the tactics of it's rivals. Six years ago Cambridge trained team of giants to meet Yale and Princeton and deter mined to beat them at their own game. | The team was instructed to defeat their opponents, even if they had to place | every man on the rival teams ''hors de | combat to do it. In other words. it was to be free fight" and the battle was to go hard with the weaker team. | News of this arrangement reached the ears of the Harvard Faculty and they immediately took steps to prevent the members of their college team from be- ing subjected to the brutal handling | that was clearly in store for those who undertook to play against Cambridge. The Faculty demanded that the rule l then i'll force, that player should bc warned three times before being dis qualified for slugging, should be re- scinded and that he should, instead, be thrown over for the first offense. This demand and all protests were unavail- ing and the game was played under the old rules. But it was the last game ever played in that manner; for the re-
 action set in in 1884 and the suggestion
 of the Faculty of Harvard was then
 adopted generally. So many young
 men were disabled and seriously injured
 by the slugging that their relatives be
 gan to interfere, and the adoption o the precaution became a necessity.
 | Another Salutary rule that mas dont
 much to elevate the sport was tha
 adopted by the intercollegiate Asso
 ciation' at its recent meeting in New
 York, deciding that hereafter n' one shall be eligible to play il
 a collegiate championship game who i
 not bona fde student of tho colleg'
 for which he plays, and that professions athletes should not be permitted t , participate in tho games. At the sam time. it was distinctly ruled that IT.
 university player should receive. an.
 money for his play from any sourc , parture was to Immediately rule ou
 Wagenhurst, the great rusher of Prince ; ton, player who aad been f"' emost il
 all the big matches of that college ; Three other noted players-Beechel t Bull and Terry-were also barred ou
 by the same rule. It had been the in