Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-10-24
ON THE FOOT BALL FIELD.
Wonderful Progress in the Game by
the Smaller Colleges.
From the New York Tribune.

From the New York Tribune
One thing that excites the admiration Of
spectators at foot ball game is the clock-like
regularity and mechanical precision with which
q team sets out to defeat its rival This is what
is called "team work." and the result of care and
thought on the part Of the captain and his men,
who learn to study situations and to devise
means for utilizing them to their benefit In
order to do this series of signals manipulated
by the captain is adopted. Thus a casual
word of advice, of censlre, of annoyance, may
convey words of feeling to the foot ball player,
while the spectator is unconscious that these
expressions we're signals of command by the
captain to his men. Heretofore words and
phrases have generally been used signals,
such as ''play hard, '.brace up" tackle low"
dc. But last year one of the colleges got up a
system of signalling by numbers, and this
method has become popular this year. In the
bers, such as "9-1O-2' SSH" were
shouted out both by the Yale and
Crescent captains. and many of the spectators
were puzzled to know what it all meant. But
careful study soon showed them that ''9-10-2"
was command or Bit of advice to the players
who, hearing the suggestive numbers. were
able at once to make the plan of attack or
defense not the work of one man. but of the
whole team This is one of the elements that
make foot ball one of the most scientific games
played IN this country.
FOOT BALL HAS SPREAD WONDERFULLY
during tho last few years. Now nearly every
college in the east has its foot ball eleven, and
leagues are springing up on all sides, where
heretofore the only league was the big Inter-
collegiate Foot Ball Association. What is more
remarkable is the marvellous progress which
the various colleges have made and are making
at the game. In years gone by Yale used to
score from so to 100 points to Wesleyans
nothing; this year in two games Yales
scores have been s and "a to nothing for
Wesleyan. Princeton used to defeat Rutgers
with great ease and by enormous scores. This
year the orange and black players scored only
twenty-four points TO Rutgers zero. Never
before in the history of foot bail has any team
excepting those of Yale and Harvard been able
to play tie game with Princeton; yet the
Orange Athletic Club did it last Saturday and
prevented the champions from winning the
500 Tuxedo cup.
ANOTHER STRIKING INSTANCE
OF this is shown in the recent game between
Princeton and the eleven from Franklin and
Marshall College, a third-rate institution in
Pennsylvania. That college last year began to
get up an interest in foot ball through the ex-
ertions of an old Princeton varsity player.
After few weeks practice this fall the team
went to Princeton. and to the amazement of
everybody who is interested in foot ball mat
tiers. had comparatively little difficulty in Scor-
ing Is points against tho IL from Princeton,
where foot bail has been the leading sport for
dozen and half years. Many Princeton
eleven has gone through the whole season
without having as many sixteen points
scored against it. and here is a new team from
an obscure college able to score three touch
downs i'll n single game. Much of this success
was due. no doubt, to the superior weight of
the Pennsylvania players. but their game was
not without considerable skill and clever
ness. On last Saturday this team de-
feated tho Lafayette eleven by Is points
to 10-a remarkable victory when it is remen-
bered that foot ball has long been played at
Lafayette, while at Franklin and Marshall it is
a new sport. If this improvement becomes as
general as it is rapid the larger colleges-Har-
ward, Princeton and YALE with the University
Of Pennsylvania and Wesleyan, the five col
leges forming the Intercolegiat Foot Ball As
sociation-will have to show cause why these
younger aspirants should not be allowed to
join the association and contest for cham ion-
ship honors.
THE EXPLANATION OF THIS CHANGE
is simple and does not imply weakness on the
part of Yale of Princeton. 1t is due to the
enormous progress which the various colleges,
outside of Yale, Harvard and Princeton, have
made in the game. Practice makes perfect"
Is as true in foot ball as in penrlanship.
striking feature of foot ball this year is the
excellent games put up by amateur clubs.
Chief among these is the Crescent Club of
Brooklyn and the Athletic Club of Orange, N
J. The first club played close game with
Yale n few weeks ago and scored SIX points
against the blue, while the Orange Club played
a tic game with Princeton last Saturday. Both
these teams are largely made up of old college
players, some of whom have obtained almost
national regulations for their ability on the
field. A game between these two teams would
be well worth witnessing. and would be sure to
| abound in splendid plays, exciting runs and
sLillful Cenoralship