Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-11-18
Intense Interest in Football by Local
Men, Who Will Witness the
Collegiate Series.
HOW HARVARD ANDYALE SHOW UP
An 0ld-Time Player Talks on the New
Features of the Game as Compared
With It Decade Ago.
PALo ALTO NOW THE KlNGoF STALLIONs.
ALI the Sporting Events Of Import Concfsely Summed
Upin q Short Space.


of football will run over to New York and
Springfield during the next week or so to
witness the games between Yale and Har-
ward first and also the Princeton-Yale con-
test.
The very air about Pittsburg and its en-
virons is permeated with talk of the great
Rugby game. and those who yelled in the
erandstand at a baseball argument have
shifted their gossip to the ''only winter
sport''-football
An Ex-Player's Opinion.
O. D. Thompson, an ex-Yale player of
'79, and who can be justly called the custo-
dian of the game hereabouts, sat in his Office
Yesterday, surrounded by a group of Yale
men who. in DAYS gone by, made a marked
decrease in the cough drop market yelling
for the blue. They were all more or less
reminiscent. and as their minds wandered
back to college life the signing expression
of "Ah them wuz the davs" met with a
general eyes, indeed" Mr.. Thompson. in
speaking OF the game, its advancement and
new features, said
MANY new capers and tricks have been
introduced into foot ball since l left college,
ii wears ago. Then such shrewd moves as
the ''N, = turtle back and tandem tricks
were unknown. Neither were the essential
matters of ''lining up" and 'warding off,
now practiced so effectually, brought into
piav. 1t was more of a passing game. That
is 10 sar, when one PLAYER would secure the
ball he would hold it only long enough
to gain a few yards toward goal line. Then
if an adversary were dangerously near and
liable TO wrest the coveted oval wind bag
AWAY, he would pass it over to a running
brother who would in turr do the same.
Not So Much Slugg.ng.
''In this way there was not so much liza
hility to dangerous slugging or brutal
iistic argument, which characterizes so many
contests of the present.
81 do not wish to reflect ANYTHING upon
recent games in this respect, but to my mind
much of the slugging is unnecessary, and
easily could be eliminated by the umpire
exercising his authority and retiring the
puenacious player. Nine-tenths of the
slugging is done in lining up. 1t is gen.
tleman's game, patronized and enjoyed by
;he best class of people of both sexes: there
fore. 10 popularize and perpetuate it, those
who take part should remember the rules,
avoid brutality, which often ends in blood
she'd, broken bones and strained personal
relations.
'The Yale and Harvard game promises to
be greater event than that of the Yale
Princeton. The two former are more evenly
matched, and Yale has been putting up the
best interfering game ever known. Both
teams are exceedingly strong back Of the
rush line, Harvard perhaps showing slightly
20 an advantage, but Yale is doing the
greatest team work.
Pittsburgers to Witness It.
Among the enthusiasts who will 90 down
East this week are: John Morehead, W. j.
Patton, w. B. Rhodes, Henry Bishop, Rob-
ert Blagden, p. H. Lloyd, W. H. Childs,
Harry Schoen, F. F. Vandervort, Percy
Preston, the Messrs. Carnegie, w. j.
Kountz P. Reymer, Jr., Charles Lockhart,
A. J. Kirschner, Harry and John Oliver
and many more gentlemen who would go
MANY mile to witness the games.
a special telegram from New York saws:
From football standpoint the coming
struggle between Yale and Harvard will. In
some respects, be the most interesting that
has ever taken place. A singular feature
of the two elevens is that where one is strong
she other is weak, and vice versa. so argreat
deal will depend upon the style of team
game each plays
1t may be said with truth that if Harvard
plays strong team game the contest will
be extremely close A knowledge of this
fact is all that should influence betting on
the result, for if Harvard's team play is
weak and ineffective orders should be in
Hale's favor. Otherwise betting ought, on
the merits of the two teams, TO be equal.
Too much Importance should not be at
tached. bv men inclined to bet. to the fact
that Harvard's play is really in unknown
quantity. She has met with poor luck this
year in selecting players, so that the de-
Selopment Of her game has been very slow.
Only the few men who have been coaching
the team the last would know their real
strength.
Superior Individual Players.
In individual players she has collected
set of men who are superior as a whole to
those on the regular Yale eleven, and there
is no doubt Harvard will display brilliant
individual work, but whether she can put
up strong team game is, 10 the football
public, merely a matter of conjecture. It
would seem that Harvard's play would be
good, for the men who have had the team in
charge are opposed to the policy of ''star''
elevens-that is. an eleven only capable of
showing good individual work. STILL it
must be understood that the difficulties met
at Harvard in filling empty places on the
team must have prevented in a measure the
perfection of team work. Yale. on the
other hand, while not having the
material of Harvard, is playing a
fine team game, augmented by
ers she has in the eleven. Yale's aggressive
play is excellent, and her defensive game is
solid. In regard to the weak spots, Har-
ward has a poor center, and only fair quar-
ter back Her trio OF backs, Trafford, Lage
and Corbett, and her ends and tackles are
all right. She is especially fortunate in
having a full back in Trafford, who can out
kick ANYTHING on the Yale team. He is
good at scoring goals from the field Yale
on the contrary, has no one who can be rec
lied on for goals from the field, and she is
also inferior to Harvard in ends and
tackles. Her strong points are center and
quarter back, as compared with those of
Harvard. This does not call into question
any individual player on either team, but is
merely stated in relative sense and for
purpose of comparison.
Yale Ought to Win.
Viewed from Yale standpoint, Yale !
ought to win, for, as ale men argued, her |
fine interference and superb aggressive |
team work should overbalance any superior |
ity Harvard may have in material. There |
are Heffelfnger and Morrison at guards, |
who ought to make holes in Harvard's line, |
and McClung and L. Bliss are able to gain |
ground wherever there is a hole. Then, |
when it comes to end plays Yale's inter- |
ference will enable the backs to get in their |
remarkable runs As for Trafford's kick |
ing, Yale men ask: "Where do you think |
Hetfelfnger and Morrison will be when |
Tratford tries for goal from the field? Don't |
you think they will be on top of Trafford |
before he can raise the ball? Trafford is all |
right when he is winning, but let Yale |
block few of his kicks and he will not try |
then with any degree of confidence. Har- !
ward looks at things in different light. |
She saws, naiyely: