New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1891-11-21
THE FOOTBALL RECORD.
A CHAPTER OF GOOD oLDYALE's ATHLETIC
HISTORY.
GAMES OF oLpEN DAYs-DEvELoPMENT OF THE
MODERN eYsTEM-soME FAMOUS PLAYERS
THE RECORD OF CHAMPION
SHIP CONTEETS.

MODERN sYsTEM-soME FAMOUS PLAYERS
THE RECORD OF CHAMPION
SHIP ooNTEETs.
New-IIayen, Conn.,, Nov. 20 special).-To write
the history of football Yale, one must almost write
the history of Yale Itself Assuredly he must begin as
far back as Yale begins. There are those who assert
that even before Yale was football and that the
good old college was chiefly founded for the sake OF
the classic eleven Doubtless that Is campaign He
put forward by the foes OF classic cusue But TINS
is ndispuable, that long before the Bob Cook stroke
was foreseen by the most accomplished prophets,
and before Stages curves and slides were visible In the
horoscope, aye, even before the Greek gods began
to prepare the way for the Class of Fftythree, foot
ball was as much an Institution Of Yale the ems or
the fence itself The most ancient pictures extant
OF the Yale campus show the boys playing football
on It, Not as they play 1t now played they 1t them
Non even the most fertile fancy portray McCiung
arrayed In broadskired coat and steeplehat OF the
Colonial days. Nor is 1t known that the Old CONT
ncntals in Their ragged regimentals were greatly
given to ploughng the ground with each others faces
as Is the halcyon custom now. But II was f0otbal
all the same hundred years ago.
About half a century ago the game took more sys
tematic guise and every fall a grand championship
match was played between the sophomorcs and fresh
men, the seniors and Juniors looking ON from the serene
height OF the top OF the fence For just twenty years
And they do say that the freshmen were not always
beat4p The Younger class would issue a formal cha
lenge and the elder would accept IT, half In diSdan
and half In pity There sure to be great tirong
OF spectators The steps Of the state House served
as a grandstand when the contest took place on the
green They also served to mark the goal at that END
of the field while Chapelst. marked the other. The
PLAYERS would come upon the field grotesquely clad
often with painted faces. freshman would have
hall IN tsapin wifi claSsmQtPS-fOr
of each class took part-gathered round him in what
they called a phaanx, and rushed against the sopho
mores There would be little concerted action, each
man playing for himself. Indeed 1t was much like the
cane-rshp of these Later days with football instead
of cane 1t is BIO observed, however that in those
early days the form Of attack was the established
plan Of campaign.
These class contests were finally prohibited by the
faculty 1t had become that in football season al
most any day any who wanted TO cross the green
had to fight his way through bowling Kicking,
wrestling mob of Students and 10 this some people
we're unreasonable enough to object And then one
year the fremen Of New-Haven wanted to parade and
the students wanted TO play football at the same time
and in the same place. That made trouble. which
ended I'm the remen getting whipped and the students
getting fined SO football passed away to await an
other Incarnation.
The revival of it, and the creation Of the modern
game must be credited to the classes of 1872 and 1873
In general and to d. S. schaf Of 1873 in particular
He had at Rugby, and was an enthusiast Tor the
Rugby game. When the students tried to renew their
old rights on the green, however, there was moro
trouble Thereupon they secured vacant plat OF
ground on Elm ST. and used 1t until 1876, when they
moved to Hamilton Park, until 1854, when their
present grounds finished. ID. >. schah was
elected first president OF the Yale Football Association
by the votes Of the entire college, on October IL, 1871
code of rules was adopted, very different from those
xsGa1xx .ak hall
or run with It, II must only be moved by KcRins
The touchdown had not been invented.
The first important game was played on november
Ia 1879 and Columbia was the victim. There were
twenty men in each team, and when a man got hurt,
and had TO quit playing no one took his place. Dut
man dropped out Of the other team to make 1t even
Columbia had the bigger and stronger men, but Yale
had the better discipline and won by score OF thee
goals to nothing Princeton wanted to play Yale that
year. but its challenge wns not accepted. The next
fall on October 1879 however, intercollegiate as
ISOLATION was formed by Yale, Princeton Columbia
and Rutgers Harvard urged to join, but de-
cIjned YaIes rules were adopted by the association
That fall Yale beat Rutgers but was beaten by frlhce
ton In 1874 Yale boat Rutgers and Columbia
new era was opened In 1879, when, on October
49, the representatives Of Yale and Harvard met at
snripraeld to arrange for game between the two col
lagos under what they termed modified Rugby
r,esn These rules were new TO Yale, and the result
was disastrous. Yale beaten by Harvard and by
Columbia but got some little revenge by rouhcihg
Rutgers and Wesleyan. Then the regular Rugby rules
were adopted and Yale studied them to such purpose
that in 1876 she beat Princeton and Harvard hand
somey In this year. too the Yale and Harvard fresh
men PLAYED game on Boston Common WIN sno" oh
the ground and the mercury far below zero
Rut 1876 was memorable for more than that II
WAS the wear I'm which the Yale team had for the first
fine a halfback named Walter c. Camp, probably the
greatest of all players. To him, more tah TO any ONO
else is due the subsequent improvement of the game
the changes In the rules. the scientific basis. fOf
civ successive wears he played halfback, and for two
of them was also captain. No man ever played DeV
ter himself or inspired his comrades to greater efforts.
In 1887 the gigantic rusher, Lamb, was on fales
,ean and the next year Hull Joined him, one OF Inc
most energetic and toughest OF players hun
played for six years and Lamb for I'VE Knapp ana
wallace the end rushers Terry, the hafback Beech
er quarterback bull, fullback; Corwin, Corbh' az
we'll Badger. Peters, Woodruff, Carter. liamiln, Gili,
c,o,sthe.e and many more have been among the great
players of late years. Ana are hoo '0ii "'ie'''' ~
treas ured III the chronicles OF fae -
one of the greatest Of Yae's games was that with
princeton i'm 1885, VIXEN WatknSon. 1ales haiiDach'
did phenomenal goallckng from the held anu Lai'r
made the run which has given his mime asueuc iii
mortality Another great game was played Win liar
ord !, 1890 when Wurtemburg and McClung were
the heroes Of the day. In 1eoo Yale ioSt inc 'n'''
ponshlp by the calling of the game on account vi
aarsness five minutes before time was up, with the
score IN in Yale's favor In 1881, also, Yale lost
through a technicality.
A. has been said the Rugby rules were adop'ed
in 1876 But many changes have since been made
The number Of players fixed at eleven IN 1875.
The present system OF counting points was adopted
in 1853. In 1854 the rule was passed compelling
n side making a touchdown to try for goal ahc Ill
nf
was decided upon.
The record OF games is as follows:
In 1875 Yale won the championship, defeating
PRINCETON. Harvard and Columbia.
In 1877 no championship awarded; Yale made
, ,ouchdovns to Princeon's nothing, but under the
rules 4, was a tic game
In 1878 Harvard won the championship, beauhg