Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-11-29
Some Very Pleasing Features Of the
Wind-Up of the Local
Football Season.
YALES TWO GREAT VICTORIES.
The Crest Teams Element Of Success-Ben-
efts of the Popularity Of
the Game.
LOCAL AND NATIONAL BASEBALL
Unfair Criticisms Of slavin Because Of His Proposed
Battle With Peter jackson

The college football season of 1891 ha
ended, and it will be remembered as tn
best in the history of the game so far Onl,
few years ago not one of us would hav'
thought that there would be such football
craze IN the United States as there is now
and am fully persuaded that the craze ha
come to stay. Thursdays big contest prac
tically wound up the season. There will b
other games, of course, this year, but th'
interest in them will only be of a local kind
As far as Pittsburg is concerned the season
winds up in a way that gives every assur
snce of q great football season here mex
wear. The Thanksgiving contest between
Shortidge's Media team and the East Enc
Gyms showed conclusively that Pittsburg i.
football city. Despite the rain and mud
1000 persons visited the game, and that
proves that under favorable circumstance,
she attendance would have been doubled
This fact. taken into consideration with the
other fact that the game has only beer
played here for short time, proves beyond
q doubt that football will be one of the
great things in and about Pittsburg next
fall
game will amply pay for itself here because
veall know that Pittsburgers are the best
people in the world for supporting any
thing in which they take an interest, and
this being SO it will be worth the while of
our athletic organizations going to some
expense in trying get together good teams.
There is one way by which the game can be
made highly successful and that is to
organize a league or union for Western
Pennsylvania. On several occasions have
mentioned this and am glad that the idea
IS being favorablv received by those inter
ested. The organization of league would
not prevent the engagement of outside teams,
because dates could be left open and any
fsvcrite team from distance could be
brought here. But whether league is Dr.
eenized or not one thing is certain, viz, that
there Will be more football played here mex.
season than We ever dreamt of a year or
two ago. and there will also be a much
better class of teams here. We will un-
doubtedlv have teams here that will be
able TO cope with some of the prominent
teams in the country In short everything
indicates that football has com. here to
stay.
Benefits OF Popularity.
There is always much good resulting from
any athletic sport becoming popular 1t
not only increases the desire of young men
to participate in the physical exercise the
Snort affords, but it tends TO eradicate the
objectionable features from the game. This
has been true in baseball and it will be true
in football. When the public once becomes
deeply interested in anything of the kind
now under discussion it soon makes itself
heard, and all evils and defects have to be
removed or the game has to go, Critics be-
come numerous, and as a result the bad is
eliminated and replaced by good feat
ures. During the last few weeks thousands
ri people who probably never saw Rugby
football game before have begun to take an
interest in the sport. The first thing they
notice is the rough features of the game,
and on this point there are objections in
Vulnerable.
But while I am free to admit that in
many instances matters are too rough to a
very great extent the roughness appears to
he much greater than it really is. There is
nothing unduly rough in one young athlete
throwing another down and falling upon
him. Young men who cannot stand this
should not play Rugby football, and those
who can stand it enjov it exceedingly
But the roughness that is to be complained
OF most is the ''siugging" and the clandes-
try and injure players. 1t is regarding this
feature that have much hope of public
opinion doing good. True, there are rules
forbidding such roughness, but in many
WAYS they can be evaded and in many in
stances referees lack the courage to enforce
them. u is safe to predict that public
opinion will demand a remedy on this
point, and as soon as the public get any
thing like good knowledge of football
rules referees will be rigidly required
10 enforce all rules regarding ''slug-
Eing' and unfair playing. I re-
member well when Queensberry box
ing rules first became popular the gen.
eral thing was to see contests in which the
rules were wholly disregarded because of
their non-enforcement by the referee. But
public opinion took hold of the matter, and
as a result referees were compelled to see
that the rules were rigidly stuck to and the
result was better. 1t will be the same with
football Referees win become more i'm
perative and as they do SO it will be better
for the game.
TaIe's Great Victories.
The football world will now be satisfied
that Yale has the best Rugby football team
of the season of 1891 The blues have won
two noble victories, and that of Thursday
was no less glorious than their defeat of
Harvard. OF course few of us would be
surprised at Princeton's Thanksgiving de-
feat. From first to last of the season /
have failed to see where either Harvard or
Princeton had the equal of Yale, as far as q
football team was concerned, and ths-fact
that neither of Gale's rivals scored point
against her proves superiority beyond all
doubt The victories were not in any sense
of the word gained by fukes, better play
and that alone won the laurels. Well, let
us say: Hurrah for Yale. When victories
are won under such circumstances the VIC
tors deserve all the praise and encourage
ment We can give them.
But without going into the
details of the two big contests
these have been fully explained in the daily
newspaper accounts i may point out that
Nale's successes give q good lesson to all
football teams. They teach that victory
cannot be relied on without persistent prac-
tice and the best kind of team discipline.
The Yale football players have been untir-
ing in their practice work. They have
daily worked together as if their entire sue
cess in life depended on their football play
ing efficiency. They have been well coached,
but they were at all times ready to receive
advice and act on it. Beyond all, when out
of sight of the coach" they were true to
him and themselves Now, without these
essential qualities no team can at all be re-
lied on. and amateur athletes generally
should take lesson from Yale's methods
and her achievements.
While we now FULLY know that Yale's
football team are superior TO the teams of
Harvard and Princeton, we do not for sure
know which has the better team between
Harvard and Princeton. am inclined to
think that of the three Harvard is second
best. although there is a great diversity of
opinion on this point As far as the re-
sncctire scores of these teams against Yale