The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-11-26
THE FOOT BALL CONTEST.
Ready for a Battle Royal Thanksgiv-
ing Day.


day at least. Athens and Savannah will
meet in friendly but determined contest
on the grounds at the Bolton street park
/ Thanksgiving day.
Everybody IS looking forward with in
terest to the contest and there is gen
eral desire on the part Of every one to see
the game. This will, no doubt, lead
many Of the merchants to close their
doors for half the day at least and give
their employees a chance.
II is not often that Savannah is treated
to game Of foot ball. Base ball is an
every day thing during the season, but
the interest, nevertheless, keeps up well.
With foot ball, which comes but once in a
! year or Two. the interest is still greater,
and it is considered by many the most
/ interesting Of the two sports.
THE CoSTEsTISG TEAMS.
The two rival teams which will meet
| upon the Savannah field, are well pre-
/ pared for the struggle which is before
| them. The university boys will be upon
| foreign ground, but they will be among
| friends: there are many university men
| in Savannah alumni who love their alma
/ mater as well as on the day they left it,
| considering which it will be difficult for
/ them TO decide which yell TO adopt, the
| 'hurrah-rah' of the Athens boys or tn
| yell Of the home team il will be ques-
/ ton of which patriotism is the stronger,
| love for the University, or for present
| home and residence.
| The two teams will meet well equipped
| for the game. The university boys have
| been INDUCING in daily practice, and in
| that also the Savannah team has not been
| behind. IL takes a good com bination of
head nd nh n nj
| good foot ball, and weight is big factor.
| That is one point in which it is thought
! the Savannah men have the advantage of
| the University, and it is often a great ad-
vantage, though it is often overcome
through qnick work and strategy. There
are many quick plays and maneuvers
/ which are hard to understand unless one
has seen them played often and has heard
| them well explained. There are tactics
! in foot ball just as in war. BY sudden
/ movements of the men solid line or
! phalanx Is often formed which the enemy
! finds it impossible to break through even
! by superior strength All these facts
| being taken into consideration, foot ball
| contest is as much, if not more, a test of
| skill than it is of strength
THE TEAMS WELL CHOSEN.
| The two teams, it is said, have been well
| chosen. They are men who have taken
an active part in athletics and who have
shown some merit in their work and per
| formances.
MISTAKEN IMPRESSION.
A very general impression, and one that
seems to have been gaining ground of late
is that foot ball is one of the most brutal
| of all games or contests, perhaps next to
the prize fight in brutality.
The fact that one or two deaths have
occurred during games has perhaps more
than anything else given rise to it, and
this feature Of the game has been es-
pecially remarked in Savannah of late on
account of the death of Mr.. Hugh Saussy,
who was hurt while playing the game at
! Elizabeth, N. j., some days ago. OF that
accident the New York Herald has the
| following which indicates that the acct
| dent was one of an individual nature
rather than eyresult of interference by
| other players: "All the members of the
team of the college of the city of New
York agree that young Saussy, the I'M
fortunate player who met his death at
the game at Elizabeth. N. J., on Saturday,
was not interfered with in any way. He
simply slipped and fell, striking on his
head and breaking his neck"
NOT A BRUTAL GAME.
Foot ball is not brutal game It is
true that when a man is down with the
ball, a ton or more of foot ball players
pile on top of him, but his nerves have
been trained to contract the proper mus
Giles at the right time, and he is well cal
culated to withstand any strain from this
source that may be put upon him. 1t is a
contest in which fists play no part, the in
reference being altogether from the
body. The player is trained to stand any
shock, and under the excitement and in
SEPARATION of the contest, injury is un-
thought Of and slight accidents do not
count. Under the rules of the game, if a
player meets with any accident, however
slight, which incapacitates him, or is liza
BILE to become more serious during the
progress of the game, he is Immediately
hors du combat and a substitute takes
his place Often players refuse to leave
the field under these circumstances, and
men have been known to continue the
game with fractured bones so long as it
did not interfere with their running quail
tiles.
ACCIDENTS ARE RARE.
In fact accidents in foot ball games are
noticeable oaly because they are rare
The foot bal. player has as much, if not
more, immunity from injury than the
base ball player. There is no instrument
used on the foot ball field which could in
flict an injury; the ball is soft and the
suits are padded; the ground is soft and
} free from rocks and stones, and the only
thing the players have to guard against
is a violent and unusual fall. With them,
falling is an art it is cultivated, as is the
death fall of the stage villain.
J Foot ball is a contest of manly skill, in
which the mental and physical energies
are directed to an end-the accomplish
ment of a result. 1t is not merely the
successful defeat Of the opponents, though
that is, for the time, the primary object
of the players, but it is the development
of the mental and physical man that is
bound to follow.
ARRANGEMENTS BEING MADE.
The foot ball boys are rapidly making
arrangements for the game. The team
has not yet been entirely decided on, but
that will be matter of the tests of the
next day or two. The team will have tC
be selected and practice together time
or two just as they will meet their oppo
nents on the field as it is necessary fol-
them to be familiar with their own tao
tics before entering the contest.
The Fax Clothing Company is prepar
ing colors for the two teams, which vii
= adorn the coat lappels of their respective
supporters. The scarlet and black of thu
university boys will have u. Of G. on then
, in gilt letters, and the maroon and whit,
of Savannah will be decorated similarly
/ with tho