The morning call., 1893-12-10
luuzssae -
7ootball: t
Re 77veWay 7oRayIt.:

teams. ETC.. and the rivalry which always
exists between the great universities, in
cludiug the friends of each, and the excite
ment worked up by flags, ribbons, fish
horns and booming ad libitum, there is
really nothing particularly interesting in
the game 1t is often slow, and, under the
rule of monopolization of the ball by one
side nearly all the time, monotonous in
tile extreme. Ask the casual spectator
who has been attracted to the contest by
the surrounding excitement his opinion of
the game, and he will almost invariably
tell you that he does not see much in the
game: "a lot of schoolboys scrambing in
the mud. It's not football, anyhow"
general demand for more kicking is
! abroad; more variety is needed in the
| game; more dash and more evenly distrib-
uted play, with less brutality and no fight
! ing or listing.
To condemn football in general, as the
authorities seem inclined to do in some
quarters, is mistake. Football is a good
game. 1t is manly, brave sport, that
brings out all there is in a mans physical
nature and develops mis- Judgment and
power of self-control. Football is all
right, but we want football and not fight
Ing, and ii is an open question whether
! intercollegiate football has not degeneraied
into a masked fight. A game which re-
| qulres so much padding and armor can
hardly be called gentle. and it is doubtful
I
| In considering modification of the rules
! OF the game ii might be as we'll to look
round and see how other games are played.
| VI course, the universities of the East are
conservative. They are in England, but
! the English universities and schools there
are gradually adopting the association
| game in place of the old and popular
| Rugby. The fight has been bitter, but the
best Is bound to win, and slowly but surely
| the round-baii game grows in popular
favor IN the seats of learning. while in the
! local clubs the game is making the most
| rapid rr0gress.
Columbus believed and proved that the
world was round. Football players are
discovering that football should be
round. ln no other ball game do the play
ers play with ball that is practically not
a ball but bag
The universities of America will not dis
card intercollegiate in favor of Rugby !;
the games are too similar, and the Amer
lean student believes his own to be su-
perior to the English game, but possibly,
now that the former is in such bad repute,
a return TO cleaner game of football may
be considered. and such game is ALREADY
esta blished in America, and seems to be
gaining stronger foohold every day.
The association game has taken root on
the Pacific Coast. 1t is not played by the
universities because the Eastern colleges
play with the oval ball. Ii is not played
by the academies because the universities
DO not favor IL as yet, although the students
| OF the San Francisco High School have
organized an association club.
1t is not PLAYED by the swell athletic
clubs because a. they will tell you Il is not
yet the society game" that the patronage
| OF the Universities In the East makes [.
| But outside of these organizations foe tball-
/ players are adopting the association game
! and last season, 1692-1693, two clubs organ
/ lied TO play the game. They called them
| selves respectively The Pacific Wander
ers" and The Thistles." Some exciting
matches were played. The game took
and more clubs were organized and cnm-
| bined as the Pacific Association Foo ball
/ League. The league was managed with
great ability and came out of a some W hat
muddy season at the right end The
officers of the league are men of expert
! eDce. energy and enthusiasm and the
| game thrives steadily, while the attend
ance swels perceptibly. Even at the close
! OF the season, association enthusiasts went
on playing practice games and the games of
the Saturday light Football Club" of Oak
! land were we'll patroniZed and intercol-
| leglate players who took part in those
games Acknowledged the superiority of the
association game, as game OF interest to
player and spectator, over the lntercol-
legiate scramble.
The writer has played football for four
teen years. aud during that time has tried
Rugby, Intercollegiate. Gaelic and asso-
cletl0n, ana unneSltaungly awards the
palm to the latter.
The clubs comprising the Association
League this year are the Thistles Pacific
Wanderers, Port Masons United States
ARMY Rangers, Rovers. Oaklands, Pas
times aud Preside. Denver, Tacoma, Sc
attic and Portland also put teams into the
field and the games, most of which are
played at Central Park, San Francisco,
grow in grace and popular favor.
The virtue OF the association game is its
rapidity. The tedious delays a. company
ing every down in the carrying games; the
hugging of the ball while the men push the