The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1894-12-18
HINKEY'S OPINIONS,
THE Ex-CAPTAIN Of THE YALE
TEAM DISCUSSES FOOTBALL.
Nothing But a Rough Game Can BE
Made of It-PIayers Should Re-
strain Themselves.

New Haven, Conn, Dec. 17.-Frank
A. Hinkey, who has just-retired from
the captaincy of the Yale football
eleven and has been succeeded by S.
P. Thorne, '96, informally discussed
football. He was asked to give his
suggestions on how to make football
less rough and how to improve the
game, also whether or not their new
rules made the game any less brutal
or dangerous. Mr.. Hinkey said that
he was not quite prepared to definitely
talk on the aspects of the game with
out looking into the football rules a
little more, and just at present he had
not the time to do this, because OF the
semi-annual examina tons at the uni
versity. He. however, in a, general
way, made the following observations:
Now, about making football less
rough, the way / look at the game,
as has been said a good many times,
it is naturally a rough, hard one. You
can't make anything else out of it
than rough game, There is. or should
be, a limit to the roughness, hut what
that limit is it is hard to decide.
The way to get rid of the unneces-
sary roughness and foul tactics, and
think the main way and the best way
and probably the only way that would
eliminate it, is that in coaching teams
the players shall be taught, and it
should be insisted upon, that all the
efforts should be directed to legitimate
football and that they should restrain
their tempers. BY this 1 do not mean
to be understood to say that it neces-
sarily follows that a, man INDUCES in
roughness. But the man should re-
strain himself from attempting any
thing of the sort. l think it all de-
pends-to a. great eXtent-in fact, it
mostly depends-on the individual
player himself, despite the coaching
and everything else
Then. again, there are few points
as regards the rules that might be
changed a little. or at least. insisted
upon stronger than they are. which
ture Of the game. One of them is in
relation to piling on a man when
thrown. The rule requires that when
a. man is tackled and thrown upon the
ground the referee shall blow his whis-
tie and after that, any other piling
on by other men is penalized by fifteen
yards. The object of this rule, as 1
have understood, is to prevent any I'M
necessary piling on and the piling on
with the deliberate intention to injure
man.
! lnen UlS1e Is one feature OF the
game which is disagreeable to the
spectators and has the appearance of
roughness in ii. and that is the inter-
fering with the center while swapping
the ball The rule this year says that
the center bali shall have full posses
sion of the ball.; and interference with
the ball by his opponent shall be penal
led 1 think the rule ought to be
made to read, Interference with the
center and swapping al the ball, or
while punting it in play by any of the
opposing team
with regard to whether this year
rules made the game any less danger
Gus or brutal: In the first place, con-
slider all the brutal play to be gotten
rid of depends on the individuals them
selves. Rules cannot wholly eliminate
it. That rule I spoke of regarding the
referee and umpire blowing their wflis-
ties when man is thrown ought to
take out a greal deal of the danger in
the game. The partial ruling out of
momentum mass plays has gotten rid
/ of a great deal Of work which is not
necessary to do in play. That rule
about the fair catch has worked al
most to the contrary to what was ex-
pected of it"