Waterbury evening Democrat., 1894-03-02
ALIEN ANDER MOFFATT
Holm pIHII
WALTER CAMP. A
PAIL DASHiEIL. j.

PAUL DASHiELL. JOHN &. BELL.
ing player when the referee was not sup
posed to be looking, was against the rules,
but the referee was nearly always blind,
and players were rarely disciplined.
Football is too good game to be thus
ruined, and the representative men who
govern the destines of the sport have not
only been wise enough to declare for re-
form. but they have already entered upon
the work of eliminating unnecessary bru-
tally from the great college pastime. Pu-
gilists are all right in their place but that
place is not i'll baseball, rs the Corbett incl
dent proved. and the same idea applies with
even more emphasis to football There is
reason o believe, however, that the solons
who have beer chosen to change the rules
of the game will do their work well that
ruf1ianism will be conspicuous by its absence
from the games of 1894.
The men designated by the University
Athletic club of New York to revise the
rules governing football are all eX-players
of national reputation. Foremost among
them is Walter Camp of Yale, the greatest
authority on the game in America. The
other members of the committee are DIR. w.
A. Brooks of Harvard, the famous coach of
the crimson elevens; Alexander Moffatt, the
noted punter and drop kicker of Princeton;
Paul J. Dashiell. the we'll known referee OF
Lehigh, and John c. Bell, the great Uni
versity of Pennsylvania half back. The
game will probably be made more open,
such dangerous mass plays as the flying
wedge will be dropped, there will be more
kicking, and it seems certain that the rules
will be so strict against smuggling that the
pugilistic football player will find his occu-
patton gone.
The recent death of Alfred II. Under, a
Harvard student who was killed while en-
gaging in a friendly sparring bout with an
other student has revived interest in the
discussion of the question whether more
men are killed playing football than in the
ring. Statistics show that last year the
ring had far the better of the argument. In
America there were eight men killed play
ing football and at least 100 more received
severe injuries. In the same time six men
were killed in prize fights, and few more
were severely injured, but in most battles
both victor and vanquished were PRACTICAL
" as good as new the following day.
In England there was not o single death
that resulted from prizefghting 30 far as
have been able to learn-and A. Conan
Doyle, the famous novelist, declares that he
never heard of but one fatal English fight
but during the eight months beginning in
September, 1892, and ending in April, 1893,
26 men died from injuries received in foot
badly hurt. During the season Of 1891 and
1899 there were % fatal football accidents
in England, and there were % names on the
death roll of the preceding season.
One thing must be borne in mind, how
over, and that is the fact that while many
thousands of men played football during
these years not more than 200 pugilists
met in the ring annually. From this point
of view it may be claimed with justice per
haps that in proportion to the numb of
men engaged football is no more deadly
than the manly art.
In spite of these rather appalling stats
tics football and boxing are not particular
ly dangerous when healthy, properly trained
men are pitted one against another. The
men who are killed are usually men who
possess some organic disease who are
wholly unprepared by systematic training
for the work they are called upon to do.
OF the six pugilists killed in the United
States last year not one was even third
rate man. Emmett Burke, who was killed
In fight at Gloucester, n. j., in October,
was merely a colored stable boy at the
Gloucester track. He had hardly recovered
from an attack of pneumonia, was who'll!
unframed and was amateurish pugil
ist as can be imagined. In July Franl
Egan killed John Mcdonald in lumber
yard glove contest in New York but the
doctors decided that whisky really got in
the deadly blow. OF the four other men
killed not one had any standing in the ring.
l cannot recall a single instance where a
we'll known boxer has been killed by a
blow. Sullivan and Kilrain fought rs rounds
and neither man was injured. Jackson and
Corbett punched each other for over four
hours and were as good rs ever the follow
ing day. Corbett knocked Sullivan out in
81 rounds, and both left the ring compare
lively uninjured. Corbett gave Mitchell
his quietus in three rounds, and two hours
afterward Mitchell was as well as ever
George Dixon has whipped dozens of men,
but he never killed one. and he is as hard
as nails today himself. These men and
scores of other we'll known pugilists that
may be named are strong, healthy, trained
fighters who can take any amount of pun
ishment and not feel it week afterward.
Physicians generally scout the idea that a
healthy, well trained man may be killed by
q single blow or by numerous severe blows
DIR. George +. Shrady, the famous special
ist, said recently: when two men train
faithfully for prize fight and enter the
ring in perfect condition, providing they
have no orgsnic or even functional trouble,
/ contend that it Is improbable that one can
be killed instantly by the force of blow
from the Others 3st or that he may die later