The morning news., 1894-11-25

/ themselves. N--
Foot ball at the present time occunias
.He proud position Of being the most popu-
Z iar OF ali games 1t started to grow in non
ularity about fve or six years ago. so that
/ us progress in that direction has been
/ most remarkable
Just at present the four big cities in the
east-Philadelphia, New York r2rool,i,,n
/ ana Boston-are actually foot bali crazy
/ ana the epidemic seems to be spreading ali
! over the country. The PENNSYLVANIA
Fnncton Cornell-Harvard, Pennsylvania
cornell and Princeton-Cornel games have
III turn started this craze, which will be
~ III 'ner lntensihed as time approaches by
the three most important battles of the
season that remain to be fought. viz.
/ harvard VS.. Yale, PENNSYLVANIA VS.. Har-
Ndru' ana Yale, VS.. Princeton In order %
post the layman on the fine points of the
game, before these three big contests oc-
cur Ihe appended eluCidation of the va
rlous maneuVers that take nlaCe on tbs
srId-lron field within the solid mass Of
struggling athletes, at the beginning of
each play, is given:
After the referee blows his whistle
which Is the signal for play to begin. tho
forwards OF the team having the ball take
posluons on the line, ready to follow the
plsskln the moment it is kicked The cap
tam gives signal, indicating the tirec-
ton OF the kick, then the full-back or best
punteH on the team springs forward,
SUCKS MS toe into the ball" which goes
sailing into the air in the direction of the
opponents goal, and the game is on
What follows the first down is a mys-
terry to d large majority of the spectators.
II Is an easy matter to appreciate long
punt or a brilliant individual run But
how many people present know exactly
/ what takes place when the two teams
line up for scTimmage?
Seven men who make up the line are
arrayed against a like number of oppo-
neQts, except that the side on the defense
has an extra man or two to assisting in
checking any advance The ball is
snapped back and the great struggle COM
rnences.
So quickly do the teams move that 1t is
impossible for the uninitiated to follow the
play. There is a sudden crash as the run
ner strikes into his opponents. Then comes
the mtX-up of arms, legs and bodies. FL
nally the mass totters, and, as one man
IL falls to the ground.
This is what the public sees, but it is
another matter to tell just who was re
sponsible for the gain, or what clever
player it was that broke through and
downed the runner before the latter could
advance. Few people have any idea what
an important part the rush line plays in
the success or defeat of a team. and this
article will endeavor to make clear how
some of the work of the line men is ac-
complished
The position of tackle is now all-inl-
portant, and the player filing it has a
great deal of work to do. To him is en-
trusted the responsibility of breaking
through and stopping a kick and prevent
ing any gain on either side of his position
and. as the majority of plays go by him, he
is expected to always pocket the runner
He must always be through in time to be
down the field with the runner in case the
latter comes through clear, and whenever
touchdown is made he is the man who
should surely go across the line with the
man who has the ball.
1t is interesting to see a frst-class tackle
stop play directed anywhere outside
of guard. With his eyes on the ball and
the quarterback, he detects the squeeze
of the latters hand on the center rush's
leg by the slight movement of his arm,
and, taking advantage of this the very in
Stant the ball is put in play and not lust
afterward as he would do if he wanted
to see the ball actually move, he breaks
through about a yard on the first run, and
then, with chest and shoulders strongly
forward. pauses a fraction Of a second to
see where the play is to go.
As soon as the tackle is sure that the
play is coming his way, and sees which
man has the ball, he meets the interfer-
ers low and hard; and if he cannot get his
hands on the runner himself he gen.
orally disposes of two or three interferers,
and leaves the runner an easy mark for
the guard or rush line half-back.
The next man to the tackle, on the de-
fense, is the rushline half-back, a position
which has grown in Importance during the
past three years. Some captains play their
half-backs directly in the line between
tackle and end, and others make them
stand behind, and little outside of tackle
in order to help stop any play outside of
guard, also allowing the back to help
push on the center play. This is a little
surer than letting the rushline half-back
play in the line; but the runner is very
seldom stopped with a loss, whereas, if
the half-back Is in the line, he sometimes
drops the runner a couple of yards be-
hind the line.
Upon the quarterback devolves the duty
of getting into every play that is made,
and he should always be found with his
arms around the runner when the pile OF
men get up from the ground. He usually
plays nearly behind the center-rush-ex-
cept on a kick, when he runs back about
10 yards-and is the man who is depended
upon to tackle any man who comes
through the line clear, for otherwise it
would be necessary to depend on the full
back.
The line men can very often judge where
the play will be made by watching the In
voluntary signs shown by the back when
waiting for the ball to be put in play A
glance of the eye, position. of the legs or
arms, and sometimes a false start, will
give the men on the defense just the indi-
cation they need to size up play.
The prettiest play in the game. without
exception, is that of a man making a long
run through a scattered field after catch
ing q kick.
The next prettiest play is a man coming
out clear through tackle, guard or center
without any one blocking off for him and
running down to the full back unassisted.
Sometimes a man will come out of a
seemingly close bunch without losing his
feet and start down the field. This is sell
dom done, however, against a good rush
line. as the quarterback should down him
even II he comes through.
ST. ANDREWS BROTHERHOOD.