New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-10-27
ON THE FOOTBALL FIELD

The Yale team played careless game against
Orange on Saturday week. and one could judge
only generally as to the strength of the eleven
Thoured Dewitt played the whole game, with an
occasional bit of assistance from Murphy in the
line. But the most noticeable point about 'ne
Yale mems play was in connection with the new
rules. II must. of course. be remembered tha' al
this time of the year Yale usually plays simple
straightforward football then she has for years
kept TO the regular formation back of the line
until late In the season But even granting this.
there does not this year seem to be any diner-
ence In the details OF the game under the new
rules The plays used on Saturday by Yale were
in the main Thorne Dewitt or Jerrums through
centre or tackle and end holes. and to all prac-
teal appearances there was not the slightest les
senng of close plly There was no attempt al
long. passing. pretence at passing at all alter
the, ball had once been given into the nahds oi
the man who began the run. 1t seems, therefore,
that the game does not promise to return 10 lts
old form of long passes and frequent KICKS Al
the same time the rule which forbids mass plays
OF any kind by making 1t Impossible Tor more
than. one man to start before the ball Will no
,,oubt initiate against some of the severity OF the
game played last year. and may aVoid some
OF the injuries sustained then by the players.
Yale, however has practically SHOWN lhdt tne
game will not return to its old place. but VIII
simply spread out into some new direction per-
mitted by tie new rules. This is ITSELF encouras-
ing, Tor IL would be pity 10 tHe s'uuN Va
last few yea - go fOI nothing
There is and has been all alorg an indefinite
idea as TO what the ten sets Of rules. made ms
year really are, where they differ ore from the
other and what particular advantage one set
has over the other. AS a matter of fact. the
two sets differ only in few points. In the Yale
Princeton set only the quarterback. the haliback
and the fuback can stand behind the line, ana
Of these one may start before the ball. The one
exception to this is the provision that the two
ends may move a.few yards back in certain play
to give them an opportunity 10 get down the
field In the Harvard-Cornell-Ph nsylvania set
six men may stand behind the l.ne-that is. the
quarter, the two halves. the fullback and two
men out of the rush line. These two men must
either be the two ends or the two tackles, since
the rule further requires that the centre ana TWO
guards cannot be taken from the position Only
three players, however. can start before the bail
and no player on the offensive can stand more
than five yards back of the line If he Is one OF
these three TO start before the bali. Otherwise
the rules are practically identical, the CHIEF d.
ferences being such that they do not raterlaliy
alter the details of the game. One exception
may be admitted to the statement however
since IN the Harvard rules a fair catch is some
what different from the Yale-Princeton rules
fair catch In the former the man making the
catch cannot run with the ball unless ne ae-
liberately touches it 10 the gr2unc' IL Vlnei
words. he must take a down then ana ihere'
or may have an opportunity for o fair KICK Inc
object of this is TO free the man making the
catch from much dangerous interference.
The Yale Princeton rule IS the same as II wa
last year. Other rules in the Harvard-Cornei-
PENNSYLVANIA plan are regarding extra umpires
and so on. which make that particular SET Oh
rules rather better in the main than the ale ser;
though 1t Is unqucstonably better for footDaii
that only the four regular linen should stand be-
hind the line. The mass play, thoroughly sNs-
tematized advance Interference. and any sucn
combination Of players ar" not IN reaIi.y seou
things for the game. Not one can deny that any
one Of these combinations makes mere effective
and ground-gaining move. 1t Is the way reaiV 10
advance your position. II 10 the prlnclpie e'il-
pOyed IN all Of the best military manoeuVres,
but nevertheless IL is not college football
This distinction between gaining ground and
\ playing ball IS typical Of the condition of the
sport to-day Harvard invented the mass play
and II has proved immensely effective. Victories.
have been won by means of it. and yet the game
has suffered. In many other WAYS also the desire
for victory has hurt the sport, and It has
been the consciousness Of this fact that has led
Harvard to wait for Yale to change her policy
of victory by any methods before she joined her
again, and this is the reason for her unwilling
ness to meet Yale in any sport until both uni
versites have had time to become aware OF TINS
lishmen at oxford ana Cambridge have most IN
tertst ting ard exciting gaples every year. ano YET
to-day they are not as complete in their training
nor as careful in their work az Americans are.
Tlray have been al ii long enough 10 see that the
enjcvment Of the game end the contest, Whi m
ever way defeat may CO. Is the important thing
In the track meeting Of the London Athletic
Club men and the NeW-YOrk Athletic Club attn
letes this was marked The Englishmcn came
on the field and no )ne in the whole 10000 peo-
pie which made up the audience would for an
fi.,o. 4fQa ter a
were amateurs in the strictest sense. while OF
the Ney--York Athlete Club hardly one came on
the field who did not have a certain manner and
certain look Of the who had made II pretty
II uch his business for some time past to train for
athletics. One body was composed OF ar ateurs
Of the spirit and the other Of amateurs OF the
letter. We should all OF us deporc any such
state Of affairs In our college teams and 1t is
just such movements as that taken by Cornell
and Pennsylvania and Harvard this year in con-
fnr games to college grounds In endeaVoring
10 limit prices and number Of spectators-in con-
fning the sports TO collegans. in fact-that Will
help US from running into this professional busi-
nesslike victory -at-all-ccsts kind of sport, and
will eliminate what little has crept in already.
However. Yale's play on Saturday was the sub
1ect which called for this discussion. and we can
return TO that now Dewitt did the best work
for Yale and if he keeps playing as he did on
Saturday he will make as good back as there Is
in the field this season. He is remarkably quick
in starting and in keeping his feet while running
along through an open line OF tacklers Several
times he made fifteen &c thirty yards by THIS
skill in changing his direction and keeping on his
feet where others would have fallen, and Where
the Orange men who tried to tackle him did fali'
His play in general including his tackline, was
marked improvement over last year and over his
work Of the earlier part OF this season. Thorne
played his usual strong game. but the orange
centre men were altogether too much for Cross
and his two guards. Neither Thorne nor Jer-
rems could make much ground through the CEN
tire at any time during the game Yale was
lamentably weak on the defense all through the
game for, even acknowledging that Orange had a
strong rush line. Ii weakness In Thorne's line
which allowed Orange TO score from the first down
OF the game by legitimate football rushing In less
than a dozen scrimmages. A touchdown might
have been made, and occasionally Is made. by a
1uke at this tine OF the seasOn. SnCh fuke