The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1895-09-24
Deering.
Portland,
ABOUT THE NEW RULES.

Referee. Wilbur; Umpire, Foster;
Timer, Edwards
ABOUT THE NEW RULES.
There will be plenty of opportunity for
disagreeInents in the football matches this
year unless the colleges get together and
devise single set of rules which shall
apply to all games. The rules used last
year are still in force, although some
changes have been made by the Intercolle
giate Association, of which Yale and
Princeton are now the only members,
and others have been made by Harvard,
Pennsylvania, and Cornell. 1t is diff
cult to decide which set of rules is the
better, but if the amendments made by
the five colleges should be adopted by all
1T would be decided gain.
The most important change has been
made by Yale and Princeton. and is in
regard to the scrimmage. In the old rule
no momentum mass. plays are allowed,
but a group of three men may form be-
hind the line before the ball is put in
.play, which simply reduces the flying
wedge from seven to three, the gain being
only in the amount of damage which
might be done by a flying body of mon
descending upon another. The change
made by Yale and Princeton provides
that not more than one man shall start
forward before the ball is in play, and
thss5 not more than three men shall group
themselves behind the line at any point
One lend" is, however, permitted to drop
back provided he does not come inside the
position of tackle. This rule will tend
to do away with the flying wedge alto
gether, and will make the game more
open, and consequently less dangerous and
more interesting. Harvard Pennsylvania,
and Cornell have added to the rules on
the lineup clause stating that no player
shall lay his hands upon Or interfere with
an opponent in anyway before the ball
is put in play. This may be effective in
preventing fisticuffs in the line, but the
rule would have been improved had the
teams been lined up a yard apart SO that
any Singing could be plainly seen.
Yale and Princeton will have four
officials IN 5lle game, the linesinan having
an assistant, while the other three col
leges have two umpires, one referee, and
one linenan. The latter offiials are to
be nominated by the captains and con-
firmed by the faculty athletic committees
of the contending colleges The duties OF
the umpire are the same in all five col
leges. and MS they were last year. The
change In the rules affecting the referee
adopted by Harvard, Pennsylvania and
Cornell makes it his duty to give testi-
mony to the umpires about fouls and vio-
lations of rules, and his testimony must
be accepted by the umpires and acted on
by immediate punishment. The testi-
mony of the linesman must also be taken
by the umpires according to the new
rules. The three colleges have made an
other rule by which all questions OF dis
qualification after the game shall be laid
before a committee of four, two to be
chosen by the faculties or athletic COM
mittees of the colleges playing together;
this committee has power to dlsqualify
a player for the rest of the season or for
any length of time, such disqualification
being final. If the committee use this
power WlUuOubs T6ShEu W oii0 AceAAA6 VI
the colleges, it is good rule and is likely
TO stop brutality.
The other change of consequence is the
abolition by all of the holding up of a
players hand for fair catch. They all
return to the old custom of "heeling" as
the signal. In the old rules the player
calling for fair catch must take it, but
under the rules made by Harvard, Penn
sylvania, and Cornell the player making
a fair catch cannot run with the ball,
but may pass it to some other player of
the same side to run with or kick. If he
does not do this he must put it in play at
the place where it was caught, by free
kick or from scrimmage.
NOTES.
Thornton Academy eleven will be the
opponents of the Portland High School
team next Saturday and an exciting game
is anticipated. The Portland team is
unusually light this year and some hard
practicing must be gone through this
week it they expect to make any kind of
showing against the Saco toys
Underwood has the making of an ex-
cellent full hack.
The weakest place in the Portland line
Just at present, is the guards If Hussey,
who played good game as right guard,
last year, can be sinduced to come backs
and some beefy young man that weighs
about one hundred and eighty pound
can be found the team would be far
stronger.
The finar ces of the football association