The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-03-18
science OF FOOT BALL
Coach Woodruff Discusses the Tech
nical Points Of the Game.
COLLEGES VARIOUS TACTICS
Sale's IL q Bucking Game Harvard Is
Theoretical bur Not Prseticnl-COm.
bined strategy aud Strength
the Success Of the 4. r.


University of Pennsylvania football
team. recently gave the first of a series
Of foot ball talks which have been ar
ranged by the football committee Tor
the University of Pennsylvania players
and devotees of the game. Among other
things he said:
''The game as played at each of the
big universities is surrounded by dif-
ferent and distinctive atmosphere, die
tated by its characteristic feature. AT
Yale 1t is essentially a bucking game.
She teaches her runners to go through
her opponents and not to dodge them.
OF recent years the same Is true or
Princeton. Harvard endeavorS to
avoid bucking, and seeks to develop the
game on q theoretical line which Is not
practicable. Her failures are due to
this At Pennsylvania we have tried
to develop a bucking game. but not
that kind OF a bucking game which at
racks q stationary line. We have sought
to lead our line to form at the point
attacked. and our backs to buck their
own line: in other words, We seek To
have our line buck our opponents anu
our backs to simply follow up their at
tack with the ball. In addition TO this.
we have tried To advance the ball ana
retain its possession by kicking. These
two may be said To be the salient
points of Pennsylvania play, the at
mosphere which surrounds 1t.
NO NEED FOR TRICKS.
''ro do this we do not use tricks.
Tricks don't pay in foot t-ball. There Is
not time enough to practice them. L
cannot remember but one instance IN
which u trick succeeded. Then HaaS
coached q Young Mems Christian Assoc
citation team to meet Yale. He had
one man receive the ball He fell quick
ly Hat upon his face with the ball under
him while the remainder of the team
formed closely together and ran or 10
one side. The entire Yale team followed
them, and the man. jumping up, scored
u touchdown.
I'm 1881, when as freshman at Yale
] first began to play foot ball. there
was no such thing as Interference or
team play. Every man who advanced
the ball did so through his own eNer-
tions. There were but three men in
that year who We're given the ball to
run with It at all. These three men
were the half-backs and quarterback
and no one thought OF such thing as
pushing them. In 80 | was the first
rusher to take the ball, it being given
to me when it was accidentally dis
covered that ! could advance 1t. Then
began the advancing of the ball by
liNe men. The same year Princeton
gave the ball to Cowan and next year
the tackles were also pressed into SER
vice. so that in 'SS for the first time
seven men carried the ball. The center
never took it. TO suggest that the ends
run with it would have been considered
ridiculous. Stranger still, the full back
never took II. Why, ] cannot tell.
There was never any concerted in
reference. There were individual dem-
onstrations of such tendencies how
ever. Beecher, while playing quarter,
would frequently follow a runner with
l.: a ,l,tf hi n
the right or left to AVOID Il player. He.
however, never thought Of instructinG
another to do the same. Platt. an end
rush, also displayed remarkable tend
tncy. With out an instructor he IN
stinctively developed Il habit of start
ing down the field before Beecher when
the latter carried the ball. The effect
was startling and these two rarely fail
ed to advance the ball on such occa-
sions. Yet 1t never occurred to any
of us to initiate him. much less for two
or three of us to do so.
REACHED PERFECTION.
"The idea of line man interfering
was unheard OF. | first discovered TINS
possibility in 1889. l hurried to New
Haven with il, where 1t was incredul-
ously received. However, it was later
tried in a modified form and gradually
reached its perfection.
In SO / was coaching the Hill School
team at Pottstuwn. The instructors
were permitted to play with their
classes. and l played at guard. The
idea of a guards duties We're then tina (
he should remain steadfastly rooted in
his place. blocking his opponent. ]
found my boy half-backs could not gain
ground and | began to leave my place
In line and to go with them around the
end. l was struck with the singular
success attendant upon our efforts.
communicating my discover to Wal
ter Camp. he stamped 1t as impossible.
Nevertheless Gale tried to get the full
back and half backs to precede the
runner. In 80 Hefiiefinger, from his
place at guard, did likewise. and there
by won for himself and Morrison, his
fellow guard, the name of the greatest
OF guards.
1T was Charlie Schoff who sounded
the death-knell of 1t. Yale. in '92. sent
her guards, tackle ends and quarter
back around the end. followed by her
back. Around one end of PennSyl-
vania's line they never failed to gain.
Schoff however, on the other side,
ducked his head and. striking the for
ward runners below the knees, tumbled
them all in a heap and Yale did not
once gain an inch. Schoff was the first
man to break up interference, and by
his work he showed the 1luitleSSneSS Of
this style Of play.
I'VE meanwhile were using every va
riety of wedges. We had center wedges
and end wedges. tackle wedges and re-
volving VS. They were so painfully
slow that we We're forced to abandon
them. Then we hit upon the plan which
developed what consider the best pla y
ever used on the gridlorn.
I'VE found that by having our tackle
nVd nd f,rl1 ho cls NJ