Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-11-21
FOOTBALL EXPERTS ALL AGAINST
1T AND BRUTAL TACkLING.
YALE is OUT FOR REFORM.
STRONG FEELING THAT THE GAME
NEEDS SOME CHANGES.
What Some of the Players Say of the
Reforms That Will Lessen the
DanEer-Dinlculty Is to Do
Away With Danger and
Maintain Interest.

~SSONy Ai6 t1d4l Lax AoStDuAk
players that the sport Is before the ban
OF public opinion. The cry of brutality
mas gone up throughout the land. While
not admitting Is Is justified. some conces-
sion Will be made to this sentiment. The
scrimmage results from the mass play.
therefore,. If reform is contemplated. the
mass play must be cut out. This will be q
reform along logical lines. Four years ago,
when Lorin F. Deland invented the flying
wedge. that gave Harvard its first victory
In years over Yale, the flying mass was
generally adopted. and proved a deadly
instrument of victory. Yale was successful
in having it legislated out OF the game.
Then came Princeton with the close
formation play. which Is nothing more
than a mass play that does not get under
way until after the ball is put in play.
Instead Of a running mass. it became a
pushing mass. h play gave Princeton
the gridiron supremacy.
Yale doesn't like the close formation any
more than 1t does the flying wedge, but
they stood alone last summer and could
not dictate rules for their opponents. II
at their oyn game. they would be in bet
ter position to d%enounce the new style Of
game.
football. The play is rough both in the
offensive and defensive character. Into
every mass play one or two members Of
like SO much dead weight to break up the
formation and enable the tacklers to dis
cover the runner. All this is very hard on
the players. and very dangerous.
Yale has always chung to the old open
style of play. and has won most Of her
victories by simple but effective plays. h
men and the coaches are in favor of open
plays to mass formations. but the difficulty
Of bringing about this legislation Is great:
The only feasible way seems to be to call
a meeting Of the captains and coaches Of
the leading teams and get them to agree on
a set of rules.
versity Of opinion. Harvard. for instance,
favorS the mass play, claiming that its
elimination would rob the game Of virility
The New York Herald has collected opin-
ions from expert players upon the mass
plays. Some Of these are as follows:
Sheppard Romans. Jr., formerly fullback
for Princeton-I am heartily in favor Of a
more open game. Certainly it is one to be
eral points about the present playing rules
that l would like to see amended. one be-
ing the matter Of tackling. IL would be
we'll to go back to tackiing about the waist.
think it would be well to allow the quar-
taking up, the time necessary to pass it
to a third player. This would open up
the game to a great extent. and allow far
ers on the leading teams has been hurt
seriously. and fatal injuries have never oc-
CURED to any member Of the big college
| ledIHS- Inc QutStlOIl VI HlUullylUS tnS
rules has been discussed informally among
the many players in the colleges. and T
wouldn't be surprised to see a meeting held
at the close of the season. the sentiment
of which would be the restriction of GER
tain plays. OF course. there have been
many changes made in the rules. but they
play only, and did not tend toward the
abolition Of accidents to the players.
Bartow 8; Weeks, captain of the New
see the rules modified. 1 favor such play as
We had in 1879 or 1850. when the English
game was first introduced. and. after some
termed American Rugby. 1t permitted OF
more open play. passing. kicking. drib-
bling. ETC.. and there was practically no
chance for accidents such as We read about
nowadays with alarming frequency. Cut
out the mass plays, which seem to contain
all the danger: dispense with dangerous
tackling, and let US have football, not the
lining up of two teams. the result of whose
impact usually krpcks out some player for
various periods. I'm decidedly in favor OF
open play and hope to see the question agi-
tated to that end"
James E. Sullivan. president Of the Met
ropolitan Association of the Amateur Ath-
letic Union-"Football is all right. I do
not think it Is any more dangerous than
cycling or other sports. The only objec-
tionable feature of football is the mass
play. I believe the rules governing that
form of play should be amended so as to
prevent a man from being jumped upon
after he has secured the ball. 1 believe In
tdthiii6 ool L Ill oPpoStu ~ " - AhohC
players jumping on a player after he has
been tackled and brown"
Coach Moyle. of Brown university. says:
II am in favor of the open play. Ever
since I have been at Brown we have stuck
to it. We have scored on Yale with the
open play. and see no reason why that
style should not prevail. / believe that 1t
makes a game more interesting to the
average spectator, who becomes tired OF
the heavy massed play and small games.
Of the men being all tired out and gett'-s
hurt. AS long as the men can be kept
lively they never get hurt. It IS the
tired out man who collapses and GEES I'M
der the pile and Is injured"
Professor W. H. Munro, chairman Of the
faculty committee on athletics. Brown uni
no child's game. and should be played
only by men trained for 1t. I do object
to mass plays. and believe that such forma-
hidden. Pennsylvania gets around the let
ter of the rule in regard to mass plays.
but violates the spirit Of it. # Is such
plays as these hssnrs that the Or'n n9bl ico'0a As INTO TO
the game at the University Of Georgia:
it seems to me that a wave Of
Football played as it should be played
brings out many desirable points in a
mans character. and so I believe 1t is a
". 3. Curtis. "Father BILL" the veteran
authority on American athletics-"As long
as we have football we will have rough
r%oughness eliminated, I don't see how Il
can be done. As to the question of ecci-
dents. you can rest assured that che ma
jority happen to those whose knowledge
| fectly trained"
Professor N. F. Davis. of Brown univer-
lieve the game should be so modified bat
! the element Of danger would be reduced.