The Colfax chronicle. [volume] (Colfax, Grant Parish, La.) 1877-1981, 1897-02-20
FOOTBALL DEFENDED.
The Game Is Said to BE as Safe az any
Field Sport.

Field Sport.
The annual protest against the rough
ness and brutality of football as played
in American colleges and schools was so
vigorous at the close of this years
season that the friends of the game are
coming forward with facts to show that
IL is no more dangerous than any other
vigorous exercise or game, and they
cite bicycle accidents, shooting acci-
dents and drowning while sailing or
skating to show that the record of foot
bali is not open to serious criticism as
an exceptionally rough game. Ina late
issue of Harper's Weekly Caspar Whit
ney mentions his ten years exclusive
study of amateur sport and its depelop-
ment, and his extensive acquaintance
with football players, adding:
in all this time l have never had a
friend nor even an acquaintance who
was killed or permanently injured by
football On the other hand, L have an
acquaintance who lost his eye, and one
damaged for life playing polo; four
friends have been drowned by the up
setting of a sailboat, two drowned by the
overturning of a racing shell, three
drowned while swimming, two while
skating, two killed in hunting, one by an
an Infatuated giizzly bear, the other by
defective rifle; one killed by the care
less handling of shotgun, and one
killed by one of those didn't-know-it-
| was-loaded fools who was lingering
revolver. Several friends and as many
acquaintance have been killed and sew
eral badly crippled while riding or
driving horses
Mr.. Whitney says that in 20 years he
has been able to trace only six deaths d.
rectly to foot ball, two of which &C.
Cured this year. One of these deaths
was that of Bert Serf, of the Doane col
lege football team in Kansas. He died
from injuries received while playing the
University of Kansas team at Lawrence,
in that state, on November IA last. A
New York representative of the new
journalism declares that Serf was killed
in a mass play, and was picked up I'M
conscious after a scrimmage. Chan
cellor Snow, of the University of Kan
sas, has written letter giving the facts
about the death of young Serf, who was
only IS years old. Chancellor Snow
says:
Speak of the Kansas eleven, the
lightest man in the team, weighing
about $50 pounds, had the ball and was
making an end run for a touch down.
He had clear field for the goal, when
Serf, who was playing full back, ran TO
tackle him, and as the result of a too
high tackle was thrown, striking the
ground with his head, just as Speak
carried the ball over the line for a
touch down. The real cause of Serfs
death was his being out of condition.
He had been injured in previous
game, at which time he had been car
of an injury to his head. He was laid
out during the first half of the game
with Kansas, and the referee and others,
members of The Kansas team, protested
against his being allowed to continue
in the game. He should not have been
allowed to play at ALL"
Chancellor Snow then makes an i'm
portant suggestion. He suggests that
an additional official, TO rank with the
referee and umpire, medical adviser,
be appointed, with full power to remove
from the game any man of either eleven
who is clearly not in condition to con-
tinue the game"
The chancellor also notes that the
three men of the Kansas team who were
reported dangerously injured" were
hot more than slightly injured. He
adds:
II have no doubt that an investigation
of the entire list of those reported dam
gerously and seriously injured would
show general exaggeration of the ac-
tual condition of the players men,
toned"
Mr.. Whitney supplements this by the
declartion that in all the games that
Harvard. Yale, Princeton and Pennsyl.
vania have played there has never been
death. These games have been the
hardest played in the entire country.
He also declares that there is no record
of q permanent injury in any of these
games, and that the most serious acct
den. in any of them was that Of
broken breast bone. The man who met
with the accident is strong and well to-
day. Mr.. Whitney says that if we wish
to have sport without danger we must
confine ourselves to croquet or squat
tag, or pleasure of that grade.-N. Y.
| Sun.