El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-01-30
DANGER IN FOOTBALL.
Friends Of the Game Stand Up in
It's Defense.
Sport without Danger to Be Found
Only In Such Games CroQuet
or Squat Tag-Compara-
tive Cases. !.

The annual protest against the rough
ness and brutality of football as played
| in American colleges and schools was 81
| vigorous at the close of this year:
season that the friends of the game are
| coming forward with facts to show that
| it is no more dangerous than any othel
| vigorous exercise or game, and they
| cite bicycle accidents, shooting acct
dents and drowning while sailing OF
skating to show that the record of foot
ball is not open to serious criticism as
an exceptionally rough game. In 4 late
issue of Harper's Weekly Caspar Whit
ney mentions his ten years exclusive
study of amateur sport and it's depelop-
ment, and his extensive acquaintance
with football players, adding:
In all this time l have never had q
friend nor even an acquaintance who
was killed or permanently injured by
football. On the other hand, [ have an
acquaintance who lost his eye, and one
damaged for life playing polo; four
friends have been drowned by the up
setting ola sailbOat, two drowned by the
Overturning of racing shell, three
drowned while swimming, two while
skating, two killed in hunting, one by an
an Infatuated giizzly bear, the other by
Il defective rifle; one killed by the care
less handling of a shotgun. and one
killed by one of those didn 't-knov-it-
was-loaded fools who was lingering a
revolver. Several friends and as many
acquaintance have been killed and sew
eral badly crippled while riding or
driving horses
N N =
has been able to trace only six deaths di-
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, Oh November IA last. y
New York representative of the new
journalism declares that Serf was killed
in a mass play, and was picked UP I'M
conscious after 4 scrimmage. Chan
cellor Snow, of the University of Kan
sas, has written a 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 touch down.
He had clear field for the goal, w hen
Serf, who was playing full back, ran to
tackle him, and as the result of 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. |
lie had been injured in a previous
game, at which time he had been car |
ried off the field unconscious on account |
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 |
lgainst his being allowed to continue |
II the game. He should not have been
allowed to play at all
Chancellor Snow then makes an i'm
'ortant suggestion. He suggests that
III Traditional official, to rank with the
'eteree and umpire, a medical adviser,
re appointed. with full power to remove
rom the game any man of either eleven
vho is clearly not in condition to con-
niue the game"
The chancellor also notes that the
- ~ AAiNAA VI tAiS tCSbIi W uO W ere
eported dangerously injured were
lot more than slightly injured. He
dds:
Il have no doubt that an investigation |
f the entire list of those reported dan
erously and seriously injured would j
how a general eXaggeration of the &C
ual condition of the players men
ioned,'
Mr.. Whitney supplements this by the
eclartion that in all the games that
harvard, Yale, Princeton and Pennsyl-
ania have played there has never been
death. These games have been the
ardest played in the entire country.
e also declares that there is no record S
n permanent injury in any of these
ames, and that the most serious acct
emit in any of them was that of a |
roken breast bone. The man who met |
18th the accident is strong and we'll to- {
ay. Mr.. Whitney says that if we wish
} have sport without danger we must I
onfine ourselves to croquet or squat | '
e, or pleasure of that grade.-N. Y.
IN.