The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-01-22
PLAYED BY THE FAIR ONES.
A GOOD THING FOR THE PHYSICAL
CULTURE GIRL IN
COLLEGE.
But Much More LadyIike With None
of the Attendant Rough
ness.

'IeSla comes from Vermont and be-
gan with the ST. Johnsbury girls, who
are startling all New England with
their football Their Yankee genius
is as clever as their nimble feet
Tesla" push ball is like football, only
a thousand times more genteel. 1t does
not need to have the foot elevated
further than a good jumping height,
and there is no danger of getting the
awful thrusts that can come from
the toe Of a shoe misdirected. There
may be bruises, but for these the girl
athlete has her remedies
Tesla is played with ball as tall
as your shoulder. 1t is of the material
of a football, but little harder 1t
can be blown up until quite firm, in
which state it is ideal
The game of tesla begins with
teams" What game does not, if il
would strive for popularity! The teams
consist of four young women on each
side. They dress in uniform and must
be matched in height. If there is
little stumpy girl on one side there
must be one on the other side. In
weight there must be a match also
A plump girl weighing $50 pounds must
be balanced by another plump girl on
the opposite team.
UPSETTING A PLUMP GIRL.
Wise ones know that a plump girl,
While she makes a splendid showing,
is easily tipped over. But that is one
Of the secrets of tesla You cannot
upset one of those long, lean girls to
save your life. You can roll the ball
over her toes and up her legs, but she
will come out right end up and snil-
Ing. She has way Of mana ing it.
That, too. is a secret of tesla.
The way the ball starts is from the
hands of the captain of one of the
teams. The two teams stand along
each side of the gymnasium, dressed
each in her uniform and scowling
dreadfully at the row of girls opposite
The captains draw" and one is
elected to start the ball rolling. 1t Is
not quite as good to be drawn as not,
because the captain does not want to
set the ball rolling. She wants to be
with her team to help with the ball,
But that, too is a detail
The ball is at the middle of the room
upon great chalky cross The game
is to roll it to one end Of the gymna-
SUM or the other. The opposite ends
are divided into sections. One end is
end. Red chalk marks the red end
and the other is marked with blue
chalk M
When the captain Of the red end
starts the ball rolling in the middle Of
the room she sends it toward the red
end Of the room. The minute she
strive to head off the ball and start
touches it with her fingers both teams
rush out from the side. The blue girls
II hack I'd Of a
room, while the red girls run out and
try to make it go to their end.
The exciting part of the game begins
as soon as the captain starts the ball
rolling, On each side Of her, ten feet
away, stand the teams at the side. The
minute she touches the ball they will
run out to stop 1t or send it along.
A FAIR UMPIRE.
It is like starting a horse race. The
girls are crazy to be off, and there is a
fine chance for a dispute among them
as to the fairness Of the start, for
beth sides must start at once. There
fore there is an umpire who is the
judge. She watches closely. She is war
ranted absolutely impartial, and in
case of a start Of the reds too soon,
she rings bell, which calls all back
to place.
The scientific part Of the game comes
in at the goal. The goals lie at the
extreme end Of the room. In the red
end the goal is marked by black
mark. To win the game the reds must
push the ball to their end Of the room
and place it upon the black circle.
Now, with a great ball the size of
a tesla push ball there might be some
doubt about this point especially as
the ball gets a little winded by being
battered by so many athletic hands
h0 Of f1n II
room.
But this is arranged by scientific
process. Inside the goal circle there
is a small black dot. This leads to an
electric bell placed in the ceiling. Upon
being touched this button rings the
bell overhead in a musical tinlxle and
the game is over.
Both sides know this and there is desper-
ate struggle between the reds and blues to get
the ball upon the button. 1t need not remain
there, but it must hit squarely to ring. Often
a game is played nearly out and cannot be
finished The nearly victorious reds have the
ball in their end of the room and have got it
in the circle, but they can't get it over the
button the blues fighting them fercely.
One little blue girl with her blouse ripped
from her throat stands straddle of the button
and you can't push her off it. Her team are
supporting her and keeping tie other side
from pushing the ball against her. It is
against the rule to tackle a player. All must
be done through the ball. The little girl in
blue must be pushed on her perch over the
button by blow of the ball. That makes
it harder but a thousand times more interest
ing for the reds.
HITTING THE BULLS EYE.
Now, the uninitiated might ask why in the
world one of the little girls in red who is try
ing to get the ball upon the button does not
cheat a little. Why does she not put her
small slippered foot forward and press the
button until it rings? She might and would
doubtless like to do so, but she cannot At
this point in the game the umpire steps in
Crouching down to the floor on the side away
from the goal she watches the ball carefully
She decides when 1t rings the bell. The bell
will ting-a-ling- Ling a-ling twenty times be-
fore the ball has touched It, because in the
scramble there will be flying feet placed upon
it. But it does not count goal.
And here is another point in tesla For every
time the button is stepped it counts foul.
The girl whose team steps on 1t loses many
points. These are counted in the final reck-
oning. And that is why in an exciting game
between skilled players there will be dead
silence when it comes to the goaling point.
Neither side wants to lose by stepping upon
the button and ringing the electric bell over
head.
There ara all kinds of girls:
There is every kind of girl.
So runs the popular song. And so in ath-
letics there are bloomer girls and skirted
girls The bloomer girls say they can play
better than the others with their divided
skirts and sweaters.
The skirted girls wear very short skirts that
hinder the legs M more than bloomers The