The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1897-11-06
THE CHAMPIONS
OF FOOTBALL.

The football season this year will be
a very short one In two or three weeks
at the longest the season win be over.
at least for all of the big elevens. But
il is none the less interesting for that
matter. In fact. the increasing interest
in football all over the country appears
To have reached a marvellous growth
attained by no other sort of athletic
sport.
Most of the big teams this year have
reverted more than ever 10 the usual
straight football tactics With one or
two exceptions. The Quakers have
again adopted their celebrated guards
back interference" and will probably
make ii their principal play. Princeton
tried the old turtle back" wedge
against the Indians once or twice, but
| otherwise limited their attack to runs
around the ends and through tackles
behind the usual interference.
Yale has played nothing but straight
| football and Harvard's eleven has not
attempted any tricks so far, although
it is said that plenty newfapgled ma
neuvers have been invented. These facts
| are creating the impression that the
elevens are gradually turning down al
legged tricks, which take up time and
cause confusion, and will not pay much
attention TO anything but straight. old
| fashioned football. The coaches, or the
| majority Of them, realizing that Prince
| tons great victory last year was due
| to the simplest methods OF coaching and
| training, are in favor of instructing
| their respective teams on similar lines
OF course. tricks like the "criss cross"
| "side punts'' and long passes" Will
| never be overlooked, for they were pop
| ular when the game was in its infancy.
| But evolutions in which nearly every
member in the team is concerned. where
| a puZzlng set of signals is necessary
! and where no really wonderful gains
! are made. will undoubtedly be set aside.
| Good football players, no matter on
what team they may play. get onto
| tricks so quickly nowadays that many
of them are useless after the first at
| tempt.
/ The celebrated flying wedge" which
| caused such a sensation five years ago,
was practically useless after an oppos-
! ing team had once seen il i'm operation.
So were many other schemes which
were invented by theorists The best
football players, i'm the estimation of
veteran colleglans were those who, un-
! their opponents and made long runs
down the field. So called tricks" were
unknown then, and yet the game was
just as effectively played as now.
! Gradually as ii may seem to have ta-
ken place, nevertheless the game OF
! football has materially changed during
| the last few years. All the games this
| year have been played on eyener scores.
! Each individual match has, therefore.
| been more closely and evenly contest
ed. and hence there may be supposed TO
be harder fought matches this year than
| ever before. Yet in the midst of this
| increased because more equal rivalry.
the whole question of "slugging'' or
disqualification for unfair tactics seems
to have sunk out of sight Injuries
there are, and always viii be. because
the game is at best rough and hard on
the body at times, but there are no long
er injuries caused by play carried on
FOR the purpose of hurting a man and
thus getting him out of the game
Neither lis the discussion of a few wears
ago-the question of eligibility--in any
ones mouth today. We seem to have