The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-11-20
A HARD TACKLE.
The Half Backs Thoughts When He Wa:
Knocked Over After the Touchdown.
(From the New York SUM

FHoSkeu over AFTER tne ouChdoWn.
(From the New York SUM
I'VE had worked the ball down to
within thirty yards of their goal" he
said to group of sturdy young men
gathered around a table in an uptown
club, and 1 saw a touchdown coming
our way. 1 was playing half back, and
had been worked pretty hard. Capt.
Blank was at quarter, and he had sent
me around the end a dozen times and
twice through the centre. / told him
that she was going to see the game,
and he knew that I would play as 1
never played before. When we trotted
onto the field, ! called Blanks atten-
ton to her. She was sitting in the
front row, wearing our colors in her
gown and her hat. Blank said she was
all right, and, though I knew it before,
l was glad to hear Blank say SO. E,V-
cry time that / ran with the ball 1
could see her out of the corner of my
eye, and the first time that l was
doWned hard near the grand stand and
the other team piled on top of me.
heard her cry out, but / couldn't tell
what it was because the man who
tackled me had his knee in my ear 1t
didn't take me long to get up from
!
Well as I was saying, we rolled
them down the field by steady play,
and when we lined up within thirty
yards of their goal with the ball in our
hand. Blank said 1t was time 10 take
a brace and score. He told us that We
had been loafing, and that he was
ashamed of US. just as if we hadn't
been playing the best foot ball of the
year. He signaled to me that he ex-
pected me to take the ball around the
left end, and I thought that / saw nv
chance for good rum
Now let me tell you that the expe-
rience which followed was novel. The
centre snapped the ball back to Capt.
Blank and although l was WATCHING,
MN lntently, | saw the other rush line
break against ours as if they had
struck stone wall and saw girl in
our colors on the grandstand who was
SO eXclted that she was standing up.
Inc pail was in the air. and when 7
Iouhd II tucked safely under my arm |
was running for all that was i'm me As
! passed their end he jumped at me and
Just missed hold. 1t seemed to me
that the noise on the field had ceased
suddenly though I learned afterward
that 1t was redoubled as soon as 7
started with the ball I saw'thefr half
PACK ana tull back running so that
they might tackle me just before I
reached their line and / seemed to have
eyes IN the back of my head with which
l saw thef whole rush line at my heels
10 tackle me from behind
All OF this however. was merely an
incidental stage setting for a girl ia our
coIors on the grandstand | wondere d
VINO the chap was who was standfno
BESIDE her, and l feared that her arm
might get tired waving the flag which
sent to her as she came on the
GROUNDS. | was dimly conscious of the
iact that l was running at fun speed
IN the hope that l might carry their
nan BACK and full back across ne line
win me when l was tackled. and INV
feet seemed to move of their own wolf,
tloh. MY running was due to sub-con-
sclouS action at the best, and if botb
efed me that L was getting so near tine
IeiloWs who We're hurrying to tackle
me- because 1 knew that when the tac-
kIe came L would see nothing of the
grandstand
!, Lhen 1t occurred to me suddenly that
me IuIlback was the man who had been
standing beside the girl in NV colore
on the grandstand, and l wondered how
ne mad made such a quick change. II
ne mad Jumped from the grandstand tC
heIp out the other side, l was going to
protest What right had he there? We
We're not going to play against twelve
men. he must have been wearing his
toot ball suit under his big ulster and
IL was not a fair game. Why didn't
prank see MN and stop the game
Anyway, he was a fool for leaving a
pretty girl and coming down on a wet
lleld TO get rolled over in the mud. for
tbat was what | intended to do with
nm, and l was going to do it right
then, hard, clear over the line-half-
back and fullback together and the
whole team
Il couldn't understand it, The girl
IN my colors 10 whom | had given the
nag mad struck me on the head with
the hagstick. il was not a hard blow.
but it hurt that she should hit me
Inc tullback. who had made a quick
change to his ulster, was standing be-
SIDE her trying to push me back. l was
attempting to climb over the rail- to
where she stood. Every one on the
grandstand was yelling in my ears and
the din was terrific. Then it ceased
summer vacation had arrived. and the
girl, now dressed in white. was sittine,
IN the stern IF the boat while | rowed
lazily with the stream She seemed
TO be talking but | couldn't understand
what she said. 1t was all very COM
Portable, EpwCVer. As she leaned for
ward, her hat fell off. and without
waiting, | reached for it, tipped the
BOAT over ana began going to the bot
tom. ] never suspected that the river
was SO deep. l kept going down and
down. while my ears rang painfully,
ard then my feet touched something.
| gave a spring and up l bobbed. [ shot
up. Aly ears ceased ringing. and
somebody held me up.
Is she drowned? | asked, opening,
NV eyes slowly
'Downed squarely behind the goal,
said familiar voice, 1t was Capt
Bank, and as ] recognized him, | said
Why. hello old man, how did you
come here?
" an here. he said with a grin,
and ] ran like hell'
sc Am l Wet / asked obviously.
" Is he wet" said Capt. Blank to the
faces around him. Is he wet? Well.
what do You think of that after a 30
yard run through the whole team, wind
ing up with pushing the half and full
over the line for touchdown? He
thinks little mud on his clothes will
sour the girl in colors up there on the
Grandstand. Why, old man, you were
damned into the mud a bit, hut YOU
are all riSh+ If you are dirty Get up
so that this internal racket may stop
and that any one who has any interest
in such 4 coXcCmb as you are. if they
happen TO DC Iii the grandStand, can
see that you are not hurt. That's
right, up ON your feet now. No bones
broken? All right. Now we will take
ii out for a goal
Il stood Up There, She was, waving
my Gag, and b side her, looking discon-
ISOLATE, was the chap l had supposed
was going 10 tackle me on the field.
No boat, no hat in the water and no
drowning. Just hard tackle, that s
all"