The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1898-10-17

DctWeeu the Butte team ana the De0o-
wood giants at Athletic park yester-
day afternoon. where the crimson and
cream md black and gold of the OPP
posing mining camps hoated on the
breeze. n 1900 people witnessed enc
Of the best football games ever played
on q field memorable for exciting on
tests between gridiron giants.
Better and more fiercely fought con-
tests have been seen in Butte. but not
| often and a game more interesting from
q spectators point OF view, never. And
the big crowd in attendance enjoyed
the exciting sport to the fullest pos
sible extent save hat the great ma
jority. being Butte people. they were
doubtless somewhat disappointed that
the home team did not win. There were
all the elements in the game that 60 to
make up a successful football event.
The day was ideal. the crowd big and
enthusiastic. the play close. clean and
exciting. and altogether 1t was the most
thoroughly appreciated game seen In
Butte since the early days of football
in the camp. 1t would not take many
such games to restore football to all its
old-time popularity. A second game
will doubtless be played to settle the
question Of supremacy.
OF the merits of the game. It may be
| said that the teams. in some respects.
were remarkably evenly matched. as
the score would indicate. but in others
there was a ark discrepancy in ia
vor OF the home team, as, for instance,
in the matter of experience and knowl-
edge OF the game Butte had much the
best Of II. while the visitors depended
upon the great weight of their line and
some of their backs to carry them
through by main force. These were
the conditions which evened up the
game, but they were not the only agen-
cies which contributed to the result OF
a tie. Too great an ambition to get into
the game and two bad errors. one by
the home team and one by the visitors.
undoubtedly had more to do with the
fact that neither team won than any
thing else. Mahoney and others Of the
home team, in their ambition to get into
the game, got of side several times.
which gave the visitors the bail on two
occasions when Butte was progressing
steadily to a touchdown and caused the
visitors to be presented with so yards
of ground during the play. Then Bean
fumbled once when Butte was going
ahead like a whirlwind. and the
tumble undoubtedly cost n touchdown.
These unfortunate circumstances are
doubtless what prevented Butte from
winning. for they made them at criti-
cal moments and made the more differ
ence because both teams were able to
make ground when they had the ball,
but We're weak on the defensive and
therefore when either side got the ball
there was a reasonable chance of scor-
ing. This chance was more marked in
favor of Butte than of the visitors. for
the reason that Butte never once
lost the ball on downs. 1t seems
therefore reasonable that Butte hould
have won the game, and would but for
these errors, while IL is equally true
hat a lux cost Deadwood the glory
Of winning. When the score stood 5 to
s after Deadwood's touchdown In the
second half, Fletcher kicked for goal
and missed by about two feet. Had he
kicked h goal the visitors would have
won by one point. The same annot be
said of Mahoney's failure to kick goal
for Butte. which. a he been success
the game. as his kick was clearly
blocked by q good play.
Character Of Play.
or the character of play of the re-
spective teams. Deadwood's game was
confined to plunges and mass plays.
The line men and backs played very
close together n relied on the weight
Of the three heavy men behind the line
to carry them through. Captain Will
son displayed rare generalship and
judged rightly a his inexperienced
team would be unable to successfully
play an open game with their more ex-
perienced a~dversaries. He accordingly
confined himself to mass tactics. hold
ing in reserve a hn running quarter
when his line bucking policy had drawn
Butte's ends in. Then he sent his quar-
ter around the ends disastrously for
the home team. To Captain Wilson'S
foresight in this respect. il largely due
the fact that the men from the hills
scored.
Butte showed much more experience
| tina Deadwood. and as had been pre-
dicted by the Standard wo1li be the
case, played an open game throughout.
which added greatly to the enjoyment
OF the spectators. No kicking was done.
but this is not the only characterizing
feature Of an open game. as runs figure
quite as much in sue a game. and IL
was on runs that Butte depended. The
backs were used against Deadwood's
ends with good effect. and the interfer-
ence for these plays was good In the
majority of cases. The defensive play
against the line-bucking Of the visit
ors was not up to the standard Of the
rest Of the Buttes' game: in fact. II
was lamentably weak. and a II not
been for the fact that Deadwood wal no
better in his respect Butte's colors
would a gon down to defeat The
offensive play was superlatively good.
like that Of the visitors.
The game throughout was the clean-
est and most g~entlemanly ever played
on the Butte field. There a an utter
absence of kicking and squabbling.
which has marred many a game. and
Notwithstanding that Jolitz OF the Wis
itors sustained a cracked rib and Ma
honey of Butte Is suffering conclusion
OF the brain. there was 40 rough play
ing as rough play at football Is con-
sidered. Both were injured in acci-
dents in which there was no design
and which were unavoidable.
II In not often that football between
teams representing rival mining camps
Is seen. or was not until very recent