The times., 1899-01-01
CAPITAL CITY ATHLETES
A Little Local History About
Football.
THE GALLAUDETS PIONEERS
How the Deaf Mutcs Win Games and
the Many Disadvantages They La
bor Undcr-AgEressivc and
Tcnncity Are the Qualities That
Have Won Them Championships.

Have Won Them thnmptonships'
The football season in this city begins
earlier and closes later, with few excep-
tions, than in any other locality which
| has any football pretensions. Some time
/ before the big varsity teams are in trim
to line up our knights of the gridiron have
| played their preliminary warming-up
games and are beginning to feel their way
TO the more important struggles on the
| sridiron.
Here, as almost everywhere else, the
seasons schedule closes with big game
on Thanksgiving Day. Then comes our
post schedule season, and that's where We
lead most of the other cities, and this ad-
dtional sport winds up with a game on
Christmas Day, and the opposing teams
are generally the winners of the Thanks
giving game and one made up Of crack
players of big college teams home for the
holidays, and this aggregation has always
been dubbed the All Washngtons. This
year, 1t will be remembered, Georgetown
met and defeated the All Washingtons.
For several years it was the special
privilege of the Gallandet College team
lof which l want to speak more at
| length) to play the Christmas games,
because it had the honor in those days OF
having won the seasons big game the
championship game. Then came the
Georgetown College and Columbia Ath-
letic Club teams, which. in later years,
that is. up TO and including 1894, won the
District championship, first one and then
the other.
The local college teams this year were
more or less strong, and therefore more
or less successful. For the most part
the players were new, and considering
this fact, it may be said that the teams
made good showing against one another
and against strong visiting teams
One of the most consistent elevens III
the matter of playing week in and wesk
out, each year winning a large majority
of its games, was the one representing
the Gallandet College, the National Deaf
Mute College, and this is good time, at
the real close of the season, to say some
thing about these pioneers in the great
game hereabouts.
Local football history tells that Gallau-
det and the Episcopal High School, from
near Alexandria, began playing sort of
football game twenty odd years ago
The first game at Gallaudet began with
a 'kick-of'' on the garlic patch, and by
repeated kicks the sphere. for it was an
association ball found itself in the cellar
of the old college building half mile
away. 1t was more like the association
game then, and instead OF twisted should
ers and broken collarbones and shattered
ribs, the players suffered from barked
shins.
Mr.. L. NJ. Blackford, OF the Episcopal
HIGH School, is a disciple OF John Hughes,
of Rugby, and he gradually worked up the
game here, and for a number of years the
Deaf Mutes and the Episcopals played the
game in red flannel shirts and knicker-
bockers. Then the Washington (now Cen
traD High School. led by DR.. Frank An
gell, came into the field. Georgetown
then took up the game and soon after its
organization in 1887, as an athletic club
the Columbia Athletic Club took up the
game, and thenceforth and ever since, this
has been quite a football centre.
As near as the time can be fixed, the first
Thanksgiving Day game was played in 1885
between Georgetown and Gallaudet, which
was won by the latter This was regarded
as so great an event that the team was
photographed by Rice, and each year 5
team since then has been likewise honored
and now look down from the walls OF their
gymnasium at Kendall Green upon as
pirants for athletic honors.
From red flannel shirts, the early order
OF costume, footballists hereabouts changed
later to canvass jackets. Georgtown, Co
lumbia, the high schools and others wore
white canvass. while Gallaudet adopted the
blue and white striped awning canvass. In
! this connection very amusing incident oc-
Cured. II seems that two of the mutes
wearing these striped suits were out on
/ a hare and hound race one day, and were
| taken for escaped conyicts by two blue
coats. who gave chase. and after a several
miles run, the boys were captured and
| after quite a to-do, their identity was es-
| tI,, pftt, D.,
| laugh on the officers. one of whom II is
recalled was the late Lieut. John Guy.
So much for the introduction OF the
! game here and now little about the dis
advantages under which these unfortunate
but energetic students play the game and
! something about their we'll earned string
of victories,
How many admirers Of the sport, stand
ing on the side lines, have thought about
the disadvantages the deaf mutes labor
under when lined up against their noisy
! fully equipped competitors! What an un-
equal contest il seems to be, and yet how
often have these silent students turned de-
feat into victory, So often, indeed. that
! they have won three out of every five
games they have played in since they be-
gan TO play for keeps.
While the deaf mutes may have little
advantage because their opponents cannO
| idbHoIi iutI slshdis' tiitS 'Ie at d 6'Siec'
disadvantage through their inability tC
hear. and this being so, they must depend
upon the eye which has the first notice
that the ball will be passed and the mus
cles and nerves must be ready TO prompt,
do the rest. What a tension they must b,
underi And what fine knowledge OF til,
game they must hayei They almost in
tuitively forestall play by the other side
Their play is full of energy. pluck. de
1 terminal patience
and bulldog tenacity. With players full
OF such qualities what team work they d
put up. and when they once get the bal
to moving when they once feel that thei
efforts are being rewarded, it seems as i
they never will stop until touchdown
rewards them for their efforts.
The game, as now played, is purely