The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-12-10
FOOTBALL

haustive review of the football season
Just closed:
The football season just closed has
been one o. the most uncertain in the
history of the game. 1t has been a
season Cf surprises, of sensations; it
has been the practical dethronement
of the big four" and the rise of the
smaller universities; it has seen but
one of the great leaders of the game es
s cape trouncing at the hands of mean
er rivals. Two great games of the
year, the Yale-Harvard and Yale
Princeton, deviated from the rule of
late years and were kicking, not line
bucking games. The main effect of
the season and its surprises will likely
be the formation of football groups,
and in time there will be no football
championship of the country. There
will be the great eastern group and its
lesser group as satellites; the middle
West group, through which meteors
will occasionally shoot. One year will
not accomplish the result, and it may
take a decade, but from present indi-
cations it will eventually come. Yale,
Harvard and Princeton are the found
ers of football in America. They are
the colleges to naturally make up the
great eastern group. Pennsylvania is
an interloper, whose introduction into
fellowship with the others, or a part
of them, was made possible by quar-
rels between the first three. At times
the big three have been in opposition
and have been compelled to look to
outside teams to furnish their big
games for the year. Even now HarV-
ard and Princeton are not on good
terms and do not play in each others
football yards. So Harvard, to have
two great games year, has an agree
ment with the Pennsylvanians Prince
ton does not care for more than one
eliminating game of the season. and
trains only to defeat Yale. Yale has
to train to defeat Harvard and Prince
ton, and Harvard to defeat Pennsyl~
vania and Yale. Until Princeton and
Harvard bury their differences, forget
Snake Ames and his sluggers and re-
sumo football relations, the trinity
spoken of is not possible. A year ago
there We're chances of peace being de-
clared but the negotiations came to
an end with nothing accomplished.
Graduates of Harvard are urging that
football relations with Princeton be re-
sumed, with the object of finally drop
ping Pennsylvania from the crimson
schedule. The movement has gained
force by the woeful showing made by
Pennsylvania through the present seas
on, except in the closing game. Should
the Quakers be pushed out Of the arts
tocratic combination, it would likely
turn to Cornell and Columbia for sec
ond eastern triune. 1t may be observed
in this connection that the trend Of
opinion among the graduates of the
great three gives Cornell a better
standing in the athletic world than
either Pennsylvania or Columbia. They
are given the character of buccaneers
on the seas of football. They are ac-
cused of having less regard for the
rules Of pure amateurism and being
reckless in the matter of gathering in
players from almost anywhere.
The proposed first group for the mid
die West is at present in curious
muddle that gives no promise of any
thing tangible resulting, not even Two
groups of teams working together. Chi
cago university has managed to offend
Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois, and
the relationships are strained. The
row between these schools has given
Chicago chances to play Pennsylvania
and Brown, and may give the team
dates with other fasteners. In the
West Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and
Iowa have a league, but that also has
its row. Iowa and Kansas do not fight
out any more, because of a disagree
ment over dates. The lesser colleges
in the territory covered by this asso-
citation have not shown form to threat
en- the position occupied by any mem
Der of the western big four.
The form shown by the colleges that
have defeated the greater university
teams has not been consistently good,
and until it is not one will have the
right TO demand any greater recogni-
ton than has been accorded. Nearly
each of these lesser teams has, how
ever. developed a grand Individual CO.
lumbia has several players of more
than the usual ability, but other coll
leges claim to have brought them up,
and say their connection with Columbia
has been merely because of form shown
in previous years, But among the play
ers developed in the colleges that may
be called minor. Richardson Of Brown
and Jennings of Dartmouth are lead
ers in the back field. Richardson Is es-
pecially good in all departments, but
Jennings is reputed to be rather weak
in defensive playing. Matthewson OF
Bucknen promised to be a wonderful
drop kicker in the early season, and,
though he kept up mis- good work to
the close of the year, did not perform
as startling feats later as in the first
weeks. Knox college, insignificant in the
general football history, has a kicker
who will be heard from, Benedict of
Nebraska went through last season
without attracting any attention to his
kicking. He was a strong and power
full half back and sensational runner,
but that was all. This season he play
ed up to his former reputation, though
his team was a continual loser. Then
in the game with Kansas he suddenly
developed into a goal kicker, making
four from the field. In achieving the
feat he put a peculiar game on the
wears history. Usually if one team
rolls up score of 36 points the other
is lucky if it gets over f1uke or a
lucky touchdown. The Kansas-Ne-
braska game had a score of Sc to 20,
something unique in modern football.
The men mentioned are merely those
that can be recalled at the moment to
illustrate the general proposition. The
lesser colleges are in the game and
have claims for the good work Of the
experts who pick the representative
elevens, the teams that are supposed
to contain the stars in each position
The team picked from the eastern col
leges by & Boston writer is open to
considerable criticism. He has select
ed: Left end. Dave Campbell of HarV-
ard; left tackle, Hillebrand of Prince
ton; left guard, TruXton Hare of Penn
sylvania; center, Pierson of Cornell;