Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1899-02-22
BULLHEAD PARKER.

When George Parker made his first
appearance on the football field az
Clevedon college, about two weeks aft
cr the term began. he came unheraIded
and unknown.
The football enthusiasts had been
busy for days discussing the merits and
qualifications Of the various new men
who had come up for the first time that
year and were trying for positions on
the team. Good football material was
scarce at ClevedOn, and the captain and
the coach were at their wits end to
construct winning team with the can
didates who had thus far appeared The
very day that Parker made his initial
appearance they had held a short
council in the directors office at the
gymnasium before going on the field for
the afternoon practice and the ont look,
as they viewed 1t at the time, was
gloomy indeed.
Candidates for positions behind the
line were many. and some of them gave
promise of developing into good players.
but the linemen, especially the tackles,
left much TO be desired at the close Of
their conversation.
Shaw. the coach, expressed himself
very fOrcibly as TO the qualifications of
at least one of the players Il tell You.
Arnold, we must get some life into that
line or the best backs in the world
won t win games for us. Now. there 3
BriCe ut left tackle. He's big and strong
enough to stop freight train. but he
plays as though he were dead ON his
feet. If we only had some mau TO 40 in
against him OH the scrub eleven and
wake him mp and give him bit of
scare he might amount To something
but as IL is he's about as lively as an
Ice wagon.
All this was too obvious TO elicit
anything more than very gloomy ac-
quieScence from the captain and the two
men tramped out through the gym
nasium TO the practice field. and here
they found Parker for the first time
among the crowd of youths passing and
kicking the ball He was of medium
height, rather light but firmly built,
resembling the other young men around
him i'll general appearance, except for a
rather unusual squareness of the jaw
and levelness of gaze.
He came co Clevedon from an obscure
little academy in a distant state, where
he had prepared for college. The cap
tain of the scrub eleven had noticed him
in chapel in the morning and afterwaId
had hunted him out, and, having learn
ed by dint of hard questioning that he
had played football ana at least knew
the rudiments of the game. had asked
him 10 come out TO the field in the aft
ernoon and have a try st the second
eleven.
The second or scrub eleven, be it
known, is composed Of the candidates
who are denied place on the varsity
and who yet for the sake of the sport
and in the hope that one day promotion
NAV find them out are willing TO work
on without glory or reward unless they
find them IN the hard practice game
played daily with the varsity. From
the ranks of the scrubs come the substi-
tutes for the varsity. and a good player
In the former may we'll dare hope to be
chosen on the varsity the next year. 1t
is, as one may see, a sort Of apprentice
ship or training school through which
one must pass before he reaches the
varsity.
1t had been the bane of the scrub cap
tain's life hitherto that he had not been
able to find man in his miscellaneous
lot who was able to play hard enough
game against Brice, the varsity lett
tackle, either to cause that gentleman
any particular inconvenience or 20 salts
fy the demands of Shaw. They bad all
made che mistake of "buc1ing" straight
into him, and being inferior in weight
and muscle to Brice. who was a giant
In size, If not in intellect. the result
may be imagined.
Thus it happened that in sheer des-
peration Parker was chosen on this his
hrst night out to go i'll against Brice,
and. If possible. frighten him into inn
proving his playing.
AS the two men looked each other
over for n moment before the ball was
put in play Brice thought TO himself.
rather contemptuously. that h. would
have no trouble with this STRIPPING, but
after Parker had broken through two or
three times on plays around his end
and downed the man with the ball he
began to realize that he had very un-
usual sort of scrub to deal with. and
shat it would require something very