The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-12-29
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Chicago Tribune
Plumbing, one of the accidents of foot.
ball, mars almost as many plays as good
tackling Where contests are played in
the mud and with slippery ball, eondl-
tons in which the fumbling mierope
thrves, there is some excuse; but the
real cause of the defect is generally the
crude teamwork and the inexperience of
the players.
Most fumbling is the result of poor
passing or of bad methods of holding the
ball The latter defect may be easily
remedied, but the former defect, in the
present complicated system of team play,
is usually done away with only by long
practice and experience. 1t MARKS the
development of perfect team play.
Blame generally attaches to the quar-,
terback when a tumble is made JACK OF
the line, and in most cases the cause of
the trouble is with him. Few men com.
bine the necessary qualities of general.
ship and skill in handling the pigskn le-
quired in a quarter. The coordination
of eye and muscle found so nicely adj
jasted in baseball players is a big help
in football Many backs, excellent in
other respects, lack this quality which
alone would make them star players.
II never had more than three men
behind the line one team who were
clever at passing the ball. said Stagg,
of Chicago, in discussing the matter
"Our champion team of 1899 had Ken
nedy, Hamill and Henry, all clever at
handling the ball. Shaker never could
work a double pass successfully, though
at his speciality of holding the bali SOL
idly and bucking the line he was a won
der. He shot into the line at top speed,
ami was sure at taking the ball ana new
Ier dropped it. Gordon Clarke and Herself
berger We're the cleverSt pair | ever had
in working double passes and cr!ss-
4 crosses. When one fell he would toss
the ball back to the other with confi-
dence that it would be caught and taken
along for a gain
The quarterback gets credit for many
fumbles which should be charged to The
center for poor passing. 1t is well known
in exclusive Michigan football circles
that one Of the Thanksgiving day games
was lost by wretched pass by the ceIi-
ter, veteran, at a critical point N the
game. The ball, down near Michigan's
goal, was snapped back high, striking
the small quarter in the chest and pound
ing high into the air for a tumble The
quarter, being new man on the team.
took the blame for the tumble, though
it was not his error. If the testimony OF
quarterbacks is taken, there are few cen.
tiers who pass the ball accurately. they
say they must be prepared to receive the
chest and at a varying speed The quar-
Ter must then turn like a flash and de-
liver 1T to the runner going at top speed
Most quarters hand the ball over to the
half with one hand. If the hack is going
into the line the quarter stands still aid
holds out the ball in the path of the
runner, who seizes it in passing For GO
Ing around the end a toss is necessary
While both quarter and half are running.
n1f1 -fAr Of al
caused great dead of furnblinG. hence
has given way to the toss in recent years.
With the result that there are fewer
cases of dropping the ball in passing II
is the same principle that is worked in
baseball when the pitcher covers first
base on a grounder to the first base
man. The best first basemen toss the
BAH to the pitcher when he comes across
the bag instead of throwing it hard 1t
gives the man time to judge the ball and
make sure catch of it.
Line-buekers want the ball slammed
Into their arms below the belt and do
!. not mind little force in the blow, either
All they have to 40 then is to double
over and slap their hands on the oval
Walter Kennedy, the big Maroon quar-
ter, always showed the ball into Shakers
arms with one hand and grabbed the
runner with the other. The pair went
into the line together and their combined
weight and speed yielded many a good
gain for the Maroons. When the big
quarter led Stages interference he tossed
the ball back to the halfback on his way
to put the extra man oGt of the play
This interference enabled Chicago's backs
TO get free for long runs when the play
was not broken up.
Most new players have to learn how to
hold the ball, and a few older ones might
harn better methods. After a fit of fun.
bling on Marshall field, a few DAYS ago
1t was found that Fullback Strauss was
in the habit of holding the ball with the
points straight up. He dropped it often
when stopped in the line The defect was
detected by Gale and remedied in short
order when he demonstrated how easy it
was to knock the ball from his hands.
Always let the ends point outward
when taking the bah for a buck the
coaches say.
Halfbacks tuck one end of the ball un-