Evening journal., 1901-11-04
FOOTBALL NOW
AZ ITS HEIGHT
Many Strug giles Oh City Lots.
Results Of SATURDAYS
Games

This Is football season and the col
lege elevens do not by any means mo
nopolize that manly, II rough-and-
tumble sport
On many a vacant lot out Of town
there may be seen, on Sundays, games,
quite unheralded. between elevens of
local or neighbChood clubs, and they
are witnessed it may be, by a thousand
spectators or more, all deeply interest
ed. For the struggles between some OF
these elevens are as fierce as those
between elevens of far greater renown.
These local eleyens are miscellan-
eously uniformed Some of the players
wear jackets and some sweaters; head
pieces are rare but not unknown, shin
guards worn by about a quarter of the
young men. football trousers being the
item OF football equipment mCst COM
monty seen here.
But with this rather imperfect equip
ment there is no lack of yigor and dar-
ing in the playing. They run into one
another and tackle and get tangled
up in writhing heaps OF twisting hu-
manity quite in the most approved
fashion.
Now and then man gets a sprained
ankle. or is, it may be, quite disabled,
all in the orthodox fashion. These
players, stalwart young men, following
one calling and another for a living,
mechanics and so on. have a proper
pride in their respective elevens, and
besides being able-bodied young citi-
zens. they play to win while their par
| tisans shout announcement.
At some of these games they stretch
ropes around the field to keep the
crowd Off. and the players have full
range They wriggle and writne in a
heap on the ground, and now and then
somebody gets the ball and makes a
grand run that excites the crowds en-
thusiasm. When somebody heads the
runner of at last and the colliding
elevens go down together, sliding and
rolling and scufhing en- the ground,
lthey send up from the turmoil a verit-
able cloud Of dust
The on-ookers include not only
friends OF the eleyeng but sight -seers
lfrom among the casua passersby
many Of whom stop f1r a moment. to
lremain as interested spec atoIs Fol-
this is MO baby game, but dead earnest
lfootbah
And among those looking on there
lare men of years. as well as younger
linen. and women as well as men. 1lher
There are small boys. all deeply inter
ested. and for that matter. there ar,
there Infants In baby carriages, being
wheeled or this day by father anC
mother in CONF any.
As rule. the boundary lines of thl
field are pretty well kept, but in al
intermission or upon other occasion.
1.-THE spectators may Overrun the field.
When the players are ready to re
sumo playing they clear the grounds
by Joining hands, maybe a dozen O
them in a long outstretched line ant
starting with a run they sweep everl
Thing before them. In their varieC
loutfits they make a picturesque line
indeed. and they are also a line 81
powerful that nobody can resist it,
The players when they sweep tn
field like that, come forward, likely a
mot, laughing, but a minute later wlhei
they are at it again, playing football
they are in the grimmest OF dead earn
est, every man of them doing his leve
best, regardless of the consequence
and the spectator goes away feelin
that the country is in no danger @
being run over by any other nation a
long az its young men play football.
Comnarative Football Scores