The Calhoun chronicle. [volume] (Grantsville, W. Va.) 1883-1984, 1902-01-14
AN ANCIENT SPORT.
aye Merry Game of Football" and It's
Many Centuried History.


"Ye Merry Game OF Football from
Ancient Times TIL Now" is the tile
of an illustrated article I'm the st. Mich
olas, from the pen OF y. O. Messen.
ger. The Greeks invented the snort
and through the Romans 1t reached
the British In the time OF Queen
Elizabeth football was i'm high favor
1t was played in the city streets on
the commons and i'm country lanes.
There was not much rule or order to
the game. the object being merely to
put the ball into the encmy's goal by
fair means or 10y foul The goals
might be mile apart. with bitches
and hedges ana highroads between
The players struggled in earnest. and
broken bones were no rarity in the
rushes that followed
This was probably the toughest and
most brutal period in footballs MIS-
tory. The accounts OF the times speak
frequently OF accidents, and too often
there We're fatal incidents in the play
ing of the game.
Shrove Tuesday was football day i'm
those times. and then the whole popu-
lace went football mad Every one
turned out to kick the ball. There
was one grand scramble to reach it
as it was puuted down the streets.
over housetops and across commons.
The merchants barred shop windows
and doors as the merry crowds surged
through the streets. for ccant heed
was given to any obstacle that stood
in the way OF the pursuit Of the ball.
Sometimes two or more crowds. i'm
chase of the dying pigskin, fell foul
of one another's course. and then there
was n TODD. and the strongest held the
right of way, perhaps carrying eff
both balls, and causing the other
crowd to join in their pursuit
With the year 1900 the game began
to he adopted by the English schools
and universities as the leading sport.
In 1868, an association was formed.
and it was made a scientific sport.
At this time the game was played diff
ferently by different universities.
Rugby permitted carrying the ball,
holding runners, charging and tack
ling, while Harrow and Winchester
only allowed kicking. In 1871 the
Rugby Union was formed, and rules
laid down. Prior to 1879 American
universities had paid little attention
to football. 1t was Harvard that
brought the game to the United States,
and in order to have n foeman worthy
of it's steel. taught ii to Yale. "Old
Eli took gracefully to the drubbing
that was involved in learning the first
lesson, which was learned so well that
for many years thereafter Harvard
had no more victories
The Rugby game has been developed
in America mainly along the lines Of
interference and tackling. The Yam
KEGS were quick to perceive advan-
tages which could be gained in this
direction and put them into play.
In 1886 Princeton introduced the
wedge using ii against Harvard,
who in turn took il UP against Yale
next year. Then Harvard went one
better and brought out the flying
wedge which, with the "" the
push" and the "plow," are perma-
ncnt features of football work
In the perfection Of football play
ing into a scientific sport from the old
rough-and- tumble games of the past
an involved system of signals has
come into use. The signals are made
by calling out numbers.
There seems 10 be no IesseninC of in
tereSt in the sport There may be as
many as twenty thousand spectators.
end the great game of football. which
began with the Greeks, was carried on
by the Romans. developed by the Brit
ish and perfected by the Americans.
seems to be indeed the king of autumn
sports.