The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-01-02
EQUAL TO HARVARD
CASPAR WHITNEY GIVES WESTERN
FOOTBALL HIGH
PRAISE
COMMENDs RECORD OF BADGERS
Says There Is More Appreciation of
Game, and a Superior Spirit
of Play in the
West.

Caspar Whitney, the editor of Outing,
pays a high tribute to the craftsmanship
exhibited by Middle Western football
teams during the past season, and con-
cedes to Wisconsin and Michigan a place
equal to that held in the East by Har.
ward, delicate compliment for an East
ern writer to offer to Western men.
In the January number of outing Mr.
Whitney says: Speaking generally for
the West, there is more appreciate prog,
ress in the development Of football skill
than in the East. This is partly account
ed for by the later adoption of the
game, and partly because of the alertness
of mind and intolerance Of mediocrity,
which has served to make the great West
what it is today.
Moreover, 1 consider the spirit of play
and the spirit in which the games are
legislated for to be superior to that in
evidence throughout the East. Of course,
there are groups of institutions in the
East where the highest ideal is observed
but L am not comparing the sections at
large. Western men, as a rule are more
genuine than Eastern men, dissemb1e
less, are more stalWart in their actions,
and more faithful to their ideals. There
is real sense of the game, for the
games sake, among the faculty mem
bers of the leading Middle Western uni
versities, who meet annually to better
their athletic conditions.
ITO be sure >the Middle Western col,
leges are not above criticism, but the
spirit is moving and the evils being grad
ually eradicated. The semi-professional
baseball player has been a thorn in the
flesh. but he has now been declared incl
fgible. A one years residence rule is
needed, and should be forthcoming.
Michigan and Wisconsin in football
are this year to the West as is Harvard
to the East, and between the Western
teams choice is difficult, indeed
though Michigan has the remarkable total
of sol points scored, to none against her
Each has strong, heavy line, and good
back field-especially Wisconsin, whose
Larson and Driver are just about as good
as any in the country
In style of game, in running with the
ball, and in punting, these two teams
stand we'll UP toward the very head of
American football; in the handling Of
kicks, and in highly developed team play,
however, they are quite bit inferior to
the Eastern leaders.
I'm respect to the ethics Of the game,
Michigan is easily the leader in the
West, with Chicago and Iowa good
second and third. | shall hope to see
much clearing of the atmosphere at
the other institutions this year.
Il was deeply impressed by the con-
duct Of the two final great games of
the -Michigan-Iowa and Wisconsin,
Chicago, in Chicago The play went on
without delay and without some agent or
other of one side frequently running on to
the field to deliver some message from
the coach, and carrying sponge, or bottle,
or pail by way of subterfuge. There was
no coaching from size lines; there were
no men on the side lines but the single
coach of each team; there were only the
substitutes and the two or three assist
ant coaches inside the fence
Think Of it, We Eastern men, a field
with no side-lne benches to accommo-
date the friends of the college manage
ment. These were the best conducted
games | have ever seen, and put our
Harvard~Yale, Princeton games to
very shame by comparison. Evarts
Wrenn and Ralph Hoagland are two
officials who have done much to bring
this praisewortny state of affairs in the
West -