The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-10-17
CHANGE FOR MIXUP.
Championships in Both East and
Z West May Be Settled by Com
parative Scores.
Wis. Faces Possibility Of a Series of
Unsuccessful Seasons-How
z to Identify Players.

n11XupS IN the Cnam plOnSI1lp. races III
both east and west this year. In the
west the contest may be for either
first or second place., Michigan. Chi
cago and Minnesota are unquestlon-
ably far in advance of the other
teams, and one of them is certain to
get away with the title. But Chicago
does not play Minnesota, hence the
probability of an argument at the
close of the season.
If Chicago beats Michigan, Michi-
gan beats Minnesota, and all three
beat Wisconsin and the smaller teams,
places will be settled beyond question.
But If Michigan beats both Chicago
and Minnesota, there will be plenty
for the football writer's to do in fgur
ing out whether the maroons or the
gophers are entitled to second place.
Then there Is the possibility that
Wisconsin may beat one or more Of
the big three. which might still fur
ther complicate matters. A."
There Is a third possible combina-
don, altho it will seem remote to most
enthusiasts, and that Is for both Chi
cago and Minnesota to defeat Michi-
gan. That would make post-season
game necessary to settle the cham
pionship, unless the difference in the
scores made by the two, contestants
against Michigan, Wisconsin and ILL
1lois should be, so great as to make
argument useless. But if either Chi
cago or Minnesota wins from the VOL
verines, it will be by a low score,
and If both win there will be plenty
of room for discussion, :. -
In the east, there is almost certain
to be a fight over first honors. Penn
sylvania and Yale both promise, to-
defeat Harvard. This will leave the
winner Of the Yale-Princeton game to
fight it out with the Quakers thru the
newspapers. Post-season games. are
unknown in the east, and in many
seasons the championship has not
been. settled except by: comparative
scores, a very unsatisfactory way. For
the last three years there has been
no possibility Of argument, since Yale
has beaten Princeton and Harvard
has walloped Pennsylvania every
year, leaving the winner of the Yale
Harvard contest with clear title.
But if Harvard loses both it's big
games, as seems probable, the com
parative score plan must be tried
again, as it was in 1898 and 1922 <
= Football enthusiasts are wondering
whether Wisconsin is to have a sue
cessiOn of disastrous seasons, such as
every other western university has ex-
perienced. The badgers are not rated
high this year, and many believe they
will lose to Chicago, Michigan and
Minnesota, duplicating the inglorious
experience Of last season. Six de-
feats in two years would be a sad rec
ord for Wisconsin,, which lost only
three western contests in the six years
preceding 1902. Yet those six defeats
will not greatly surprise the majority.
Wisconsin's record has been more
consistent in the last seven years than
that Of any other western team. The
badgers have never been rated lower
than third until last year, and they
lost than ono
game In a season between 1896 and
1901, inclusive. They lost only four
games in this same period. Every
other eleven has finished near the bot
tom of the column in one or more
years. Minnesota had three teams
good eleven. Chicago had two awful
years in 1900 and 1901, winning only
one game of Importance In the. two
seasons. Michigan had bad teams in
1899 and 1900, and made a rather in
glorious record in 1897. Northwest
ern has been in the rut ever since
1896. Illinois has been as consistent
gone higher than fourth, and rarely
lower in the last few years. Iowa
and Purdue are: not considered, as
iowa has had but one team in her his
tory, and Purdue has been a second
rater for a number of seasons.
may have an experience like Mime
sofas, but it Is not probable. Accord
ing to reports from Madison, the ma
terial there promises to provide strong
teams next year, and for several sea-
sons following. Even this year, tho
the team may surprise the wise ones
Curtis has yet to prove his ability as
a coach. He may prove a ,phenome-
non, or he may be fzzle. The ma
Jority will concede him an able man
II he defeats any Of the big three this
year, laboring under such disadvan-
tages as he does. T..
Football coaches would win the
gratitude Of the public if some Of them
would devise an adequate means OF
identifying players during a game
(, The average spectator at big game
knows few of the individuals Of the
home team by sight and none Of the
visitors. Even those who attend al
or nearly all Of the games in season
cannot indemnity the home players
disguised as most of them are by head
guards and nose guards. Even news.
paper men, who are usually we'll ac-
quainted with the players Of one team
are often unable to tell the name OF
the man who figures prominently in g
certain play.
It has been suggested that numbers
large enough to be read at a distance,
be sewn upon the jerseys of the play
ers on each team, and that the names
and numbers Of all players who are
likely to take part in the contest be
printed in an official program. An
other suggestion is that a band Of red
cloth be attached to some part of each
players uniform, the position Of this
band to be the means of identification
Red is the color suggested because
most shades show up we'll against al
most any kind of background. Any
system which would be effective in en-
abling the spectators to identify the
men would be acceptable.
In the absence Of bizarre develop
ments' In eastern football, where the
a coaches have merely grumbled and
not openly criticized the new rules, the
eyes of those who seek gridiron sensa-
tons from year to year are, turned to-
ward the west, says the New York
Herald.
Western football owes its firm foun.
4 dation to the host of eastern college
players who flooded the western fields
when the big institutions Of that 10.
cality We're still in the experiments
stage Of the game
Thesesmen grounded the westerner.
In the rudiments Of the game and were
soon turning out elevens that played ii
the conventional style Of Yale, Har
yard, Princeton or Pennsylvania
After several years Of this close ad
herence to eastern methods however
a aChange came over the snirit n