The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-11-23
WILLIAMS ANSWERS
BRUTALITY CHARGES
He Declares irresponsible Stu
dents Responsible for
the Debate.

Dr. Harry L. Williams, coach of the
Minnesota football team, tired of the
charges of roughness filed against his
players, has issued the following state
ment:
Since the Minnesota Michigan game,
played Oct. 81, number Of articles
have appeared in the papers from time
to time, charging Minnesota with I'M
sportsmanlike conduct, dirty, rough
playing, and the like, which have
tendency to poison the minds of the
general public against the Minnesota
players, belittle their football team,
and besmirch the good name Of the
university.
Up to the present time Minnesota
has remained silent. and given no re-
ply to these attacks, preferring to al
low the work of the team upon the
field in it's various games to speak for
itself; but of late some of the dis
patches coming from Madison and De-
troit have been so malicious and I'M
true that silence is no longer virtue.
Within the last few days dispatches
from Madison have been printed in the
Chicago papers stating that Wisconsin
and Minnesota were at loggerheads
over the officials, and that Wisconsin
had threatened to cancel the game I'M
less Minnesota at once agreed to good
men; that the authorities at Madison
had written to. the authorities at Min
nesota threatening that, If Minnesota
played dirty football Thanksgiving day,
Wisconsin would hereafter sever ath-
1etic relations with Minnesota; that
Michigan must hereafter drop Mime
sofa from her schedule, and that Michi-
gan and Wisconsin had formed COM
pact to boycott Minnesota and shut her
out from games with the big nine.
In regard to the statements relating
to officials and threats having been re-
ceived from Madison, I know them to
be absolutely false.
In regard to the other statements.
here at Minnesota we do not hold the
Wisconsin or Michigan authorities in
any way responsible for them, nor do
we believe them to be true. Such ar
ticles are doubtless the work of ire
sponsible students, who are, possibly,
sore over some fancied slight or neg
lect, and seek to belittle Minnesota and
injure her reputation by making trouble
and causing bad blood and hard feel
ings against her among her sister uni
VerSities
Minnesota has occupied and does now
occupy high and honorable position
in the Western football world. The
men upon her team are gentlemen,
every one of them, and they do not
stoop to dishonorable or unsportsman-
like methods. But they play clean,
hard, strenuous game.
If any man has been used up or
bruised in any game in which he has
played against Minnesota, it has been
because he has played hard game
| for all there was in him, against men
who play hard and play hard all the
time. The game between Minnesota
,a1i rrnx, xry0o ma nf hn hardest
fought contests I ever saw, and also
| one Of the cleanest. The testimony OF
| the officials, of "Pudge" Heffelfinger
who witnessed the game from the side
| lines, and other competent judges
/ bears me out in this statement. Dur
| ing the first half Michigan made first
| down only four times by rushing the
ball from scrimmage, while Minnesota
rushed the ball for first down fourteen
| times. Does any one who knows any
| thing about football think that this
could be accomplished without the
| fiercest, hardest kind of play, and that
Heston, who was doing the best work
for Michigan, with an offense and de-
| Tense with no 11eadgear ON, should moi
| show at all the wear and tear of the
| game?
To my mind the following quotation
| from kellogg Speed, captain and CEN
| ter of the Chicago team of 1909, which
was written to me three days after the
game, puts the case in nutshell, and
will exonerate Minnesota from any
charge of unnecessary roughness
with all minded persons. Speed
says: II never saw a better game
nor such an exhibition of defensive
| work. It is too bad to raise all this
fuss about smuggling and scrapping.
am sure I saw none of it; only the
hardest kind of football, thing which
some people evidently do not know
how to respect Allow me TO congrat-
ulate you all, and hope for Mime
sofa Chicago game in the near future
Henry l.. Williams.