New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-11-19
on THE GRIDIR0N.
ELI AND THE CRIMSON.
Harvard, Superior IN Wcight, Also
Has Hom0geaeity.

Word comes out of New-Havcn. On the eve 90
ne annual match between the Crimson and the
Blue, that Yale is not quite confident OF
winning to-day's great game she week
ago. The Harvard team 20 Yale eyes appears
2 the best of condition. and IT may be taken for
granted that. a team. It is in better form
than anything X has shown heretofore this
fon But there is no reason why Yale, too,
.houd be In anything but the best of rim to-
say Her "cripples'' were lit as fddles > week
ago to meet and defeat Princeton. and there
mas been little or nothing do this week
sept 10 better Z condition already sufficiently
good OF course. learn that Leavenworth
cot several seTe-e bruises in the Princeton
match and may not play to-day But these
bruises did keep him from finishing the
match az Princeton. and il is reasonable TO ex-
rect that the halfback viii be in uniform when
the whistle blows to-day. As for Owsley, it
y,ould make little difference whether he played
Or net. as Morse is at least his equal on the de-
fens,ve and his superior at ground gaining. Wee
sar TOO may be substituted for Hoyt, but Yale
would lose little by the change. for, compared
IN the basis Of the game with the Ilgers, wee
Ser hunts nearly as we'll Hoyt and far eXcels
rim on the offensive. Yale, therefore. VIII enter
to-day's game fully as strong as, # not stronger
than she entered the conflict with princeton
AS for Harvard. it is a bit difficult 10 get any
true notion Of her present strength. mean her
team strength. her development as an organized
machine, with every part in the right place for
the doing of a definite work as smoothly ana
powerfully as possible. Since the Dartmouth
game a fortnight ago. when the Crimson was
practically played a standstil there has
beer no pub!ic test Of Harvard's ability. Vary
ing stories have come from the Cambridge
si6elines but in the last few days they seem TO
have agreed on one point and that is the note
worthy spirit and dash which seem 10 have
erve!oped the eleven like a mantle This fight
ing spirit is of course. thing without when
10 team can win against clever opposition, ana
Il viii give Harvard partisans a sense or
stronger hope 20 know that a team of fighters
IS coming from Cambridge to Yale Field
Whether they have the ability, as well as the
will. 10 fight successfully is quite another mat
While the Harvard team has been through
many vicissitudes and shakeups this season it
seems now TO have arrived at something like
homogeneity. Parker viii undoubtedly play
centre. He is big and strong. and passes better
than either Parkinson or Barney, whom he beat
out IN the contest for the place. Sch6nfuss. the
shot putter. though powerful. does not know
the game and came out so late that there
no time 10 reach it to him. The two guards
therefore will doubtless be Squires and White
the latter having come 10 the front rapidly in
the last days Of training AT tackle Brill and
Meier VIII be the Crimson pair, against Hogan
and Boomer. although Derby, of last years
team, is likely 10 get q chance some time in the
course Of the game For ends. the coaches have
q big bunch Of ordinary material to choose from.
Filley. whom much precious time
wasted early IN the season is left entirely out
Of the calculation now. but there Randall,
Montgomery, Pruyn, Leary, Matthews, Whit
man and Weatherbee. Randall and Montgom-
cry VIII probably start the game for Harvard.
A single glance at the weight schedules which
appear below VIII show that, paper. at least.
the Crimson is the superior in strength of the
Blue It IS, in fact, one Of the most porderous
teams that any university sent upon the
gridiron. Even Yale's giants eclipsed, and
the aggregation of weight from New Haven this
season is quite exceptional. The average weight
Of the Yale line is 1897 pounds This is ex-
ceeded by Harvard's 200 pound average. Be
hind the line the Cambridge players also pos
sess a greater advantage in weight, for the
hacks 50 far outweigh Yales as TO make Har-
wards team average 1884, pounds to the Blues
ISL Now this preponderance of ponderosity
is slight, but il indicates that the idea at Cam
bridge has been. from the beginning OF the sea-
son. 10 meet Eae's weight with greater weight
and htr strength with greater strength. In 9TH
er words mass play was 10 rule and Harvard
to rely developing il more skilfully and
powerfully than Yale. Up TO date she has failed
10 do it, far as any public exhibitions have
given any chance TO Judge. But II Is interesting
= 10 note that with such q mass of weight there
never could have been any notion at Harvard
Of developing any Omen or fast running play of
consequence, such. for example. there
consistent and faithful effort 10 do at Princeton
Il is hard for the outside observer deprived OF
all the Information that comes only to coaches
70 see any reason for Yale's reported doubt
about the issue Of to-day's match In the first
place Harvards team is made up largely Of
players who have never before represented the
varsity in a ig game-in other words, in
experienced The majority Of Yale's players are
ON the other hand. seasoned veterans. This is
likely 20 count for a good deal In the second
place. Yale approaches her last match of the
season win the prestige OF her Princeton vic
tory 10 spur her Oh to great things. On tho
other hand, Harvard comes to New-Haven with
the record Of 4 most disappointing season fol-
lowing period Of great hopes. Moreover. il is
much to HarYard's detriment that she Will face
ton was decided almost within minutes os
me referees whistle. The season has been one
q sIi keUps and changes. Shift has followed
bht with such rapidity that player never
Knew when he left the field night whether
ne would be In his old position again the next
cay. These shifts have been continued, appal-
eAtly II desperation at the failure Of previous
combinations Of material 10 secure good results,
until the eleventh hour itself. The result will
appear to-day 1t may surprise folks, but 10
one who only observes from outside the fence
hehlnd which the secret practice is held, it
"oulQ appear that this sort OF Kaleidoscope
lIalhlng would be anything but salutary upon
lf.e teamwork Of eleven
All the same. this is the day for the captains
and the shoutags," and we shall see what we
Shau see VIII Il be the most surprising finish
'aa' Harvard has ever made from bad begin
iA'g or the predicted melancholy end of a season
fE1' began with fine raw material and as
b1Gtt prospects Of success as ever a Crimson
Team had2 Il should be fairly easy to predict
lae kind Of football the thirty odd thousand
At