Evening star., 1905-10-08

HISTORY OF FOOT BALL

time The National League of Base Ball
Clubs was formed that year. upon what
seemed a promising outlook for professional
sport. There had been several decades OF
base bail before that time but in that year
the occasion seemed to call for organlza-
ton to put the game on a substantial foot
ing. The impetus given to base ball that
year set the players Of foot ball to think
ing and resulted in an agreement between
the teams at Harvard an Yale universities
TO adopt the English Rugby rulc and 10
play a series of games that autumn. Up
to that time foot ball ha- sen a congiom-
crate perversion of the English assoeiat ton
game, in which .Ae rules differed in the
several colleges all the way from no ham
ding of the ball to seizing and throwing
1t as in the Roman Harpastum. The Har-
vard-Yale league and the selection of the
Rugby rules started the game in new di-
rection, and one after another the Amesi
can colleges accepted the same rules and
in course of time there were many leagues.
many notifications of the rules of play,
anu about ten years of trial of various
forms of play before the essential princi-
pies of the game were worked cut.
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Foot ball, it is now seen each autumn
at the great seats of learning in this coun-
| try, with its scientific rules and spectacular
features, is essentially an American
product. 1t is part of the great move
ment toward the athletic development of
the young American which has placed the
United States in the forefront of physical
culture. The game has been lifted out of
| British conservatism, SO to sneak and
| given dash and excitement which appeals
| especially to sport lovers of this country
! 1t may have some brutal features and it
certainly is true that injuries do result
| from the wild scrmmages on the gridiron
| but all in all 1t is one of the most excit-
ing, exhiarating, heathful games in the
| category of American sports
While foot ball had Its inception at Yale
| and Harvard, it was only a short time
until 1t had been taken up in all the COL
leges and even the smaller schools Of
| learning Students of the west and the
south who went east to study strajehtwav
became foot ball missionaries. AS early a :
1879 some of the eastern teams travelled
westward to give exhibitions, and by de-
srees the game was introduced and eyery-
Where awakened the highest enthusiasm
Michigan University was one of the first to
take up the game in the west and the
tniVersity I'M or Virginia was the pioneer of
the south, with Georgetown and r,ennsvI
Vanla for the middle section. The army
ana navy schools were also early i'm the
| lleid with strong elevens, and the annual
eussie between them quickly became an
occasion Tor the assembling of more gov
ernment officials than the inaugural Of a.
| President. o
The modern game retained all that was
| useful In the original Rugby r,Ias Tba
| FORM OF the ball. the rectilinear field and
soa's ana the principle of seizing- the hail
| ana running with it are still the foundation
| a auies OF the game. The laying out of the
heid' however. into five-yard lines tie
rules which pertain thereto the new touch
down rules and many other features Of
play including the coaching of the teams
% aiiu tne aeVelopment of highly specialized
| movements on the rIeld, are Americas CON
tribution to the modern game