Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1905-11-17
cH. WHITTIER ON FOOTBALL.
Vigorous Defense of Game by Bow
doin's Athletic Director.

At the meeting of the Church Club OF
Maine in Portland, Wednesday evening,
the discussion turned TO the subject oil
football. The great fall game found Il
ready champion in DIR. Frank n. Whittier
of Brunswick, athletic director at Bow
doin college, who was warmly greeted
when he rose to speak
may be laid to football. The elenent Of
danger of injury, comes first.to mind he
said But conti9 81 hs affsr n
can't help thinking that it is very easy TO
overestimate the dangers. I've known
perhaps 500 football players in those
years and can't thipk of any one who
has been permanently injured in the
game-no man who has been so injured as
to impair his life work. And in all that
time I never knew of any loss-of life In
the same time 1 have known several ia
talfties attendant upon roWng by the
capsiZing of canoes, and many deaths
from shooting in hunting and the cdreless
use OF 1ilearmS.
Il believe that if the statistics Were
gathered we should find that the ia
taliteS in other branches OF sport out
number those in football: 100pto one.
In football there Is. the greatest arp
parent danger with the least real dan
ger, though from reading the press one
might get very exaggerated idea of the
danger. -.
THE second fault of the game is the
false idea Of college work which one
gets from the prominence which is given
the game. | admit all this and I regret
it, but it perhaps comes wholly from our
American way of taking things. This is
a necessary evil, we might say, an evil
to be combatted, an evil that in time will
largely right itself.
The third fault which is urged against
deterioration that IS said to- attend in-the
disregard of others and it's brutality. do
not believe this tendency toward brutality
is so widespread as is generally believed
/ don believe the rfliIivltpc these
qualities. | look at the old grads who
have played the game. | don't see these
qualities. | believe it develops exactly the
opposite tendencies. IL rs in a way the
same as boxing and sparring. The ten
dency of these IS not to make a man vici-
Gus or Guick-tempered, to make him
prone to rush into trouble. but quite hha
opposite-to teach him. self-control and
than 4 disadvantage
Dr. Whittier than discussed the advant-
age Of the game. 1T gives good develop
ment." said he. And [ believe that it IS
worth while in these days to have on.
game that develops the strong, all-round
man. There is no deformitv 10 the foot
ball player. There is no golf chest or ten
mis- shoe, in his case. | see all these de-
formities in examining the boys when
they come to college and in football YOU
don't get development of one set of mus
cleS ut the expense of another. The dam
ger Of heart-strain is not so great in
football as in other sports and ! have
never Known a case that could be traced
to football.
The mental training of football is good.
A man must be bright and he has to u.s.
all his wits in learning the signals and
mastering the points of the game. In
short, four years of football teaches :;
man to stand up and look the world in the
face and take what's coming"
In closing DR.. Whittier discussed the
question Of reforms in the game-reforms
which will make it more open, less dam
in, rryitI
of fair play, without which. he declared,
the game cannot go on.