Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-10-21
jumps, putting twenty-four-p pound shot.
pole vault for height.

Jumps, putting twenty-four-pound shot'
pole vault for height.
.
After many months of disputation and
deep thought the foot ball playing part OF
the students of the American colleges have
been provided with game the merits and
defects of which are hard to analyze even
now. But, discounting the rash state
ments of some not too we'll informed
coaches who say the rules are bound to
be failure, and the general public, whose
ideas are inexpert and therefore not alto
gether necessary to regard. it appears that
the game devised for this season is a real
success. 1t was gotten up with the sin
cere idea of putting a premium on clean.
open work and discounting the rough, in
considerate play which ruined the game as
a spectacle and a sport. What caused this
change in chief is the combination of the
forward pass and the ten-yard rule. They
are not corrollary plays. The ten-yard
rule made necessary some means by which
the ball could be advanced rapidly in the
three do yns. 1t made a greater cali for
some means other than line plunging to
push the ball forward. The past season
of mass playing proved clearly enough that
| the average line plunge was good for two
| or at the most three yards, the teams be-
| ing nearly even in strength. 1t was easy
| to figure out that three plunges at the ex-
| treme distance would not be good for the
ground required. 1t remained, then, to
| devise plays by which'the ground could be
| covered. Only by tree swinging plays,
with great deal of running and lodging
In them, could the space be obtained. was
the verdict of the experts, and the formu-
lation Of the ten-yard rule naturally
brought forward the ideas OF a forward
! nd oil IF he do ri rhan tf
kick. This last has yet to prove its worth,
but the forward pass is here to stay, be-
cause It has redeemed foot ball from the
| bald stages of mere crowding ana pushing
and has returned 1t to the grade where II
is almost as obvious to the casual spec
tator as English Rugby and a great deal
more interesting. The tiresome scum
OF English Rugby has no companion in the
intelligent, quick thinking American game.
The rules committee hardened so we'll
TO the cry against mass play that It is
almost eliminated. But they did not say
to the public. Don't you know that open
play is frightfully dangerous? Don't you
know that hard tackling In open field
hurts the menu" The rules committee de-
cided to stand pat on the public demand
and insert the rules asked for. Still
Keinath's broken ankle and Bureh's
broken shoulder were the results of the
open field tackling. There will be lot
of injuries like that before the season Il
over, but the public will be satisfied be.
cause there will be no repetition of the
cases of men like Hurley of Harvard and
Carter of Columbia, who have quit ths
foot ball game with their functions par
italy oaralyzed and will be affected tol
the rest of their lives, no doubt 1t Il
notorious that 1t takes only a very shor
while for a man in training to get Over
broken bones and no doubt these FIRST TIVE
men mentioned and the others who arr
hurt this season will be at it again be
fore the campaign is over So that ever
II the game, of necessity one of fierc'
personal contact is condcted at the cos
= of an occasional case OF broken bones U
! torn ligaments, It win be far better 10
Its own interests than the numbering typ
I of the year before. Public patience will
the game was wellnigh exhausted las
} year and the public, at any event, is sat
4 isfed with the INTRODUCTION OF a rule tina
4 permits II to have a say in the manage
ment OF the game. There was liyel.
curiosity over the first few games thi
: season. because those who have been puz
. cling over 1t were unable TO guess hoS
the new games would look. They though
/ that possibly IL would be a combination
4 OF basket ball and Rugby and at an
( event a thoroughly incomprehensible sor
! of game But their doubts were resolve
E early. The FIRST lineup showed that |
2 was In some way the old game
q %
To be sure. the neutral zone Idea put IN
| ball out in plain view. The loose formatio
! OF the line gave fine chance to the spec
& tators TO see the inception and purpose 9
: the play. II was no wonder that man
! coaches put in lot of time looking u
trick ideas. because some OF the plays al
q so obvious that unless they end I'm a trio
2 Of some kind they never will succeed at al