New-York tribune., 1907-11-25
ON COLLEGE GRIDIRONS.
SEASON ENDS SATURDAY.
ReUised Rules and Better Spirit
Worked Wonders for Sport.

ous end. In all probability in the annual meet
ing Of the Army and Navy elevens at Philade!-
phia Lovers Of the sport, and their name is
legion are also looking forward to the strug-
gle between Pennsylvania and Cornell on Thurs
day, struggle which promises to be one of the
most stubborn, brilliant and hard fought or a
football year that has been replete with stirring
and sensational battles. The season ended for
Yale and Harvard Saturday, and for Prince
ton the week before Most of the other elevens
have broken training also, so that with only
two or three important games left all football
eyes viii be turned TO Philadelphia this week
Never perhaps has a season been more fruitful
Of high class football. for which the revised rules
are largely responsible. The various games
have been fercely contested. but clean and
free from unnecessary rOughness and any
intentional violation of the spirit Of the code
This IS cause for congratulatiOn, for it bespeaks
q more healthy condition and longer life for
the greatest Of all college sports. Much Of the
credit for this happy condition belongs TO the
central board of officials of the football rules
committee and the capable men appointed to
referee and umpire the games. but much also
belongs TO the coaches who instilled the proper
spirit in their charges and TO the players them
selves for not forgetting in the heat OF strife
that they sportSmen. There have been
many penalties inflicted this year two three
for 'slugging." others for offside play and hold
ing, but far the writer has seen in most
Of the important games played there has been
lacking 10 a marked degree that little bit Of
holding. that little bit of offsde play, that lit
lie bit OF starting before the ball snapped.
which was encouraged and went unpuniShed TO
large extent two years ago, and for which the
chief remedy lay in the coaches and players
themselves The revised rules have improved
the game, the better spirit has improved it
Yale well deserves the football championship
of 1907. The eleven developed slowly but
surely along lines which made the most of the
good material on hand and the men met every
call and filed every requirement in way that
will make the team long remembered as a team
Harvard was easy foe Saturday, and it
was only football brains ready resourcefulness
and concerted team play that made victory pos
sible- Not one man, not two men, but eleven
men playing one was responsible for the
proud place Yale holds in football season that
has been productive OF many strong elevens.
Captain Biglow has earned a warm place in the
hearts Of Yale men. He is worthy of the warm
est praise and heartiest congratulations as are
also the eleven. Knox, the head coach, and his
many assistants and every member OF the sec
ond eleven. of which il has been said. and truly,
They also serve who only make the scrub"
Yale beat Harvard on Saturday because indi-
viduai brilliancy and individual effort were no
match fer team brilliancy and team effort. Har-
ward was strong, surprisingly strong for a team
that only the week before badly beaten
by Dartmouth, and for that reason YaIe's crown
ing effort was more TO her credit. In some re-
spects the team did not appear to play so well
it did in the second half against Princeton
but close analysis of the game indicates clear
y lIldl UleI6 was always SOIl6LnlnS IN reserve,
even as was shown in that stand under the
shadow of her own goal line in the last few
minutes Of play.
The Harvard team rose to the occasion as few
Harvard teams have done in the past and It was
worthy Of the hearty support it got before dur
ing and after the game from Harvard men.
There were flashes Of strength even greater than
Yale showed, but only flashes and there was
lacking the finish TO make a championship team
Wendell a host in himself and NewhaU
Mcdonald and Starr were conspicuous in many
brilliant plays NewhaH was called On to do
double duty, and he acquitted himself nobIv.
He not only showed keen generaiship but p1,nt-
ed well and tackled like fiend He did not
suffer in comparison with Tad Jones. and that
is saying great deal Campbell worked won
ders with the Harvard ends Mcdonald and
Starr They covered punts so well that Tad
Jones signalled for a fair catch three times in
his own territory knowing he could not escape
or get away from his usual dashing runs in the
open Harvard improved her ranking by the
stubborn fight she mis isde against Yale, but It
VIII not be so high ps the men individually
were worthy.
A word must be said for Dartmouth Like
Yale the eleven is unbeaten this year. and won
q victory over Harvard, one week before the
Yale game. by score Of % to 0. Outside of
this game her victories were over weaker onno-
nents and further than that the Harvard team
that played Yale was not the Harvard team
that played Dartmouth. The eleven did all that
was required, however, and did 1t we'll and if
must be ranked well up but just how well will
De much mooted question, Of which more will
be said later
In point OF interest the Pennsylvania Cornell
contest on Thursday at PHILADELPHIA takes a
forward place among the games of the season
more so this year than ever before, in view of
the unquestioned strength Of the two elevens
and their good records. On the outcome de-
pends the final ranking of the teams which
have played a leading role and for. that reason
alone the game stands out. Cornell must win
10 hold her proud place, second only TO Yale
and notch above Princeton, West Point and
the Carlisle Indians, while PENNSYLVANIA must
win TO take place above the Ithacans and
only a shade below the Tigers and the sturdy
redskins So far as can be judged. both teams
are ready for the struggle. There is no oues-
lion about each being confident and eager for
the fray. Not even the Yale Princeton game
presented a harder problem TO the football
"dopesters." To all appearances Cornell and
Pennsylvania well matched and the ont
come looks decidedly open. Comparative scores
lead TO maze Of doubt and uncertainty Cor
nell beat Princeton, which beat the Carlisle IN
dians which humbled Pennsylvania PennsyI-
Nania smothered Pennsylvania State, which beat
Cornell The question then seems quite as hard
10 answer as How old is Ann?" CornelTs de-
feat by Pennsylvania State must be discounted
10 some extent. It was case of too much
Voorhis, clever drop kicker, and not being
quite prepared for a gruelling struggle Penn
sylvania's crushing defeat by the Carlisle Ind
ians must also be discounted, as the Quakers
who had been going along too fast in prepara-
tion for the hard Brown game. We're in the
midst Of a depressing slump. whereas the Ind
fans were at the top of their form and never
played a faster or more versatile game. Many
good football critics expressed the opinion that
Carlisle could have beaten any team in the
country on that particular day Pennsylvania
has beaten Michigan and Cornell has disposed
Of West Point, both Of which were worthy foes
and the two old rivals viii face each other on
Thursday with the determination to do or die