New-York tribune., 1907-12-09
COMMENT ON SPORTS.
VzIITE OF FORWARD PASo'
Reasons Why Rule on the S"0Jec'
Should Not Be Changed.

.eason bv the way. which aroused Sfea'ei
popular interest than ever beaore-n a.;otS r
srnetite for the sport was not Sdtla'eu g
.;,, +o a discussion of the rules ano what
,hanges NAV or may not be Tor ule oes' IIi W
revised code. No less an authority Ihdn "a
~ann Wales athletic adviser and g Mali WIZ
- rsd long and earnestly with an eye
si,oIa IN fhe needs and the good or the Sport
has come out openly against the preSell. - ! uIe ~
governing the use of the FORWARD pa, P.1,. -
are other good critics. including Willaih r
Knox head coach of Yale this season VINO iidNe
o,y,,esead themselves in much the same way
which indicates that the question VIII nave -
lee thrashed out at some ierSlh al tiie -
meeting of the football rules committed i Nhlie
onan 10 conviction. and respecting MI. camp >
Indictment on ANYTHING pertaining TO football
an, not satisfied that any radical change IN the
rIlIe for the forward pass Is either aoNisaoie "
desira BILE at this time There Is hotiiAs "
.,amns statement on the question TO iead 10 'iie
r,ci,rio, more or less generally accepted, thal
l,o is onnosed to the forward pass as useo III
1906 when it restricted by d pehal'S "
loss Of the bail for an 1ncompieleo plaS' H
matter OF what down. He is pialnl! 0PP
tou-o,-or IN .ha rule in force this season WHICH
t.rovi5es 2 penalty of fifteen wards lor ah ii
completed forward pass on the TrSt or $500 $500
down as tending 10 encourage IT'S muse iiiI
,,se and 10 foster the element OF luch- MI tai'iP
eaid in mart: The American colleglaI' "he'e'
sr,actator or player does Tot care for a game III
which the element of chance IS paramount , NJ
likes 10 sec play a game "hefe hd4 -
a
secures we'll appreciated result Throwing Iiie
bau around indiscrirninateiy may be the lase
resort OF a weak inferior team ana a9 su0h
Is unsatisfactory
In This ] heartily agree with Mr. Camp, but
after seeing all the important games this year
7 am not convinced that the forward pass wac
,,sed indscriminately that luck ano challce'
t,- its use played any material part IN the WIN
ming of even one of the big games decloeo ia'e
in the season. Its sane and intelligent use now
ever did make one of Yale's touchdoWnS aSalhS'
Princeton possible: its clever use was IarseS
responsibe for Pennsyivania's defeat OF Cot-
nell: its judcIous gave the bah 10 haie
within striking distance of the Harvard sodl
line from which the second touchoo"h
ssIlred. Other instances could De clteo ~ auo
force 70 the argument. There were games IN
which the forward pass was used perhaps DIS a
last desperate resort, when every otiler means
had failed against a strong oefence oul iol 70
the same extent a sthe onsidc KICK ana punt
which carry with them the same element OF
1uck and chance If the bail is not handed CLEAN
Iv This so-called element OF chance plays
more important part in footpaN ihdh III dIihoo'
sny other sport, but il has its attehdaht auNah
,ages inasrnrlrh as il leads TO the development
of eternal vigilance and quick resourcefulness
An error in baseball, golf, lawn tennis or most
of the other sports may be overcome, but rareIy
atoned; an error OF tumble in football may pe
overcome and also atoned. even TO the adVan-
-age nerbaps of the offending side, by quick
ness alertness, watchfuness- 3y referring 10
the statistical reports Of the four biggest games
Of the season in the East-the fale-trincetoii'
,ha Vale Harvard the Pennsylvania-Cornell and
the arrnv-Navy contests-it would not appear
that the forward pass was Overcome or llols-
s.rininately used In the 1ale-Pr1nceton game
Vale used the forward pass six times for q total
of sixtv-f1ve yards; Princeton three times, Tor
ffteen wards In the Yale-Harvard game Yale
used the play seven times for total Of eighty
Yards: Harvard four times for hfty-fve yards
In the Pennsylvania 7oEnel game Pennsylvania
ard fen
one hundred and forty yards (all IN the FIRST
half,; Cornell seven times. for one hundred and
Fifteen yards. In the Army-NaVy game West
Point used the play nine times for a total of
thirty wards; ANNAPOLIS six times for fifteen
yards
forward pass indiscrimnately IN the first half,
at least by the Ithacans, who, all appearances,
had no adequate defence for the play, but not
one of those who saw the game could say that
The pass made in haphazaTd. trust-to-luck
sort of NAV. On the contrary, it well de-
vised and well executed, and so mixed up with
other plays 10 be q terror TO Cornell, but
never monotonous to the onlookers- Somebody
.tutIv remarked that the QualSers fearing they
could not go through the Big Red line. de-
tided 10 go over IT, which they did, thanks TO
the forward pass II Cornells defence for the
play had been strong West Points Penn
sylvania would have had far trouble in
earning victory on Thanksgiving Day West
Point by the way, had the strongest defence
of the season for the forward 80, as / referred
10 q week ago. II modelled after that
shown by Princeton against the Carlisle Indians.
The forward passing in the Army-Navy game
was not q joke, some persons were pleased TO
call it There is almost as much to be admired in
the proper defence for play as in its success
ful execution by those who see something
more in a game than the gaining Of ground for
scoring purposes. Unfortunately, the finer points
of the game, the real strategic movement are
not fully appreciated by the rank and file of
those who look on because they are not fully
understood. The Navy undoubtedly had an ul-
terror motive for using the forward pass, as any
well developed eleven had, other than as a
means of gaining ground II served a purpose
in weakening the Army defence by spreading 1T
on, and this was taken advantage of when
l.ange ran ten yards more on a quarterback
run around the ArIny's right end from a fake
forward pass formation, landing the ball on
West Points 3-yard line. from where Douglas
eventually went over for touchdown, whlch
brought victory This leads up TO what con-
.ider the strongest reason why the rule govern
ing the forward pass should not be changed for
the present, at least
Wien the new rules were first introduced two
wears ago there were many who contended that
ii Was too much TO require Of any team 70 gain
ten yards in three downs, and the prediction
was made that no score games would put an
end 10 the 10-yard rule in short order. When
the season of 1906 closed, the first under the re-
vised rules, fewer than twenty-six Of the
more important games ended with the score at
q TO O. including the Yale-Princeton and Penn
sx,lvania- Cornell contests. II looked then il
the prediction regarding the no score games
and I0-yard rule might prove true and the rule
makers cast about for way to strengtfe n
further the offence and weaken the defence. ana
happily il may be said. removed some of the
restrictions in the OF the forward pass. The
result speaks for itself After careful study