New-York tribune., 1907-12-30
COMMENT ON SPORTS.
FOOTBALL RULE CHANGEo.
Ne-rs and Viezcs on Current Topics,
Amateur and Professional.

,he nrohabIe changes which may be maze III 'iie
code The much mooted question OF resri io'
,, the r,se of the forward pass must ne IHl 9iieu
o,,- and will probably occupy the ciiieL a''eh
sion of tbe rule makers, hut other changes looh-
So % g. general Improvement viii be discussed,
nd while they are OF a minor nature they are
name the less important and cannot be passed
-, ,,oa.I,, have discussed the forward pass
- ,are,+b in these columns and am still opposed
"a srx material change for this year at least
in spite of the fact that many good CRITICS. whose
Judgment I respect, have declared themselves
oneuly for a return to the rule which goVerheu
the play in 1906. While much could still be
said on this important subject 1t Is my purpose
NOW TO touch on several other questions which
appear pertinent if of less general interest To
begin with / want TO make one more appeal for
the proper Identification of the players In
game (sn old hobby of mine) by the use Of num-
hers p1operIy fastened on the back of the Jer-
sew This is done IN track and field athletlcs
bicycle racing. automobile racing and, in fact
in every sport where means OF identification is
necessary TO a full and complete enjoyment, eX-
cept baseball and football 1t is important in
baseball. but far more important in football,
where there is more or less quick changing in
positions on various formations and where many
Of the players wear headgear which makes it
hard for their own friends TO recognize them
across the field. Interest in any sport increases
as the contestants known TO the onlookers
and the majority Of those who attend the big
football games in such numbers go home and
buy a newspaper to find cut who made sonle
dastEng run, some brilliant drop kick, some
disastrous tumble or some touchdown, which
Inayhap made victory possible. Even then a
doubt arises when they find that two more
papers disagree the player who made some
particular play which stood out. This is not
4pfr is OfteniirneS
possible for a newspaper correspondent to tell
definitely who made some play. even with every
s,d at his command for the proper identifica
ton OF the players, TO confirm II later for lack
of time. Like time and tide. the closing OF a
newspaper form waits for man. In conse-
quence Of this. credit for some good play or
criticism Of some bad oftentirnes goes TO
the wrong man Let the players be numbered
and football would be even more popular: let
the rules committee make this change and the
game would be far more interesting and enter
tanning.
One OF the most yaaicaI changes suggested is
the elimination of the extra point for goal
from q touchdown. and with this am in hearty
accord. Professor ]. 3. Fine. the Princeton MEM
Der of the rules committee, has expressed him
self against the goal from touchdown, and Pro-
fessor William L. Dudley. a member of the COM
nfttee from Vanderbilt University. believes that
the rule governing a try at goal after a
touchdown can be improved, although he
is not in favor of eliminating 1t entirely. In
this connection he believes that the scoring
value of a kick from placement is too great. and
in this also, I agree. as it is not delicate
and skilful play as the drop kick. The rule
on the try at goal from touchdown has had
opponents ever since the game has been played,
only in this country but in England. The
Rugby Union Of Great Britain nearly abolished
il at one time, when Wales won an fnterna-
tional match with Ireland solely by the extra
points allowed for goals The Irish fifteen, a
much stronger and faster combination scored
three touchdowns or tries, counting nine points,
and the welshmen succeeded in crossing the
Irish goal line only twice. But the Welshmen
n added four points by kicking goal from each
n try and thus Won the game by score Of 10
points TO g. after being outclassed throughout
the match There was a roar OF Indignation all
the United Kingdom after that. but the
agitation died down and nothing was done.
Every year brings its crop of games decided by
a single point. This year Cornell beat Prince
by the extra point earned by kicking goal,
and Harvard. outplayed by Brown, followed a
touchdown from a forward pass late In the
game by kicking goal and winning No
will forget the memorable Yale
Princeton game OF 1899. when Princeton won
by score OF II TO 10, or the equally memorable
Pennsyivania-Cornef game of 1905, when the
Quakers squeezed out victory by of
12 TO il. The wind may make the kicking of a
goal almost impossible, and it frequently hap
pens that team touchdown by a long
from q tumble blocked kick. putting the
bsII directly between the posts. Then the goal
is practically certain and the good. sustained
work OF the opponents, who may have scored a
touchdown in a corner of the field after hard
line bucking. is likely 10 go for nought. The
try at goal" would not be missed; the game
would be the better for its elimination in spite
of the fact that more tie games. which
satisfactory, might result.
Two or three other changes Of a minor nat
ure could be made TO good advantage. Some
action should be taken providing for the proper
notification Of a team when intermission be-
tween halves is up and the rules pertaining to
hurdling and where the ball shall be put in
play after a safety should be clarified. At
present there is no way Of enforcing the ten
minute rule between halves, and the case is
one in which referee would hesitate before
making an arbitrary ruling. Princeton men
may not have overcome a slight feeling Of re-
sentiment at the recollection Of seeing their
team running through signals to keep warm at
the beginning of the second half Of their game
al New Haven, while the Yale eleven was
waiting in quarters for a notification that did
not come that time was up. There has been
no disposition to question the motives OF the
Yale men or to fail to accept freely the
PLANTATION voluntarily offered from New Haven.
but the incident was unfortunate and its
repetition should be guarded against.
Many officials have confessed 10 a grave
measure of doubt as 10 when hurCiIinP is hur-