Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-09-19
GREATEST SEASON EVER.
Coach Stage Points Out What He Sees
Different in This and
Other Years.

The football season OF 1908 will reach
a level Of public interest and perfection
of play far above that of any previous
year. This is the prediction made by
Coach A. A.. Stage of the University
of Chicago in a review of the outlook
for the coming gridlron period. The,
Midway director believes the strides to
be taken this season will far outstrip
anything in football annals.
The increased popular demand for
sports of all kinds, the added public
confidence in the trainers of the foot
ball rules and the decrease In the nuns
Der of football injuries are the chlet
reasons for the revival outlined by the
Chicago leader. The result will be
financially and "artistically' prosper
Gus football season, according to Stage.
Stagg is OF the opinion that football
has oatgrown the bad effects of the
purity regime and that no attempts
will be made this fall TO change the
present reading of the conference stat
utes.
INTEREST IN GAME.
Football will be at its highest point
this year." said Coach Stage. The peo-
pie all over the country are more in
terested In athletics and exhibitions of
all kinds than they have ever been be-
fore. Not only in football but In many
other forms of sport we have seen
surprising revival Of interest this
year.
Football is particularly affected In
this great interest of the public, be-
cause 1t has come to be the great
American college game and as such
lis naturally a leader. The people will
have confidence this year that the foot
ball authorities know what they are
IT,. 40 r-tsav
with the forward pass. The new
game will come into its own for the
first time this year.
.One great thing that is going to
boom the sport is the fact that there
can be no cry of injuries" raised this
year. 1t has been proved and proved
beyond doubt that the new style of
( game greatly lessons the cEancse of in
: jury to the players. The possibility
of injuries has long been q, source of
opposition on the part of many people.
and now it is in a way to be done away
with for good.
D1sPosEs OF LUCK.
ION the side of the actual playing
rules the game will be greatly increased
+ IN its scientific and popular interest The
pose of the luck of the scramble,
which was such bad feature of the
game last year The best team ought
to win every time in football. That
is the beauty of the game. This will
be possible this year., since the element
of chance has been largely removed,
TOO much emphasis cannot be laid
on the change in the football rules
which provides that when the ball is
legally touched only the man of the
passers side who first thus legally
touched it shall be entitled to recover
it until it has been touched by an OPP
ponent The same holds true of the
change which provides that if a for
ward pass is thus legally touched,
fumbled and touched by another player
of the passer's side before the ball has
been touched by an opponent the ball
shall go to the opponents on the side
where it was first illegally touched
The maroon veterans already on the
ground are CAPTAIN Steffen, Iddings.
Page. Kelley, Worthwine and Schom-