New-York tribune., 1908-12-20
ROPER'S REGIME ENDS.
Young Field Coach and Graduate
Committee for Football Team.

This is the season when football is seen through
the haze Of the smoke of pipes. and not unnatural
ly much of the talk and many OF the ideas that
result in the nature Of pipe dreams But
even at this time of the year. while half the teams
still trying to explain how 1t all happened and
the rest are going the victories they won in
ever fresh exultation. some facts developing
that will have important effect on the next
campaign the gridiron, and not the least Of
these is that Princeton viii have new head coach
It IS safe to say that two teams will share most
Of the attention Of Eastern students of the game
Harvard is in what her graduates and students all
hope 10 be a raEsitOry stage, and at Cambridge
every effort is being made to repeat on the grtdron
the Harvard retuvenation Oh the river, which has
resulted in two victories Yale in three years
something which had not happened before in many
a college generation.
At Princeton the situation is different. For the
first time in the history Of football relations be-
tween the Tiger and the Bulldog a class was grad
uated last June without seeing victory Yale
on the gridirOn, and thus old and well loved ira
dition Of Old Nassau shattered Worse still. a
similar fate has befallen the class of 90 which will
be graduated next June. Trus, both '0S 'O9 saw
a tie game with Yale, played in 1905, and each has
twice seen Princeton team beaten after outplay-
ing the Blue and getting a good lead in the first
half.
William Roper has been head coach Of the Prince
ton eleven. with autocratic power for three years.
ana while he has had the most loyal support from
alumni and undergraduates alike the last season.
with its three tie games and defeats at the hands
of Dartmouth and Yale, has made 1t certain that
new man Will be at the head OF a system Of
coaching next fall. There is little disposition TO
make specific criticism OF Roper among the old
Princeton men when they gather and talk over
these last three seasons, but they nearly all feel
that Roper had the material each time to take the
game from Yale, and that lack of judgment in de-
VelopnS the team has been responsible for the
defeats.
Criticism, what there is of It, is mainly directed
at the Roper policy this year. No team was chosen
until late in the season and when I was finally
foo Late 70,
Tor lis big games. 1t was q good team, whom If
finally took the field but It played itself ont IN rho
hrst half and Yale, cutting loose with an attach
that Harvard was able cheek a week later o,,a
came an adverse score and smashed its way 10
victory. Wy -
Now there IS to be a change. There will be a
young Held coach at Princeton next fan Il mo-.
be Eddie Dillon. following the Yale custom, ~ Or,
pointlhg a captain-which, by the way Will not be
followed at New Haven next fall-or II MAJ, bo
any one OF half dozen recent captains or star
payers That detail has not been settled vet
just TWO Things nave been settled as to the per
sonnel Of the coaching staff. Roper ~.iu not he
at It's head, and Phil King will not succeed hin, m
head coach King, and, possibly Roper will be
members OF a graduate coaching committee that
Will keep princeton constantly supplied with the
necessary individual instructors and with a COM
mittee Of advice that will help the field coach in
his duties Of selecting a team and deciding op
schemes of play. These things are settled and
the captain of one of Princeton's charnpionship
'oN444o a
field coach and graduate coaching commit, ee will
enable the class OF 10 leave Princeton with the
memory OF victory over the Blue to cheer II
its way.
Burch will probably not be the field coach at
Yale next fall and the occasional violation OF the
rule that captain shall coach the next years
eleven would cause little surprise. Howard Jones'
one of the best ends of recent years. who played
on Bigiows great team OF 1901. and coached SYRIA
cuse in a successful this year, is the man
most likely be in direct charge at Yale Field