The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1909-10-30

man who could get up pace enough
to keep up with the rest Of the
backs.
but that means the abandonment
of the plays" said the graduate.
II know; but every one says they
never will work, and something must
be done"
where's McBride?" asked the
graduate, naming the field coach.
"Over in his room at the hotel"
said the captain.
IT am going down to see him
Don't do anything till 1 see you
later"
"All right; but things look pretty
dark"
When the three men met later in
the evening IL was n depressing oc-
casion. The captain reported that al
most every man on the team had lost
confidence. He had talked with them
individually and all wanted the back
field speeded up and Hale, the heavy
full-back, put into his old position
at tackle. The coach said that he
was hearing nothing else from the
coaches who had seen the game in
New York against Columbia.
Tt was indeed 81 serious time, but
1t was finally agreed that the present
positions and plays should be main
tanned until the game with the Car
Isle Indians, and if by that time
and I'm that game they did not show
their worth, the graduate was will
ing to see them abandoned, and Hale
sent up into the line at tackle, and
faster backfield evolved. Only one
who has either captained or coached
football team can appreciate the
feelings of these three men on the
even of the Indian game. Each
knew that failure then meant too
short time to develop the team
along other lines. They had virtually
burned their bridges behind them,
and were now TO stake their season
on the work of the next afternoon.
on that evening o. still further
chance was determined upon. The
big full-back was such n factor in
himself that the graduate urged an
even greater hazard, but better
test of the plays. He suggested that
another man, Dupee, should replace
Hale for that game--a man not nearly
so powerful, but one who knew the
plays and would by the experience
of a game fit himself to take the
place of the full-back in the later
championship games with Harvard
and Princeton should any injury in
capacitate lthe regular man. This
seemed indeed too much, but was
finally accepted, and tho two teams
lined up.
From the very start the Yale team
with It's new plays, marched down the
field through and over the bewilder-
ed opponents, six eight, ten, a dozen
yards at down, until the coach of
the Indians exclaimed: "I cannot un-
derstand what is the matter with my
men. / never saw them SO campletely
at sea-
The final score was 35 to o, and
the plays had "made good" The
Princeton game was won 30 to s, and
the Harvard game was 2S to 0, and
within year half the teams In the
country were playing 'tackle-back"
plays. In the game of That year Har-
ward played against Yale no less than
twenty men They We're considerably
heavier than the Yale men, and yet
the majority of those who were taken
out were not injured but rather so
exhausted by their efforts to meet
these plays as to make it advisable
to replace them with fresh men.
Such an incident of football cam
paign may throw some light upon the
reasons whry the sport has acquired
It's tenacious hold upon players and
spectators. History shows that the
game of football has been severely
criticised and denounced and even
forbidden by law, but with singular
insistence it continues to assert its
vitality, and It never was more pop
ular than in America today. East
and west, north and south, it spreads.
Whatever objections there may be to
tt--or rather, TO the abuse of 1.-THE
history of the sport would indicate
that ii is here TO stay" and the
part of wisdom both of it's advocates
and its critics would seem to consist
in endeavoring to eliminate the oh.