Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-01-19
WILL
NOT MEET HARVARD
Negotiations for Foot Ball
Contest This Year Halted
by Capt. Fish.

CAMBRIDGE, Mass, January l9.-Ihere
will be no HarvardPrinceton foot ball
game in 1909. This is a positive statement
While it is not generally known even in
exclusive foot ball circles here that Capt
Fish of the Harvard eleven has pre-
pared an ultimatum to this effect and Will
forward it to Capt. Seigling OF Princeton
in a few days. there will be no sridiron
battle between the Crimson and the
Orange and Black next fall
In view of the announcements. SEEM
ingly of an authoritative source, that
all arrangements had been made for such
a game between Princeton and Harvard
this year. the statement now that there
will be no contest is fully as starting
as the first news that the two universities
would again meet on the. gridiron. mat
Princeton and Harvard did enter into
negotiations for renewal Of foot ball re-
lations is fact. What term OF years
this tentative agreement CONSIDERED Is
not known definitely, but it is safe to say
that it was not less than two years Such
a contract would have insured game at
each university. 1t is also known that
so far as the negotiations had progressed
it was a certainty that the game TINS year
would have been played at princeton.
This would have been the logical arrange
ment, as the Tigers are without big
game at home unless they schedule one
with Cornell. while on the other mana mar
ward could very well afford to concede the
playing of the first game at Princeton, as
Yale will be the stellar attraction on
Soldiers Field this year, Harvard having
played and won from Yale at New Haven
last fall.
Wanted Big Game.
But why was the break in the negotia-
tons after all of the principal points
had been settled? 1t is stated on the
authority of a. prominent Princeton
alumnus that it was no fault of the
Orange and Black management that COM
plete arrangements for such a foot ball
game were not contaminated. The lack
of such a contest as Harvard could sup
ply on the Tiger schedule has been felt at
Princeton for years. Inc 1ale contest
always has and always will be the ob1ec-
tive point of PrincetOn's foot ball coach
ing but the Blue only appears at Prince
ton once in two years and Old Nassau's
alumni have been clamoring for game
of equal interest and Importance. For
years at different times the Tigers have
played Cornell. Columbia, Carlisle ana
Dartmouth, and while all Of these elevens
have invariably shown themselves worthy
of the Princeton steel, not one of them
came up to the Orange and Black stand
ard and never gave complete satisfac-
ton to the Orange and Black graduates
or undergraduates. Hence there was I'M
disguised qualification when it became
generally known that Princeton would
have Harvard as foot ball opponent in
1909. From the recent turn of affairs
there is little doubt but that the Prince
ton following is now correspondingly dis
appointed
1t is not known at present what in
f1uenced Capt. Fish and his advisers to
cease negotiations with Princeton. This
and all other details will be made known
later. On the surface. however, it seems
highly probable that schedule difficulties
were the most important considerations
that led Harvard to decline TO meet
Princeton this year Harvard's tentative
schedule is already a strenuous PROPOSE
ton, including Yale, Dartmouth Carlisle,
Brown and either West Point or An
napolis. All of these games in the past
have taxed the CrimsOn's ability to its
utmost, and If these teams are to be met
this year 1t would be a suicidal policy to
include the Tigers in the list Of games.
One or more of the above teams neces-
sarily would have to be dropped in order
to accommodate Princeton, as Harvard
would like to play the Tigers two weeks
prior to meeting Yale. The most ideal
date would be one week before the Yale
battle. but this has been the date on which
Princeton has played Yale for years and
will obtain in all probability for years to
come.