Omaha daily bee., 1909-01-24
CRIDIRON'S CRACK ElCEERS
0'Dea Dewitt and Mcbride Were Not
the Only Ones.
MANY OTHERS HAD THE SCIENCE
List Of Expert Booters of h Foot
BaII-star Painters and skiIfuI
DROP Kickers-Batterworth,
Brooke ana Others.

Drop ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS,
Brooke ana Others.
NEW YORK, Jan. 2.-The crack kickers
Of foot ball have been few compared to
the number OF players. That isn't because
most Of the players haven't the natural
ability to become good kickers IL they prac'
tised It, but because the kicking depart
ment NJ elevens is usually entrusted TO one
man. In a word then there are about
eleven good players TO one good kicker.
Nevertheless there are more men who were
first-class kickers than ever got credit for
so teing.
A recent article on the subject mentioned
only three hooters of the pigskin who were
in the great class. These three were Pat
O'Dea Of Wisconsin, a kicker of wonderful
ability in the late 'Os; John Dewitt, the
Princeton guard. and Malcolm Mcbride,
the Yale fullback and captain In 1889. IL
didn't even take in Frank Butterworthi
Ysle's accomplished kicker Of the early
'eOs, or George Brooke. who in his day at
Pennsylvania was a kicker of exceptional
PROV ess. Yet 10th Of these men were
strictly first-class and as proficient as any
Of the three others named, with the posi-.
bic exception Of O'Dea, who not only could
drop kick but punt further than anybody
before or since. Again there was Hirsch-
berger Of Chicago, a fine kicker and the
best the west has had except O'Dea.
The different branches Of kicking have to
be taken into consideration in deciding on
those who are worthy OF mention. There
are men who won the right to be rated
among the best kickers by their skill in one
branch alone. Little Hudson, who formerly
played with the Carlisle Indians. couldn't
be left out because he was such a skilful
drop kicker, though he didn't shine in
booting the leather in other ways.
Some who Can Kick.
1t will be found in going over the list
of worthy kickers that with few exceptions
they have been fine players in other re-
spects. Kicking was just one of other grid
iron accomplishments. Cases to prove this
are numerous, as this list will show:
Brooke. Butterworth, Coy, Burr, Haugh-
ton, McBride, Hudson, Douglass. De Witt,
Baird, Sharpe, Harlan, Hollenback, Walder,
Hirschberger, Eckersall. Mount Pleasant,
Brewer, Reid. Veeder and Herman. Away
back before the time of any of these play
ers, however, were kickers quite as good
as those who have played since. Two of
them were Alexander Moffat OF Princeton
and Eugene Richards OF Yale. Both Of
these men were star kickers. Moffat was a
drop kicker as we'll as punter and had
the thing reduced as nearly to a science
as anybody who has succeeded him. Rich
ards could hold his own in punting with
any OF the present day kickers.
Mcbride was 4 left footed kicker. and
he and O'Dea measured skill in a game
once. That was in 1899. when the Wiscon-
sin team. coached by Phil King. played
Yale in New Haven. O'Dea tried one drop
kick in that game. but it didn't go
through. and his punts were not so much
better than McBride's that they could keep
Yale from winning. Still they helped ma
terially in keeping the score down; but
Mcbride could boot the ball long distances
himself, and in a measure his drives offset
those of O'DeaL AS a matter of fact,
O'Dea's punts were too far for his ends.
Mcbride Had Plenty Of Help.
McBrid kicked a low, swift ball and
was none too good at getting direction,
but he had a good pair OF ends supporting
him that day, and Yale got all the bene-
fit OF his hard, IL somewhat erratically
driven punts. Had O'Dea kicked a goal
from the field IN that game he would have
won a far greater name In the east by
that one kick than he has. 1t Is a matter
OF record, however, that he once droI
} kicked a goal from over sixty yards, and
; there are no authentic records of any other
such drop kick having been made.
Butterworth and Brooke were back OF
the line players who were used a great dea.
for other work than kicking. With all the
defensive and offensive energy they wer,
called on to expend their kicking didn't
suffer, and they we're strong and consistent
punters from beginning to end OF a game
Brooke had the spiral punt down pat. anc
his was a hard ball to handle. He could
. punt far and accurately and was clever
at field goal kicking, too.
Billy Bull of Yale was a natural kicke'
, and one of the best. There have been few
: since his day who could drop kick as wei
and only one at Yale who approached hin
: as a drop kicker. That one was Al Sharpe
I one of the very best in the kicking hall o
fame. He hasn't the reputation of some
{ but he deserved it. In the Princeton gam,
Of 1899 he made a drop kick from the forty
~seven-yard line and from a difficult angle
II Yale had won that game that kick o
! Sharpe's would be remembered more vividl,
: than It is, for 1t would have gone hand II
hand with victory, by which mems abilit!
is often, II sometimes unjustly, measured
= Certainly Sharpe's kick was nonetheles
meritorious simply because Poe flashe,
I forth with a kick Just before the game wa
4 over and made Princeton the winner. Ths
h game was notable for two drop kicks, on
E by each side, both OF great importance an,
. both dramatic in the extreme.
, Pride of the Navy.
As a specialist at kicking goals fror
= placement Northcroft OF the Navy stand
out conspicuously. The midshipman wa
good at lifting them over the bar fror
2 distances which made the feat worthy o
= mention. Many place kicks are ordinsr
achievements-that is, free kicks in whic
h there could be no interference with tn
. kicker-because so close to the goal post
n that II was no more trouble TO put the bal
z over than from an ordinary place kick fol
lowing a touchdown. No player has wo
e fame as a kicke just because he coul
h send the ball over in converting a touch
= down into a goal. and a good many plsc
kicks haven't been a bit more meritorioui
The place kick from scrimmage is a niue
more deserving feat, and last fall Balen'
IS and Thorpe Of the Indians and McCaa @
Lafayette distinguished themselves in thi
manner. At both place kicking and dro
- -