The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-12-25
COACH YOST ON
 FOOTBALL CAME Physical Fitness Will Obviate
 Danger GREAT TRAINER TALKS Says Danger Not So Great As in Auto mobiling, Hunting or Swim ming-The List of
 Injured.

Nashville, December A.-(Speeial.) )-- That the physical fitness and training of players, and the means of safeguarding these considerations, is of chief import ance in reducing the hazard of football, and vastly improving the game from every standpoint, rather than sweeping changes in the playing rules, is the opinion expressed in an interview by Coach Fielding H. Yost of Michigan. The noted Ann Arbor expert is spending the winter in this city, following his great season of success as instructor Of the wolverine squad, and, more immedl- ately. most successful duck hunting ex- cursion in the Arkansas wilds, in com pany with his old colleague and brother in-law, Dan McGugin, and w. R. Manier, father of Owsley Manier, noted Wander bilt and Pennsylvania back.
 He has brief suggestions to offer, whereby, in his opinion, changes could be made in the interest of the game and players but they apply entirely to the phase of the matter suggested. and these are; That with the physically eligible and C3r61uliX IIdln64 HIGH dA1OnCo III RiSsSs the game should be divided into four sec tions instead of two, as at present, with the officials given authority to suspend or remove exhausted or injured men, and with the forward pass penalty re- duced from 15 to five yards.
 That there are elements of danger Tn the game, he admits; but he holds that no sport worth while is without this feat ure, and he declares that the sport-lov- ing element of the land would be entirely without diversion and recreation, not to mention the healthful and general good points of athletic sports were this objec- tion generally needed. He further states that the list of football fatalities for the season as reported is greatly exaggerated; that criticism of the game does not come from those who have played the game ana enioyed its benefits, and also that in 70 or the leading institutions of the country there has never been a fatal accident. In his entire experience of Is years In foot ball he declares he has never witnessed a fatal injury, or an accident approaching death. Only three players on regular college squads in college games died dur ing the past season, he asserts, as the result of football accidents.
 As definite means of bringing about the desired results, he says: Most injuries in football result through the player be- ing retained in the game after he is ex- hausted or perhaps, by far tho greater number of injuries due to football are be- cause boys who are In no condition to play The game are permitted to participate. helieve the exhaustion of players could he remedied by dividing the game into four quarters. First play 20 minutes with a five minutes rest; then fifteen minutes 10 finish the first half. An intermissior of fifteen minutes between the halves would give the men opportunity to obtain all needed rest before beginning the sec ond half. The officials should have the right to suspend a player who is in nc condition to continue the game The dis tance penalty of all forward passes should he reduced from fifteen to five yards This would encourage forward passing materially and would keep the game mor' ouen than it now is. These alteration in the rules would keep all of the mel fresh and avoid all of the serious injurie that happen to players either exhauste or in no condition to enter a game.
 When asked as to "eiement-of-danger feature, he replied: Yes, there Is an ele r,ent of danger, and even death on foot hail field, but this is also true of any othe game or outdoor sport or pleasure tha anyone with a drop of red blood in hi veins would be interested in. Thirty-fiv deaths were reported in baseball durin the past summer. Hunting has claimed victims in Michigan and 8 in Wisconsf