The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-03-23

NEW YORK. March %. Although
IN the eyes in the sporting world
are centered in the coming baseball
season and the Jeffries-Johnson bat
tie, football enthusiasts all over the
country are looking forward with con-
siderable apprehension to the meeting
of the Intercollegiate football rules
committee, which will be held in this
| city March "a. and on the outcome Of
which will depend the life or death OF
this popular college game.
! The committee will undoubtedly be
confronted with the greatest probIem
since its organization. The enormous
number of fatalities which occurred
last season has supplied the foes of the
game with a fresh supply of ammuni-
| ton. and radical revision of the rules
governing the game will be necessary
But how is the committee to accom-
plish this?
Three years ago, in obedience to a
strong wave of public sentiment, the
committee met and adopted a number
of rules, which they believed would
remedy the trouble. Open play was in
duced by the adoption of the outside
kick, the forward pass, and increasing
the distance to be gained in specified
number of downs. The fatal accidents
last year, however, proved that this
caused more vicious mass plays than
ever before, as it weakened the Sec
Ondary line of defense, the defending
team being compelled to scatter its
backfield in order to protect against an
outside kick or a forward pass What
the changes in the rules will be is prob
lematical, although it is conceded that
several of the important plays used in
1rac re Lii, i
Every effort will be made to place the
dangerous element of the gridiron sport
at the lowest possible degree.
Forward Pass Doomed.
The forward pass as at present prac-
ticed seems doomed. 1t is too danger
Gus a play. The onside kick will also
be eliminaterd in all probability. Spec
tacular features of the forward pass
may be retained under change which
will confine its use back of the line of
scrimmage of the team employing it.
Unnecessary roughness will be put
under the ban. A player making a catch
will be better protected. The Canadian
idea of allowing no tackling of a man
about to catch the ball seems to be ia
Vored, indeed, some suggest a five-yard
protection and that the man SO pro-
tected cannot be tackled until he at
tempts to run with the ball.
Piling up of players on a PROSTATE
man will surely be condemned. 1t will
carry a severe penalty. To prevent the
runner taking advantage of this pro-
lection it is likely that he will not be
allowed to crawl or creep once having
been downed. The ball will be con-
sidered down when any part of the
runners body, with the exception of
his hands or feet. touches the ground.
Interference will come in for spirited
reform. Varied suggestions have been
made In this respect. 1t is generally
thought that 1t would never do to abol-
ish interference entirely. But inter-
ference will surely be restricted. A
suggestion generally Endorsed, especial
ly among the larger colleges, is that
1.-THE runner must not be hauleA or
tagged by his team mates or in any
way supported by them after he is
tackled. Another suggestion, that the
man on offense carrying the ball must
not receive any help until he reaches
the line of scrimmage.
Yards to Be Made.