Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-01-30
RADICAL CHANGES
IN FOOT BALL RULES
Player With Ball Must Not Be
Pulled, Pushed or Held
on His Feet.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
PRINCETON, N. j.. January 29.-Rad-
ical changes in the foot ball rules. 1t
became known today, are to be proposed
by Princeton at the meeting of the foot
bail rules committee in New York next
Friday. The most sweeping change Is
that no player on the side having. the
ball shall pull, push or hold on his feet
the man running with the ball" Prince
tons foot ball authorities recently COM
pleted an extensive investigation and de-
cided that rush-line injuries came from
interference of this kind and next the
forward pass. The announcement of the
committee with the changes to be advo-
Gated follows:
That seven men shall stand upon the
line of scrimmage when the ball is snap
ped and that three of the backs shall
stand at least five yards behind the line.
Further, that no player of the side haV-
ing the ball shall pull. push or hold on
his feet the man running with the ball.
1T Is believed that this change. which
restores the game as 1t was before the
introduction of momentum mass play,
will permit the invention and use OF a
variety of forms Of interference, but
that this interference Will have to he a
closely packed and interlocked mass OF
men which one man hitherto has had to
meet The prevention of the players
from wrapping their arms about the run
ner and smashing him by sheer force
through the line Is believed will eliminate
90 per cent of the rush line injuries.
THE committee will advocate in regard
to forward passes that If this play Is re-
tanned the ball may be passed at any
point over the line, that only two men OF
the passer's side shall be eligible to re-
ceve it, and these two to be the men on
the ends of the line, and that the pass
must be caught or become dead-in other
words. that a pass which strikes the
ground or which is fumbled and then
falls on the ground shall go as an I'M
completed forward pass.
The most important change advocated
upon this play by the committee will be
the enactment of rule preventing oppo-
nents from continually interfering the
two men endeavoring to recover the pass.
1t is proposed that opponents may Jump
and endeavor to recover the ball them
selves, but that they are not to be per-
mitted to ignore the ball completely and
put the player taking the pass entirely
out of the play by jumping onto him.
1T is believed that as the play now
stands it is one of the most dangerous
plays in the game, but IL the blocking OF
the man recovering the ball be limited to
such incidental shouldering as he would
receive from opponents trying equally
with him to take the pass the play would
be stripped of it's roughneSS entirely.
THE five-yard restriction also should
be removed from the quarterback run
as well as the forward pass. The present
rule compels an onicial to judge the dis
lance with his eye when the play is
RAPIDLY in motion. and consequently Is the
cause of fault-finding with the officials
and dissatisfaction, particularly In close
games. BY removing the restriction 1t
would also prevent the defensive line
from spreading and thereby equalize the
offense and defense.
Another recommendation to be sub
mitted is the adoption of the style of
goals which requires the posts to be set
in the ground six feet behind the goal
line, the bar being brought out even
with the line by two projecting horizontal
pieces ten feet from the ground. 1t also
is believed that the game would be inn
proved by establishing an interval of two
minutes for rest at the end of ten, twenty
and thirty minutes of playing, I'm addition
to the present intermission, but during
these two-minute intervals to allow no
one to come upon the field.
Finally, Princeton Will advocate an
amendment to the rule regulating the
yardage to be gained, which will be ten
yards as now between the two twenty
Vineyard lines, but five yards from the
twenty-five-yard line to the goal line.
This change is to facilitate scoring, as 1t
is believed that game in which each
team scores is more popular than the
scoreleSS contest"
Parke H. Davis, 90, will represent
Princeton at the rules committee meet