The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-08-07
FOOTBALL RULES
CHANGED AGAIN.
Elimination Of Danger Is the
Chief Object OF Rules
Committee.
FLYING TACKLE ELIMINATED
Forward Pass Receives a Great
Deal Of Attention, and Its
Rule Is Amended.
FLYING TACKLE ELIMINATED
BY PARK DAVIS,
Rules Committee

BY PARK DAVIS,
Member Rules Committee From
Princeton.
The appearance of the football rules
for 1910 once more invites attention
to the gridiron. True, six weeks must
elapse before the moleskin suits come
forth from the lockers and the lines
of lime are painted upon school and
college swards. With the publication
OF the rules, however, the season real
ly opens, for with the rule book in
hand every strategic genius OF the
gridiron will furrow his broWs IN long
and laborious porting over eacn WORD
and phrase of the code, seeking to in
vent some novel tactical evolution that
next November may bring victory to
his alma mater and widespread fame
to its inventor. Football essentially
Is a game of strategy. more elastic
and profound than chess. only less
elastic and profound than the tactics
of actual war. In the radicai and
presented for 1910 football tac1icians.
players and spectators will find a new
game.
tend that football is no more danger
Gus than baseball, and they point to
the fact that the fatalities upon the
diamond during three weeks of last
April equaled the record Of football
last autumn for ten weeks, while for
minor injuries the record of baseball
is as high as Twenty-Five to one. Not
withstanding any such comparison,
the rules committee of football reso-
lutely determined to reach and eradi-
cate the dangers of its own game.
This task the committee has per-
formed. instituting a reform, the most
drastic which football yet has encoun-
tered. In this revision the committee
did not work upon theory. 1t had be-
fore 1t precise and accurate data as to
the cause of the injuries that marked
the season of 1903. This data indi-
Gated as the offending features mass
play, interlocked interference, flying
tackles and the recovery OF forward
passes.
Flying Tackle Eliminated.
The dangers of the flying tackle
were not difficult TO remove since 1t
was possible to remove the flying
tackle Itself without any effect wha..
ever upon any other play, as tackling
is separate feature of the game and
not connected or correlated with othe7
playing systems. The committee sim.
ply has ruled that hereafter no player
shall tackle an opponent without hav-
Ing at the time at least one foot upon
the ground 1t was the massplay and
the forward pass that occupied the
committee for seven days and large
part OF the intervening nights.
Princeton, with the University OF
Chicago. proposed as a remedy for
massed interference an extention OF
Rule XVII. SO as to require seven men
OF the offensive side to stand upon
the line OF scrimmage and to pre- hibit
players of this side from aiding the
man CARRYING the ball or one another
BY hands. arms or body, either in
pushing or pulling. thus eliminating
the familiar spectacle of twenty years
standing OF player being whirled
through the line. After prolonged de-
pate and considerable experimentation
tthls proposition was adopted This
radical change means the return of
that style of game which character
lied the late sos. The rush line will
probably play widely extended line
this fall, and the man with the ball
at all times will be in full view of the
spectators With the abolition of fly-
Ing tackles line plunging will be tho
same as end running, a quick dash
through an open line.
Must Maintain Fairness.
It was obvious to the commit ee
that this drastic change would reduce
the offensive strength of the game
more than half. and that 1t was in
cnmbent to restore in some way the
equilibrium OF the game which must
maintain at all times so far as the
rules are concerned a fair struggle be-
tween the offense and the defense,
and thus prevent scoreless or heavily
scoring games.
This condition the committee met by
removing the restriction upon the for
ward pass and the quarter back run
which hitherto has required each OF
distant from the centre. The effect
OF the second Of these changes means
the disappearance of the position OF
quarter back. since under the new
through the line at any point upor
a snap direct from centre. II the
quarter back goes the present method
of swapping the ball will go. Snappine
the ball Is defined under the rules a:
putting the ball In play with aeon.
tinuous motion Of the hand or foot.
Since the quarter back will be founf
this fall In the line or group Of back:
it is certain that the coaching eeniu:
way OF sending the ball back from
centre than the nresent method. whini
has existed for thirty-one years. sThi,
change means a fast. open and run
ming game In which the premium n,
gigantic bulk, but in which the idea
man will be the player OF middl,
weight, fleet OF foot and keen Of MA
1t means the return of the beautiful
pa ses OF the SOS. hen each man al
associate for a further advance rath
than hugging 1t to his chest and fan
ing down It,, Strange to say, tn
Unrestricted Quarter back run is no
new, It came In with the Rugb,
Union code in. 1876 and a q tad .mna !, = I.