New-York tribune., 1910-05-09
COMMENT ON SPORTS
Working Along the Right Lines
to Reform Football.
REAL TEST FOR GIANTS
News and Views on Live Topics
of the Day, Amateur and
Professional.

Professional.
IL is still too early to pass Judgment on
the work of the football rules committee
IN its effort to so revise the code as 10
make the game less dangerous and less
open to constant attack Much has been
accomplished. however in the way of
p.lrging il of certain features which have
been open TO most criticism, and 1t is safe
20 say that when the committees completes
its labors no stone will have been left un-
turned to meet the demands of the re-
formers without robbing the game OF its
most salient points The members OF the
committee have deIved deeply, and while
the practice may not bear out the theories.
Il cannot be said that hard work and
earnest effort were lacking. even at a great
sacrifice Oh the part OF those who had the
difficult problem TO solve. Alonzo A stage,
physical director of Chicago University
who. il is understood, made a long, hard
fight for the retention of the forward pass
over the line of scrimmage. is quoted as
saving that while in his opinion the game
aiT be safer, he did not believe that the
rules would meet with general approval,
and predicted a rather short life for the
code as amended If Mr.. Stagg is prop
erly quoted it is plain that he is not alto
carving out the necessary reforms.
II strikes me- however. that the commit
tee is working along in the only way posi-
bic to bring about the desired result II
was suggested in this column early last
fall that the forward pass be limited 70
behind the line of scrimmage. not only to
90 away with somewhat dangerous play
in itself as used last fall. but to give the
obs
I'd and support the tackles, who were
forced almost single handed TO bear the
ar1lnt Of the attack in line plays Now
taat this change has been decided on. the
Sharps have been studying the possibilities,
and two or three agree with me that the
game Will be improved The play viii not
he used il the same way as of old, or with
IRE same purpose, but il will open the way
70 more end running and should strengthen
the attack in marked degree Further
than that the play Will be more valuable
in all parts of the field, and will not be
confined largely TO use in the opponents
territory, as the case last season
Being shorter and more direct, it can be
more accurate, and in my opinion the
game will not miss the long and more or
less haphazard fling which marked its use
10 large extent heretofore. The pass will
have q strategic value as well, and l can
not agree with those vino believe that the
proposed change means its practical aboh-
ton.
In lessening the number of wards TO be
gained by rushing from ten 10 eight the
committee did not take step backward
and open the way necessarily to the old
time line smashing and close formation
pIsvs In strengthening the defence by
preventing pushing and pulling the man
with the ball. and limiting the forward
pass so as 10 permit the secondary line
70 support the forwards, it was absolutely
essential TO give the attacking force less
70 90 Otherwise the game would have
sIegenerated into q punting duel, with little
or no rushing. The strengthening Of the
defence will be further equalized by the
abolition OF diving tackles and permitting
the Quarterback 10 cross the line of scrir1-
mage at any Point, without, under the
old rule being forced to so five yards
either side Of centre. a member of the
rules committee, who could hardly be any
other than Walter Camp, is quoted in The
Yale Daily News as saying that there
will be less concerted action and more in
di1iduaiity in the game next fall although
team play Will be, as ever, the most i'm
portant feature. This appears to be true,
and long step has been taken in the right
direction if the men are forced 10 depend
to. some extent on their own initiative and
not be tied down TO the carefully laid out
and machinelike plays devised by the
coaches
Tie time has come for real test of the
New York Giants, and if they return from
irhe long Western trip in a forward place
IN the National League race the followers
OF the team will have every reason to re-
: loice in the prospects of the pennant float
ing over the Polo Grounds in the sere and
yellow days of late October. Up to this
! time the Giants have been going along
smoothly. and more than holding their own
with the Eastern teams, but Chicago. Pitts
burg and even Cincinnati will be hard to
heat on their own grounds, so that the first
invasion Of the West is fraught with no
little anxiety. The team is wonderfully
strong in the box, however, and the men
are hitting the ball in way to lend much
needed support, so there is every reason to
expect an even break IN the four game
series with the Chicago Cubs which begins
TODAY and an easier time in the series
with ST. Louis which follows A year ago
the Giants were struggling along IN the
second division at this time, but they start
al West on Saturday night jauntily perched
OF the top -ung Of the ladder. The time
has not come TO cheer. but the team looks
mighty good.
The Passing of Fred Tenney from the
stage of major league baseball-for that is
! what McGraw's request for waivers
amounts to-wil I'LL with regret those who
have taken pleasure for years in watching
one of the greatest first baseInen the game
17ss ever known. Tenney was among the
njoneers Of the army Of college players
that has broken into professional baseball
and. like F'ultz, and Lauder, learned the
game at Brown. He played for years IN
Roston. and was manager of the team when
Nc(,raw obtained him in 1867, after the
disastrous season of 1906, when the team
4hat had won the worlds championship in
1e6 made so sorry showing McGraw
let McGann. Dahlen, Bowerman and Fergu-
son 20 TO Boston. and obtained Tenney,
B-jdgefi and Needham in return. He was
much criticised at the time, but the event
A,ss proved his wisdom Fred Tenney did
- least as much as any other man on the
- TsoeSible wonderful fight