The Washington times., 1911-02-24
DAVE FULTZ DIFFERS
WITH DR.. CLURhAN
Says Football Is No More
Fatal Than Bathing, Skat-
ing, and Boating.

NEW YORK, Feb. 24-"Who in the
world is DR.. Clurnan, anyway asked
Dave Fultz, who graduated from
Browns football team in time to rival
Big Bill Edwards at the greatest
game we hsve-the greatest outside of
the professional ranks. in which base
ball takes first position.
Why, Mr.. Fultz, the doctor is one of
the physical experts who are trying to
tell US that football is a naughty game.
He objects to roughness in any form,
and says that the game should be stop
ped.
The doctor has just published
tract in which he gives a list of the
fatalities for the past year, putting it
at nineteen. Not being satisfied with
that. he says that no less than 400
football players sustained serious in
juries. Mr.. Morris Joseph Clurman in
sists that his list is correct-and Is there
one who will doubt it?
Ideas in Contradiction.
Yes, David comes to the front with
his ideas of the game. and they are
entirely In contradiction Of the state
ments made by the doctor.
Says he, in absolute contradiction
that a stop should be put to football
because of its causing so many deaths:
Not as many lives, proportionately, are
lost through football as are Cancelled by
bathing, skating, boating. and such
sports.
Minor injuries are reported in minute
details by this doctor: but how many
Va l.
juries? None. When the doctor says
that 400 serious injuries were sustained
during 1910 he surely Is unable to prove
the statement. Probably he counted
every bang up recorded in the United
States. He must have taken into ac-
count every slight injury reported. and
the probability is that half of them
were only slight hurts, gained by un-
trained and uncoached men.
Danger Is Small.
There will always be an element of
danger in the game of football" con-
tinued Fultz, but this acknowledged
element is what makes the fight worth
while. If the danger Of injury is pro-
1t should be abolished; but this is not
the case"
DR.. Clurman states that there is an
other element in the game of football
upon WHICH the meQlCdl man is par
ticularly competent to act as a final
authority, and that is the element of
fatigue and exhaustion" and then goes
on to state that ''overtrained football
players usually strain their hearts be-
yond natural endurance" probably he
refers to the magazine heroes)
Question of Hard Training.
There may be a grave question
whether the hard training leaves any
man in a weakened condition, but If it
be so in some cases they are far out
numbered by the cases where a mans
whole physical development is changed
for the better because of this rugged
exercise. I have seen retired players
who have had bad shoulders, knees, etc,
which have bothered them somewhat,
but these things aren't going to shorten
their lives, and have seldom seen men
who were sorry that they had played
at the game" went~on Fritz.
He says the gridiron is not conducive
to high mental standing and that foot
ball players do not come up to the
in the studies. The doctor is
wrong. Football Is not to blame-there
are dozens of natural causes that ex-
plain the proposition and 1 can't believe
that statistics will show that the player
Is poorer student than others"