New-York tribune., 1911-09-25
ON COLLEGE GR|D|PONS
Leading EIevenS Now Ready for
the Opening SkirmlSheS.
NEW GAME STILL ON TRIAL
Coaches Will Be Busy Develop
ing a Scoring Play by
Straight Rushing.

Straight Rushing.
Yale's football eleven will open its sea-
son on Wednesday in a game with Wes-
lcyan while Cornell also will begin hosuH'
ties against Allegheny College at lthacd'
Dartmouth and Pennsylvania. too VIII me
up for the first time on the same Gay WIN
Norwich and Dickinson as opponents ou'
the other leading elevens, including HarVaru'
Princeton and Brown, will not De put "
the test until Saturday. On that day mar
ward will face Bates, and princeton VIII
take the field against stevens, while brown
will line up against New Hampshire. lae
also will be seen in action for the sec
ond time in a game with Holy cross 90
far as the elevens are concerned when are
counted on IA fight il out for the so-called
championship. the opening games anoul'eu
to little more than shrDlshes' Ano'e
skirmishes. however will play an lnpollaA'
part in the building process, which VIII 80
on until the important battles come alouiu
some time i'm October Indications, now
ever of possible strength or possible weak
ress NAV be seen, so that the games VIII
not be lacking in interest even thousn -,
outcome practically is assured IN oeIeat tol
tho small fry once in a while surprise
is sprung In the early part OF the
Such was the case a year ago, when rem
svlvania was beaten by Ursinus IN the
oneninp game by a score OF 10 o. buI
these surprises are rare. and even deleat
of one of the leading teams would not De
accepted seriously, and would not be conslu-
L ,1rariGOnG ana IOTUliuE
conclusions for later games.
With what promises TO be highly IN
teresting season at hand. one may say
here IT is cause for congratulauon tla'
football has ceased TO be shuttlecock Iof
the would-be reformers in the sporl llhe
world There is no telling. OF course JUST
how long this happy condition Will OBTAIN
but those who were demanding It's aDohlioh
AZ the close of the 1909 season have peeh
silenced for a time. thanks larGey u ',io
radical action of the rules committee IN
so orepdine the code in the spring OF l'lo
as TO make the game more accepIaoie'
say more acceptable, because the opii'iOi
is general that the abolition OF lhe Wv
Tandem, and close formation plays, WIN
their pushing and pulling, have lesseheo
tho hazards and brought about SAFER anu
sa,or snort Football was on trlal last
wear. and will he so to large extent 'h''
soaso, Those. who raised their voices
AGAINST the sport after the unfortunate ac-
cidents which marked the play III l''' "e.o .o
satisfied last fall that the earnest eIo'
made by those who had the denca'e 'asA
of revising the code. had been eHec'iNe III
bringing about better conditions, ana were
willing n wait for further developments
Under the circumstances, however II oe
,,oo,.os coaches. trainers and players TO fol-
Low, ont the rules closely in spirit, as wei
as In letter, so that it may not be through
env fault of theirs that more ammuiil'ioh
he furnished for another crusade
Tb,e "a no time 10 discuss the merit OF
ao,,er,t NJ the rules That was done al
groat length by the members of the rules
oo,,roiftee last winter. l expressed the
onirior last fall that football is poorer
oarne but q better sport under the revised
code and T am not alone IN 'he opiiiioii
that much could have been done TO smooth
off the rough edges before letting the edi'o
settle down to a much needed rest cure
,rbe code could not have been treated more
gingerlv Ind il heon stick OF dynaHllIe'
The committee felt, however that II "ould
no wise 10 let well enough alone TOT the
present. so that the changes maze ia''
winter are not important enough 10 heeu
much recalling at this time or an eH-
baustiye analysis. Sufficient to say thal
# was we'll TO put premium on cream
nassinq and to make the officials a part
Of the game, so that in case OF any acci-
dental interference on their part with the
hall the play must go on just the same IL
u,as a step i'm advance also to leslsldte
that in the case of an uncompleted tor-
ward mass the ball should go back to the
rlaco of the original down instead or 10
Tho snot from which the ball was passed.
This will avoid complications and relieve
TO some extent the overWorhed oIncId'S'
Arotber change provides that the intermis-
sion between the first and second ana the
third and fourth periods shall be TWO rlih-
utes instead of three This was done 10
lessen the chance Of the players selllh6
cold while providing enough time 10 chahse
the ball over from one side of the held 10
the other, the idea in the latter case oe-
ing TO equalize so far as possible the ad-
vantage of the wind.
So far as could be judged last year. the
ruIes are so framed that a scoring play by
straight rushine-the basic principle Oh
American college footballs next TO i'm
possible when the elevens are anywhere
near evenly matched. Under the clrcum-
stances another season must be devoted
to experimenting along this line, while IN
my opinion another season must be wasted
before the rule makers can be convinced
that the forward pass as now used Is an
unsound play and indirectly dangerous
hazard. The fact, however, that the new
game is still IN the making will add inter
est 20 the season. The rules, as revised last
winter and recently published, were con
gicting I'm two or three cases, but these ir-
constituencies were Strengthened out and the
code carefully interpreted al a meeting Of
captains. managers. coaches and officials
i'm this city on Friday evening. The decks
tben are now cleared for action.
Parke II. Davis. who stands high in the
councils Of Princeton football, and Is the
representative Of that college on the rules
committee is the author of a book just
published by Charles Scribncrs Sons under
the title Football, the American Intercol-
!, giate Game" Mr.. Davis has been closely
associated with the sport as a player, coach
and adviser for a number Of years, and Is
well qualified to write history OF the
game. Personally / found it most enter
tanning and It should prove invaluable for
reference purposes to those interested in
the sport The book is in two parts. the
first giving a complete history OF football
since the days when the ancestors Of the
Cets used It as a rite I'm the worship OF the
sun god. The first intercollegiate game In
this country was played in 1869. and from
that time 10 the present day everything
,..if, tho pam. a. gar.f,II,