Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-10-13
FEATURES OF SPORT
Few Injuries and 90 Games
Are Scarce.
HARVARD HAS FAST BACKS
Cornell Bases Hopes for Successful
Season in Game With
QuakerS.
BY EDWARD r. BUSHNELL.


juries among the players of college teams
and the other the absence of 90 games.
These two things are responsible for the
fact that the game is so much more at
tractive than ever before. because the
public likes to see touchdowns made and
injuries reduced to Il minimum. There
have, of course. been a number of score
less games, but they We're due rather TO
fumbling and undevelOped teamwork than
inability to make touchdownS under the
new rules That particular amendment to
the foot bail code by which four downs
are allowed to make ten yards has been
the salvation OF the present game. The
extra down gave just that additional fac
ter To the strength of the offensive team
which was needed to permit it to hold
on TO the ball a reasonable length OF
tine. 1t has gwen quarterbacks more
latitude in the selection OF plays, and
while there has been much line plunging
it has not been the sort of mass playing
that brought down so much severe crlt!-
cism upon the game few years ago. The
rule forblddinS the man carrying the ball
To receive the assistance of any of his
teammates has prevented a return of the
evil which existed when ii was pe--nissi-
bic To carry and push along the man with
the ball.
The games played so far this season
have SHOWN that the new foot ball when
properly supervised can be played with
out serious injuries. So far not one of
the big colleges has suffered anything
more than the temporary loss of players
through injuries. OF course there have
been q few injuries among the players
school teams, but caused in most
cases by games in which the two teams
were very uncvenly matched. Under such
circumstances injuries are inevitable.
No Fatalities at big Five"
No better proof of the safety of the
game when supervised as it should be
can he furnished than by the history of
the foot ball games between the various
members of the big five" Not since
foot ball was first introduced as ar inter
collegiate sport nearly forty years ago
has there been a single fatal injury to
representative of Harvard. Yale. Pennsyl-
vania. Princeton or Cornell. There have,
of course. been some serious accidents,
as there must be in sport so strenuous
as foot ball. but when these institutions
insist that all of their players shall pass
satisfactory physical examinations before
they are allowed to take part the pOssi-
tdlity Of fatal injury is almost entirely
eliminated and the likelihood OF injuries
of any sort greatly reduced.
Both the Harvard and Yale teams
struck their proper gait in their games a
week ago. Prior to then there was much
concern both at Cambridge and New
10 make better use of the material at
hand. When Harvard failed to score more
than single touchdown against Maine,
and was lucky to escape tie score. there
was some fear that the Crimson material
had been overrated. There was even more
cause for worriment at New Haven be-
cause Yale was scored in the first
game of the season, and was able to
make only single down against Holy
Cross in the second game on the sched-
ule- But in the second game for Harvard
and the third game for Yale conditions
improved nearly 100 per cent. In two
periods Harvard succeeded in scoring 10
points against Holy Cross, team which
the Yale veterans had been able to defeat
the Saturday preceding by only one touch
down. What -feased the Harvard SYM
ltathizers much was the fact that their
regulars had scored 1? points in two
periods against seven points for the Yale
regulars in an entire game against a COM
mon opponent.
Yale ran up total of 81 points against
Syracuse, and in doing so showed a CO.
hesion of attack that had been lacking to
date. Not only that. bat the Yale game
uncovered a new man in Halfback Flynn
who is now being heralded as a second
Ted Coy. The way this Yale back
ran the ends and particularly plunged
through the line was extremely gratifying
to the Ellis coaches. This was because
lie was the first man on the Yale eleven
TO show consistent ground-gaining ability.
u is rather foolish TO predict for him a
future equal TO tEdt or Coy tElS time.
He may develop and he may go the way
Of a good many other So-called phe-
noInenal players against small teams. We
must see what he does against Harvard
and Princeton before giving him this
rating.
The Eli coaches have their quarterback
material sifted down to such point now
hat it looks though Cornell would be
the final selection for field general. Both
he and Cornish We're tried in the SYRIA
cuse contest and Cornell did the better
work This youngster. when he acquires
sufflcient experience, ought TO be star
Quarterback. He a good man at
Exeter, he did well the Yale fresh
man team and he is so fast that it would
seem a pity if because of other defects
he could not be utilized. Against SYRIA
showed snappy. fighting spirit which
had not been in evidence previously this
season. The whole Yale eleven i'm
pressed the experts who had made a
close study of il at the beginning of the
season sluggish, though il gave prom
Ire of tremendous power once it was
awakened Yale coaches now profess to
believe that the awakening has arrived.
" Harvard's Fast Backs.
Harvard is the last team to join the
ranks of those which promise TO be ex-
ceptionally strong In the back field and
rather mediocre in the line. 1t was only
field quartet which smothered Holy
Gross. The Harvard back field contains
two veterans from the 1911 in Capt. Wen
DELL. who Is again halfback this year,
and Quarterback Gardner. Last year
Wendell was an all-American selection
because he was by far the best line
plunger in the entire country. Gardner,
however, was not the regular quarter
hack, but was rather a substitute to Pot
ter The two new men are II. Hardwick
and Brickley. If Hardwick can duplicate
the sort of open field running that he
showed against Holy Cross he will run
close race with Capt. Mercer of Penn
Syivania and Capt. Pendieton of Prince
ton, who makes feature of this sort of
work The way Hardwick changed pace
outsprinted tacklers and even squirmed
out OF their grasp when they seemed to
have him was something which no other
Harvard man had been able to do in
years. OF course. the same criticism can
be made of him that was made of Flynn
of Yale. 1t is one thing to shine against
q weak opponent and quite another to
team of similar strength.
Brickley, If his work this season is
any criterion. promises to rival Wen
dell himself as a line plunger. Brick
ley Is built very much on the same
lines as Wendell, though not quite so
heavy. He possesses a pair of very
powerful shoulders, runs with great
speed and keeps his feet unusually
well.
There has been a change in the COM