Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1912-12-04
SOUND TAPS ON
1912 FOOTBALL
Season Most Successful in
History Of GridirOn
Game

When the final whistle blew at the
end of the Army-Navy battle on
Franklin Field. Philadelphia, on satur-
day, it sounded taps on the football
season of 1912. IL marked the com
pletion of one of the most successful
campaigns in the annals of the grid
iron, from both the viewpoint of spec
tator and player.
Better games, better weather and
larger crowds marked the campaign
There we're fewer accidents and other
unpleasant features than i'm any for
mer season. With the exception of the
games on Thanksgiving Day. all the
big contests we're favored with ideal
weather, though some of the players
would have preferred a colder tang In
the air. For the spectators, however.
the weather man handed out just the
right brand
John Harvard won undisputed right
to the Eastern football championship.
Few elevens ever have shown clean
er right to the title. The Cambridge
collegians disposed of Yale, Princeton,
Dartmouth Brown. Vanderbilt and
elevens Of lesser strength and retired
unbeaten. The Crimson had in Brick
ley and FELTON, two great players, but
it was the strength of the team as a
whole that impressed the experts The
Harvard football team of 1912 will go
down as one of the greatest eleyens
in football history
Next to Harvard perhaps Penn State
made the best showing among Eastern
elevens While there were few classy
eleyens among Penn States oppon-
ents, the fact that Washington and
Jefferson. which held Yale to 13-to-
3 score and played Carlisle to a score
less tie, was defeated by the over
whelming tally of 80 to 0 attests the
caliber of Bill Hollenback's team Cor
nell was the only team that scored on
Penn State, and the Ithacans' tally
was a lucky one.
Most experts are of the opinion that
Carlisle. though defeated by Penn
sylvania. should be rated third in the
Eastern football standing. The Red
skins scalped Brown 80 to 0. a team
that held Harvard 80 to 10, Yale 10 to
o. and beat Pennsylvania 80 to T. The
Indians defeated West Point p to 6,
while the best Yale could do was TO
win from the Army by a score of 6 to
o. Pennsylvania met Carlisle on a
day when the Indians we're away of
form and won more through costly
errors by the Indians than through
any strength of it's own.
Princeton is placed fourth. though
the superiority of Princeton over
Dartmouth is questioned. The Tigers
ate up yarmouth by a 22-to-6 score
but the Hanoverians did not play up
! IN In, he. no wi
mouth held Harvard to a 3-to-O score
The Crimson conquered Princeton 16
to and beat Yale 90 to o.
Dartmouths showing throughout
the season was much superior to that
of Yale, and the Ellis will have to con-
tent themselves with sixth position
Most experts are Of the opinion that
Brown, Pennsylvania. Swarthmore
and Lehigh rank next in order The
Navy came too late in the season and
the Army played too erratically ia
gain a position among the first IL
teams in the East
The football solons will have to
make few changes in the rules for
next season. The game now Is all
right in its essentials. though a few
minor changes may be considered
necessary. One thing the football
rules committee can do to improve
the game is to cause the players to be
numbered and have scoreboards in
stalled on every field, or to make il
compulsory for all the colleges to fur
nish scoreboards.
Football would be made vastly NOR,
interesting to the spectators if the
suggested rules should be put in force
To scribes and spectators football as
it is now is greatly a matter of guess.
work. II is about time the rules com
mittee did something for the thous
ands of spectators who annual,
watch the gridiron contests.