New-York tribune., 1912-12-09
COMMENT ON SPORTS.
Football Ranking Finds the
Harvard Eleven Top.
TIGERS IN SECOND PLACE
Trail of Comparative Scores
Leads Into a Dark and
Dismal Labyrinth.

Harvard stands first and foremost in
the football ranking for 1912. No one
questions the right of the Crimson to the
so-called championship. The eleven played
through a hard schedule without defeat,
earning clean cut victories over Yale.
Princeton, Dartmouth, Brown. Vanderbilt
and Williams. among others. so far, so
good, and then the trouble begins, for the
other teams are in more or less of happy
tumble, with practically every critic hav-
ing a different opinion as to which one
should be second and which one tenth.
1t has ever been a difficult and thankless
task TO arrange the elevens in the order
of true merit. In the first place, most
Of the teams work up slowly 10 one or
two games and do not show full power
until late in the season, so that games
played earlier do not furnish a fair line.
In the second place, teams must be ranked
which do not meet, and consequently must
be judged in a roundabout way and
through the bewildering maze Of compare
tive scores and, as all those who love
football know, comparative scores as a
rule are a delusion and a snare. This
year the problem is quite as hard of So
luton as in 1911, and 1t is only fair TO ad-
wise my readers that this particular rank
Ing does not necessarily follow scores
closely, but is based largely on impress
sions gained in seeing the teams in action
As striking example OF how the trail
of comparative scores leads one into a
perfect labyrinth a few may be men
toned Brown beat Pennsylvania 30 to q:
( PENNSYLVANIA beat the Carlisle Indians, 81
TO 2s; the Carlisle Indians beat Brown 30
10 O. Here is another one: Trinity beat
Tufts 10 TO o: Tufts beat Amherst 13 to o.;
Amherst beat Trinity Is TO o. There IS no
way apparently to reconcile such tests OF
scores, and these samples show how little
dependence can be placed on deductions
along these lines. 1t remains, then. for
! the elevens to be judged on the basis Of
their best form on a relatively late. date
In the season. and the ranking herewith
submitted is offered as the result Of my
own opinions, supplemented in part by
those of good Judges to whom l have
talked after watching the teams play
their most important game The opinion
no doubt, is somewhat arbitrary, but, in
my Judgment the leading teams should
be ranked as follows:
i-Harvard. s-Annapolis
2-Princeton Q-Wesleyan.
S-YaIe l0-Brown.
-Pennsylvania Sta-e. l2-Cornel.
6-Carlisle Indians. l3-West Point.
civilians. ll4-Lehigh.
Swarthmore' and Bucknell both beat the
Naval Academy, while Trinity and SYRIA
cuse, among others, had reasonably
strong teams; hut the line must be drawn
somewhere, and as IT was not my privi-
lege to see any of these take the field it
would only lead 70 more -broadsides in
the way Of letters of protest than care
10 withstand if'I should attempt TO rank
them in a blind sort of way.
1t seems utterly impossible TO sub
stantiate this arrangement by any rule
of thumb or arguments that would be
convincing. IT would be better no doubt,
IL 7 stopped at this point and let those
grumble who will. but for all that | Will
! dig my own grave deeper. Princeton beat
Dartmouth, played a tie with Yale and
went down only before Harvard, so that
. think the Tigers are justly entitled 10
second place. The eleven was better
equipped and showed more range than
Yale In their game Of November 10. and
altogether was more finished than any
team except Harvard. Between Dart
mouth and Yale 1t is almost impossible
10 Judge. In view of the fact that Har-
ward had more difficulty, perhaps, in
heating the Green than the Blue, ii would
seem almost as il Dartmouth should get
what little advantage there is; but II the
teams should meet tomorrow l would
pick Yale to win, and under the cir
cunstances il is only fair TO follow my
impressions.
pannsylysnis State was unbeaten this
wear but the team played through COM
parAtively easy schedule and was hard
messed to beat Pennsylvania when the
ouakers were just beginning TO recover
from a bad slump. In truth. a clean slate
alone leads me to place the eleven as hign
as | do, as, in my opinion, II would have
had difficulty in beating two or three OF
the teams who are placed below II, con-
s,derinN. Of course, top form. The Car
hale Indians may be placed too low.
They suffered only one defeat-at the
hands Of Pennsylvania-andi in that game
fun1bled away their chances to large eN-
tent Two good critics who saw that
game told me that Carlisle was at least
two touchdowns better than the Quakers'
still 7 do not think that the Indians
could have beaten Harvard. Princeton
Yale or Dartmouth. and 1t is an open
question about Pennsylvania State.
Williams and Wesleyan deserve par
t,cuIar mention for the football played
this year Both elevens were well trained
well coached and better developed along
the lines of latter day football than some
OF the bigger college teams. Williams
beat wesleyan, and consequently gets
slightly better ranking. but I'm point OF
~ T IN n