Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-10-05
THE NEW FOOTBALL
kS SEEN BY GLANCE AT rRg REVISED
BrLEs GOVERNING THE GAM rms YrAR
The Kick VS.. Pass.

Nttt1k lists Ait-tfl Il AAstA a nAiA MI A3NAF
of men, made public the first revised
code il was the result of their effort 10
reduce the number of mass plays in u
game They had no intention of elm
mating mass play completely, but they
wished to curtail its use.
70 do So they made two radical
changes
one was the adoption of the rule
providing Tor the use of the forward
pass and the other was the inaugur-
alton of the onside kick
In the code of this year the onside
kick has been eliminated. The mo-
tive assigned for its abolition is that
Of encouraging the running game. EN-
actly how the onside kick ever dis
coura ged the running game is some
thing which viii bother mere than one
expert to answer.
The ouside kick simply provided
that all punts upon the moment of
striking the ground were in play.
Either team could recover the ball
without waiting for it to be touched
by PLAYER of the defending side. In
other words, if there were an end or
4 back on the team in possession of
the bali who was fast enough 10 fol-
low it and pick it up he could con-
TIME to advance With il until he was
checked II il were possible he could
score a touchdown after recovering
punt thus made.
There will be no more of the play
this year. All punts will return to
their primitive condition-that which
was in effect prior TO the revision of
the code for the first time. When
player of the attacking side kicks the
bail it must be touched by a player
of the defending side before the team
first IN possession of the bali is or
SIDE.
Ne particular fault is to be found
With this rule, which. after all, is only
the adoption of method which was
part Of football for many years. 1t
may result in the elimination of
sbruises and bumps on the part of
players. because there was an element
of some risk when backs We're rush
ing at full speed along the field to OBJ
tain possession of the ball, with the
backs of the opposing team going
equally fast to try to prevent it.
At that the injuries likely to result
from the onside kick are no greater in
quantity than those iikeIy to result
from the use of the forward pass.
Real Football.
The difference between the two
plays is that the onside kick is a pro-
duet of legitimate football. The game
is supposed to be a kicking game It's
very name implies that it is game of
40 r1F Ii nd nd
brains. AS a matter of fact, in its
original state ii was game of the
feet. The modern notifications of the
sport are simply the evolution of a
pastime which could be made more at
tractive by the use of strategy in adj
dition to physical strength. That is
why the plan was introduced of per-
uniting the ball to be carried by play
ers. That innovation combined the
elements of craft and calculation with
strength of legs and fieetness of foot,
and everybody who engages in any
kind of a pastime thoroughly realizes
that there is more interest and enter
tainment in one which calls for the
use of the brain than in a play game
of only pure chance where the most
illi.erate is as likely to be successful
as the best educated.
In it's best development the onside
kick was one of the prettiest plays of
the football field, and it was a per-
fectly sound football play. 1t called
for nothing but kick and recover, and
assuredly that is football of the most
orthodox Rugby type.
1t was contended that some colleges
We're more expert in using the onside
kick than others. and that it had come
TO be a specialized play. That was
stretching matters with a vengeance.
as 1t was open to any college to devel-
op a good punter who could make use
of the onside kick, and the failure to
have such a player was by no means
fault of the rule, but the bad for
tune of the college which lacked the
necessary material.
The subject of the now dead onside
kick has been gone into at some
length because ii is then desire of the
writer to emphasize upon the coming
generation of football players the diff
ference between rules based upon
sound football doctrine and rules bas-
ed upon fads and whms. There was a
logical beginning in the game of foot
ball which should be understood by
those who play it.
Now to the Forward Pass.
The forward pass always has proved
to be a troublesome innovation in foot
ball. From the day that 1t was sug-
gested it began to stir UP strife and
discussion. Looked at in the most ia
vorable light, the forward pass is no.
legitimate football. 1t is cultured
product which grew out of the use OF
the pass in basketball.
II has given the rule makers great
deal OF trouble because of the neces-
sity to strike happy balance where
by the play may not be too radical "A
departure from the traditions of the
sport nor be restricted by such PEN
altics that it will be more favored by
disuse than by employment.
In the code of 1911 it was provided
that the forward pass would he legal
within a zone of twenty yards. The
rule reads as follows: "A forward pass
that crosses line twenty yards in adj
vance of the spot where the ball was
put in play before touching the ground
or player is illegal and becomes dead
as IL crosses the line"