The Waxahachie daily light. [volume] (Waxahachie, Tex.) 1894-current, 1912-02-10
RULES COMMITTEE
ALTERS FOOTBALL
Offense Now Allowed Four Downs
to Make Ten Yards.

working in secret here for two days
upon innumerable suggestions fer
altering the game, came to unani-
nous decision few DAYS ago in ia
vor of several fundamental changes
The committee laid down its ar
duous task with the belief
it had improved the popular col
1ege sport greatly. The lines of its
anticipated Improvement are in
substance as follows:
The playing field, now ITO yards
in length, will be shortened to an
even 100 yards This change in it
self is not vital, but it is made in
order to make possible on small
grounds an extension of territory
in which the forward pass may be
used.
A zone of ten yards width be-
yond the goal lines is established.
The purpose of this is to provide
ample space for execution of the
forward pass and scoring on a pass
made across the goal line into this
zone is permitted.
The number OF downs to gain ten
yards is increased by one.
The on-side kick is eliminated.
The value of a touchdown is in
creased from to 6 points, the goal
from touchdown and other scores
standing as at present
The twenty yards zone which
at present provides restrictions to
Interference with the forward
pass, is eliminated SO that the res
trictions will apply now to any part
of the field
After a touch-back the bali will
be put in play from the twenty
yard line instead of the twenty-five
yard line.
On a kickoff the ball, instead OF
being put into play in the center of
the field will be put in play from
the forty-yard line OF the team
kicking off. Taking into considera-
ton the shortening of the field
and this change in the rules, the
fick-off distance is heightened by
five yards.
Inc leu JuuSe is eliminated.
The head linesman hereafter will
keep time and be judge of off-side
plays in the line of scrimmage
The number of men allowed on
the side lines, now three, will be re-
duced to one for each team:
Provisions will be made that a
bounding ball cannot score legiti-
mate goal
The interval between the first
and second and the third and
fourth periods Is reduced from two
minutes to one minute.
f. X. Hall of Dartmouth, chair
man of the committee, announced
the substance of these changes TO
newspaper men None of
them has been put in code forna,
but Mr Hall said they all were
adopted unanimously and would be
Incorporated in the 1912 rules A
committee was named to codify the
new rules and instructed to have
them ready as soon as possible that
they might be circulated and stud
led before the practice season be-
gins, This committee includes Wal
ter Camp of Yale, Percy Haughton
of Harvard and William Morris of
Pennsylvania 1t was said the
changes were the work of no one
individual.
The principal Improvement e2-
pected is equalization of the chan
ces of the offensive and defensive
teams. 1t long has been contended
the defense was too powerful, es-
pecially when close to its goal line.
The allowing of a down on for
ward pass across the goal line is
expected greatly to relieve this.
The addition of point to the
value of a touchdown is intended to
make the comparative values of the
touchdown and the goal from the
field substantially what they were
before the recent high development
of the latter play In considering
the addition of an extra down the
question arose as to whether this
would not bring back the old
pounding attack, but the committee
felt it was not likely to have that
tendency in view of the fact there
was nc pushing and pulling in the
game
One of the minor changes will be
the provision that the loser OF the
toss at the commencement of the
game will have his choice at the
start of the second half as to how
his team shall kick off.
Members of the committee IN
discussing the new rules further
calculated the extension of the for
ward pass territory, ten yards De-
yond the goal lines, At the present
time the ball is dead when it cross
es the goal line on forward pass.
Under the new rule it will be al
lowed to cross the goal line and be-
come a touchdown if the ball Is re-
covered by the offensive team ana
placed on the ground. In the case
of Intercepted forward passes with