The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-02-05
FOOTBALL RULES
ARE CHANGED
Rules Committee at Annual
Session Radically Revise
Gridiron Rules p.

New York. Feb. 5-The football
rules committee. which has been
working In secret here for two days
upon ,~innurnerable suggestions for al
tering the game came to a unanimous
decision late Saturday in favor of sew
eral fundamental changes.
The committee adjourned tonight
with the belief that 1t had greatly
improved the popular college sport
The lines Of its anticipated improve.
ment are, in substance as. follows:
I. The playing field. now 11C
in length will be shortened to an ever
hundred yards. This change in it.
self is not vital. but it is made in or.
der to make possible on small
grounds the extension of territory in
which the forward BASS may be used
2. A zone Of ten yards width be.
yond the goal lines is established
The purpose Of this is to provide am.
pie space for the execution Of the for.
ward pass, and. scoring IN a pas.
made across the goal line into thi:
zone Is permitted.
3. The number of downs to gair
ten yards Is increased by one.
4. The onside kick is eliminated,
B. The value Of a touchdown is in,
creased from five points to six point,
the goal from touchdown and othel
scores standing as now.
+. The twenty yards zone, in which
the present rules provide restriction,
to interference with the forward
strictions will apply now to any par
Of the. field.
z. After a touchback, the ball viii
be put into play from the twenty yart
line instead Of the rs yard line.
8" On a kickoff the ball, instead o,
being in play in. the center Of the felt
will be put in play from the fort,
yard line Of the team kicking off
Taking into consideration the short
the rules. the the kickoff distance i,
heightened by five -'erds.
10. The number Of men allowed OF
the side lines now three will be re
duced to n for each team.
IL. Provision will be made that E
bounding ball cannot score a legiti,
mate goal
and second and the third and fourth
periods is reduced from two to one
To Codify Rules.
p. K. Hall Of Dartmouth. chairman
OF the committee, announced the suh.
stance Of these changes tonight
None OF them have been put in code
form. but Hall said that they will ali
be incorporated in the 1912 rules. a
committee raj named to codify the
new rules and instructed to have
them ready as o as possible in or.
der that they might be circulated and
studied before the practice season be.
gins. The committee includes Walter
Camp Of Yale: Percy Houghton, OF
Harvard, and William Norris OF
Pennsylvania.
The principal Improvement expect
ed Of the new rules is the equaliza-
ton OF chances Of the offensive and
defensive teams. 1t has long been
commended that the defense was too
powerful, especially when close to its
goal line. The allowing Of a touch
down on q forward pass across the
goal line Is expected greatly to re.
lieve this condition.
The addition Of a point to the value
Of a touchdown is intended to make
the comparative values Of the touch
down 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 It would bring back the old
pounding attack but the committee
felt that It was not likely to have
that tendency 1 n view Of the fact that
there was now no pushing and pull
ing in the game.
One OF the minor, changes will be
q 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 whether his
team shall kick.