The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1913-09-24
RULES COMMITTEE
INTERPRETERS CODE
FOR 1878 FOOTBALL
RULING. ON oNSIDE KICK ONE OF
IMPORT tSCE--WAIT
CAMP IN CHAIR,

NEW YORK, Sept 23-~Nearly $50
football players, coaches and officials.
gathered Mt tte tfntei Manhattan to-
night in attendance uren the central
board Of football officials. the confer
ence being the annual ante season
occasion for the Interpretation Of the
rules that will govern the play on
the gridIron this fall. Although the
rules were changed only slightly last
winter, there were, nevertheless, many
knotty problems that bothered the
football men, and 1t was midnight he
fore these were satisfactorily straight
ened out. Walter Camp. Of Yale. was
chairman At the meeting. being as
sisted in the interpretations by Craw-
ford Blagden, of Harvard. Park q
Davis. of Princeton: William Morice
of the University Of Pennsylvania,
William s. f.angford. OF Trinity, and
Al Sharpe. Of Cornell All of these
men are members of the regular foot
ball rules committee. with the ex-
ceptEon of Dir. sharpe. who repre-
sented Captain ! w. Beacham. the
Cornell committeeman. There were
many prominent football men pres
ent, including most of the officials who
will he assigned 10 work in the
seasons most important games Also
there were many younger men. recent
graduates from the football field and
II was In answering the questions Of
the uninitiated that most Of the time
of the board was taken. A few Inn
portant questions were raised, dis
cussea and settled Mt the meeting, and
many minor points were made clear
The most important ruling was that
in cases of the on-s!de Kick being
used. the attacking players behind the
ball when II IL kicked not only are
on-s.de and eligible to catch the ball
before IL touches an opponent. but also
may try TO get the ball even should
member Of the defending team signal
for fair catch.
II will not he permissible for the
members of the team kicking the hail
to rough the defending player trying
for a fair catch. but the men OF the
attacking side, who are "on-side," as
well as the defenders. may try for the
ball while II is in the air.
In fact the rule governing the con-
duct of the on side attacking players
on this variety Of play liz the same
that governs them in plays involving
forward rasses-~that is no defender
trying to get at the ball may be inter-
fered with except by member OF the
attacking side eligible to receive the
ball, and then only when a bona -fide
attempt is made to get the ball. In
neither case may a defense man be
blocked of simply to get him out of
the way. Another important point that
was settled, also regarding features OF
the on-side kick, which has just been
put back into the game. is relating to
what the attacking players. who are
on-side when the ball Is kicked, may
do toward putting other members of
their team on-side.
The board ruled tonight that should
an attacking player who Is on-side.
touch the ball. but not secure 1t. this
action Will place all the other menu
bers OF his team who are between the
ball and their own goal line on side
also, The rules were not changed to
make this point clear. but the on-side
privileges were arbitrarily given. The
question was raised whether, in event
of a player going through three Pc
RODS In the game, and then being with
drawn in the fourth period. II was the
spirit Of the rules that he could re-
turn to the game again in the fourth
period. Under the rule he surely will
be allowed to do so, but the board
makes ii clear that 1t does not expect
that coaches will take advantage OF
this rule to pull their players to the
aide likes In order to instruct thorn how,
10 rum their game when they 81 cut
Q41 ~ 1910 ~ \. q 3s TIT 81 "