Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1913-01-10
+s%
sos

ever lived could become a good
baseball player if he never attempt
ed the game before he was 81 years
Of age.
d UT when we refer TO the actual
science of a game no doubt
most people mean it's head work.
as distinguished from its hand or
foot or physical skill; we mean.
what thought does 1t take to work
out the combinations of team play.
what and how many such combi-
nations can with profit be figured
out and played through, and what
are the mental difficulties OF gel
ting those combinations to working
right and with perceptible and
valuable results.
Wen, when 1t comes to consider
ations Of this character there is
not the slightest question whatso-
ever that baseball is not even IN q
class with football. Consider for a
moment:
In baseball the offensive team can
nave at the very most four men i'm
action at any one time-one batter
and three base runners. Bit all
these four men are limited to run
hlng in one given direction and one
given distance only In football the
OFFENSIVE team has always eleven
men combined in action. and each
OF them has the right to run In anv
direction and any distance he
pleases
When 1t comes to defensive work
IN baseball generally only one man
mas anything to do on anv given
play-the man toward whom the
pail is coming. If fly ball. all he
mas to do is to catch it and the
other eight men practically watch
MIN as would any other spectator
II ground ball. he and one other
man are about all the men who
ngure in play, while the other
seven are idle. But in football
Ihere are seldom less than ten men
IN the play on defense: for the more
fact that the ball starts in given
direction does not mean. as it does
IN baseball, that that ball must
continue going in that direction
on the contrary, it is quite as
HKely as not to be brought back
again the other way on the same
play by means of double passes.
forward passes, split bucks. fakes
etc, and this means that every one
or the ten men playing up must
get into action and play their pos
ltlon on every snap of the ball in a
certain way. Also the defensive
player finds he has no STATIONARY
base TO work to as In baseball but
an eVer-changing base according 10
Where the ball is going, and a field
much larger for that changing base
to operate in than in a baseball dja.-
mand.
These being the given conditions
and facts relating to football If
must be apparent to every reader
without further thought that the
possible and valuable combinations
in football are infinitely greater
than they are in baseball. And
what are these combinations? Why
they are the science Of the game
or Of any game.
T HE combination one makes of
his pieces in that emlnent1v
scientific game chess are the sci
ence Of the game. So it is in
checkers even. There is little art IN
chess or checkers, though the for
mer is, outside>of football, perhaps
the most scientific game ever in
vented. And there is absolutely
no hand or foot of physical skin
involved in manipulating the pieces
But If we eliminate this art and this
kind Of skin from chess it follows
that what is left in the game
namely, its great headwork. is the
science of the game
But is there anyone familiar with
both baseball and chess who will
maintain that baseball has in il
one ? IA {f-T "a Yf,t44b -.g.....