South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-09-19
MANY TEAMS TO
NUMBER PLAYERS
College EIeVenS viii Wear
Numerals for Benefit of Fans
Some Coaches in Favor of
Plan While Others Oppose It.
BY FRANK G. MENKE.

NEW YORK. Sept 19.-With the
opening OF the 1915 football season to-
lay. tho enthusiasts are asking
'Will the players be numbered this
rear7"
And the answer is that more of the
arger colleges in the country viii
number their players from the outset
Of the season, and that every other Dig
college will fall in line before the sea
son Is over.
Some weeks ago the writer sent
.etters TO the coaches OF about 80 OF
the largest colleges an the country
asking them III they would number
their players and requesting those op-
posed TO the plan 10 state their rea-
sons.
Up TO the present writing, replies
have been received from "a coaches
Or athletic directors. These "a replies
show that 20 of the biggest colleges
will number their players from the be
ginning Of the season, four probably
viii adopt the plan for the big games,
four will number their players at any
time upon request and only three are
directly opposed 10 the plan. Frank
Hinkey. the Yale coach. said the ques-
ton had not been taken up at Y ale
and ne, therefore, could not make a
definite answer at this time
VIII Have Numbers.
players from the start of the season:
Princeton, Syracuse, Pittsburg, LIE
high. Notre Dame. Chicago Illinois,
Iowa, Northwestern, Ohio state. Pur-
due. Indiana. Minnesota, Wisconsin
Holy Cross Dartmouth, Washington x
Jefferson. Rochester. Penn. state
Pennsylvania. (early games at leastG
williams. (early games az least)
These will number their players at
any time upon request. Carlisle, La
favette Mississippi. Tennessee.
The coaches of these colleges are
considering the plan and have stated
that as the season advances they
probably will adopt the plan. Colgate,
Missouri. Kentucky.
The coaches of these colleges are
firmly OPPOSED TO the plan: North
Carolina Nebraska, Montana.
The university OF Pittsburg was one
Of the pioneers i'm the adoption OF the
mum bering plan. and the letter that
came from Il. r. Davis. graduate man
ager that explains the result or SIX
years experiment with the scheme IS
highly interesting. The letter follows,
in part:
The custom Of numbering players
has been in vogue at the university of
Pittsburg for the past six years In
fact. I believe il was our school that
first attracted the attention OF the
larger schools to the plan When We
PLAYED at Cornell last year, there was
considerable favorable comment as the
spectators noticed the numbers on the
PLAYERS backs. and. through the me-
dunn OF the prOgrams. We're able TO
identify our players who. otherwise.
would have been absolute strangers TO
them.
Warner Convinced.
Several years ago Glen Warner of
Carlisle refused To number the In
dams when they played here. The
scheme was rather new az the time
and ne feared that the numbers would
enable our men 20 distinguish his best
men and make them the object of at
tack. We convinced him that this
feature wasn't 20 be considered. All
the teams we played last year wore
numbers with the exception Of La
favette They were the one team that
refused 20 wear numbers.
At our big games with PennSNl-
vania State and Washington x Jefier-
son. where we draw about 5000 per
sons. PLAYERS of both sides are num-
would raise am awful howl If 10 was
otherwise
Davis stated that sometimes the
numbers ON the backs of the men he
come blurred 10y mud, cor are torn of
during the game. but adds. 'Rr he
time that happens the spectators have
had chance 20 identify the players
and they know them, so that the
scheme works out q X"
Glen Warner who. as Davis states.