Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1914-10-18
FORWARD PASS is EXPLAINED
Rules of 1914 Have Nothing to Say
Of Ball Crossing the Line.
STARTING POINT STIPULATED
hut Nothing II Said About Where
BALL IL TO Go After starting
from Five Yards behind
scPimmaEe Line.

NEW YORK. Oct. IL-what Is a for
ward pass? The average foot BAN fol-
lower will say It is pass over limo OF
scrlmmage from a point five yards back
of the line. The foot ball rules OF 1914,
however, have nothing TO say about the
ball having to cross the line of scrim-
mage. There is the stipulation that It
must be thrown from n point five yards
behind the line of scrimmage, but nothing
Is said about where II Is to 20. Again,
there is rule which holds that the ball
may he thrown in any direction except
towards an opponents goal What are
coaches and players going to make of
such a contradiction
The assumption. OF course. is that the
stipulation regarding the ball crossing the
line Of scrimmage was omitted from the
rules through oversight. but Il is not rea-
sonable to suppose that a team coached
70 take advantage of this apparent piece
OF oarelessness could be held TO an un-
written rule. This fact was recognised
IN a recent game between Rutgers and
Troy Polytechnic, where agreement was
made between the two captains that a
forward pass, TO be legal, must cross the
line. The defect has not generally been
detected. and to avoid unpleasant COM
pl,cations contendlng teams had better
make such an agreement as was made at
Rutgers. There IL, II Is true. q slight
chance that one captain might not ? gree;
II so, what power would the referee have
10 bring about such agreement In a
condensed version of the rules for the
use OF officials It is set forth that the
ball must cross the line OF players. but
in the final analysis the authority Is the
regular rule book, and not the published
digest of the rule. which, by the way. is
not official.
New Out-Of-BOunds Rule.
There Is another interesting official
rule IL holds that a ball passed from
the center which goes out OF bounds on
the first, second or third downs shall be-
long to the side which first RECEIVERS It.
by virtue OF this rule II Is conceivable
that a team might be 80 coached as TO
obtain possession Of the ball throughout
the greater part OF the game. All that
the center would have 20 do on the third
down would be TO toss the ball out Of
bounds and have the men so disposed
as TO make its recovery practically GER
tain. Naturally the side recovering the
ball would be entitled 10 first down. II
this be set down as qulbbllng. It may be
stated that two or three well known
coaches have seriously discussed the ad-
Instability OF taking advantage OF this In
some such way when the teams are lined
up away from the center OF the field.
With increasing attention being paid TO
the art Of passing the ball. what ex-
traordinary things will eventually result +?
This thought arises from a half hour re-
Gently spent catching short spirals thrown
by Bob Loree OF the Yale. 1911. team.
Loree had a certain overland snap Of
the wrist in delivering the oval which
caused the ball to shoot sharply down
and inward just before II came TO the
receivers arms. Once In a while the pig
skin described a palpable out curve. but
the thrower could not account for II.
foster Sanford. who was near by. was
skeptical at first about the shoots and
curves OF the ball. but. after standing
behind the thrower for five or ten min
utes. admitted that the direction OF the
ball was changed.
but you can't interest me-" he said.
until you have made TIE bali curve at
right angles about a post"