Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-09-07
FOOTBALL COACHES
SHOULD BE BARRED
DURING PLAY TINE
Rule Abolishing Instructions by
Trainers From Bench Is
Necessary to Uphold Side
line Coaching Regulation
SUBS CARRY MESSAGES

So far as they went the football rule
makers aid a good Job in the amendments
they made to the rules Of the great grlo-
iron game. But there Is one very impor-
tant omission which Is certain 10 sur up
trouble until the committee meets the is-
sue squarely instead OF sidestepping II as
heretofore. Although the rule makers
| would like the public TO believe II a fact
that sideline coaching has not been abol-
| ishcd, but Il has not been and VIII not De
abolished until the committee passes some
rule which will make II Impossible ior
coaches to coach their team from the
bench by sending in messages by substi-
tutes
A demand that this evil be corrected
was made in one form or another by
number of college officials, but the rule
| makers ignored II. How this evil thrlves
was well illustrated In the Princeton-f Yale
game at Princeton last fall. At the end
OF the third period Yale led Princeton
40. In the last quarter Princeton sent
| in Frank Click. the present captain, as
| quarterback, and before Yale could get
together the Tigers. under his leadership,
scored two touchdowns. In another period
| Princeton would have had an even chance
| to win the game
What happened was this and Presi-
dent Hibben himself confirmed II: Before
| the entry of Click, the Princeton coaches
had been trying to run the game from the
sidollnes by sending In messages to the
quarterback by relays of substitutes.
Click declined absolutely to listen to sug-
gestions about plays or players from the
| coaches.
Doctor Hibben. In an alumni banquet
speech, later commented on the fact that
the Princeton coaches had failed to con-
| troll Click, but he did not run the incident
down and disclose the fact that this
method of sending in instructions was
| violation of the rule against sideline
| coaching
What Princeton coaches did in the
| Yale game was duplicated on practically
every gridiron in the country. 1t is taken
| as an example because 1t was so motor
ious and so frankly admitted. When the
rules committee met last winter 1t was
| pointed out that something should be
done to make this sort of side-line coach
| ing impossible. But all the committee did
| was to include a note to thte effect that
the committee deprecated the use of sub
| stitutes to carry messages.
As a matter of fact the evil could have
been stamped out by either of two
| methods.
l. The coaches could have been kept
out of the playing field and restricted to
seats In the stands.
2. A rule could have been passed for
bidding a team TO make substitutions ex-
cept at the request of the captain or field
| general, or In case of injuries by the team
| physician or trainer.
Naturally, the coaches did not relish
the idea that they should be kept off the
playing field. But that is done in virtu-
ally all other college sports. In track
athletics trainers and coaches are not
allowed on the field. The athletes have to
win or lose on their own merits. In base
ball Harvard, Yale and Princeton have
an agreement by which the coaches are
not allowed on the playing bench during
the game. The captains run the game
themselves. II II can be done in these
sports. IT can be done in football.
The objection raised to the suggestion
that all substitutions be made at the re-
quest of the captain or the team phy-
siclan was of the most specious kind.
The coaches contended that their pres
ence was necessary to prevent injuries.
They reasoned that a captain would not
know whether an injured player was too
badly hurt TO be allowed to continue, nor
would he know when the condition of
an exhausted player was such that he
should not be allowed to continue. In
other words. they insisted that injuries
would follow II this were left to the
captain.
As a matter of fact, the question OF
injuries is very much exaggerated. Every
captain would have the service or ad-
vice of a trainer or physician whose opin-
ion is asked even by the coaches.
Anyone who has been attending foot
ball games here or elsewhere knows that
half the time substitutes are sent into
the game at least one of the objects
sought is TO carry a message from the
coach to the captain. While II cannot
be proven to such an extent that the
referee can punish the offending team
by the penalty against side-line coaching
they know II is done. tt,. ....
1t has been suggested that one of the
reasons why the rules committee has beer
so slow to take action is that fully hall
the members of this committee are paid
coaches themselves. 1t is one of the
curious anomalies OF college sport that
football is about the only sport In which
the professional coaches are permitted
to control the game and pass all the
rules Some nay the college authorities
themselves will take charge and there
will be some radical changes.