Evening star., 1915-01-31

is said that it is diStasteful to the
player, and one should grant at the
outset that il it were interpreted as
meaning that by numbering himself
tho player wishes to invite greater
notoriety. the objection should have
weight. But, as matter of fact, ii
the rules provided that all players be
numbered. there could be no aspersion
of this kind. Furthermore. the player
in these days can as little hide him
self under Il bushe1 as he can play
under an assumed name. Some feel
that it would tend to spoil team play
by putting a premium upon grand
stand efforts. The answer to this is
| that coaches are too powerful to make
3. it possible for any player to work for
! anything except the good of the team
and still remain u member of 1t. The
i point advanced that il aids the scouts
| from other colleges in diagnosing the
! plays might be true if the scout knew
none of the players. The truth Is that
! the man who thus goes to see his
| rivals play knows the individuals quite
az well ;l2 many Of the assistant
! coaches on the home field, and has no
! need whatsoever of referring to the
numbers. Ii the object be TO deceive
! these visitors. disguises would be the
! sired object. The matter OF expense
! is consideration, but not serious
| one. even for the smaller colleges, for
, the additional cost Of the numbers has
| been brought down to i very small
| sum. The difficulty of Institution
! also is suggested. hut with this small
! cost il is quite simple TO have the sub
! stitutcs ali numbered. An accident 20
I the jersey and the situation that would
i arise if no other numbered one were
] han a ais 10. oct ri
! Guilty. but this could and would be
| easily surlnountcd, and if :; player
under the.c conditions should put on
an unnunIbcred Jersey the referee
! could have tho power to grant him {,
/ dispensatiou as the accident is too un-
usual to lead 10 any number of the
F, players being thus unmarked. More
I over. the single unnUmbered man
/; would DC quite as distinguishable for
! this very reason as his fellows bear
/ ing numbers.
/, Having taken up the objections and
I, gone over them carefully. turning now
! to the other side. we find first, and
(, standing out prominently, the fact that
u foot ball is really the only one of the
ma jor sports where the players or con-
tes,ants cannot at all times be dis
| tinguished by the spectators and dis
ting iished individually, provided the
spectator is near enough to them
i with any reasonable clearness OF
/ vision. For instance, in track athletics
every contestant is obliged to bear a
number exactly as is advocated for foot
ball, except perhaps that the numb bers
are less permanently attached. In base
ball, owing to the fact that the players
have certain assigned positions and
order of batting on the scorecard,
II every one knows which is Smith and
which is Jones and which Is Robinson.
Il In a crew the same Is true. The pro-
gram specifies who Is rowing stroke,
who is No. 7. etc. and these men are
never jumbled UP together as is true
l in scrimmagc that one loses track
Of them. II No. drops over exhausted
everybody in the moving trains who
u can see him at all knows from his
II program who No. is. IL in base ball
the shortstop makes an error, every
one in the stands knows-hs name and
can attribute just blame to him. The
same Is true of brilliant play by any
II member of the nine. In track events
when No. 3 comes down the homo