Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1916-11-12
|YOST DIGS UP REAL
WONDER AT QUARTER
Clifford Sparks of Michigan
Looks Like Reincarnation
of Walter Eckersall.
KNOWS HOW TO USE HEAD
BY FRANK G. MENKE.

quarterback--Clifford Sparks--whose
brilliant work this--his first varsity
season ranks him among the most
sensational performers in the western
foot ball world.
Sparks has thanksgiving brain,
one that recognizes every oppor-
tunity in the minutest fish. And
he has legs and arms that work in
harmony. He has pulled" plays re-
peatedly that have disconnected the
Ann Arbor foes, put them to utter
rout and brought gasps OF astonish-
ment from the stands because of their
audacity and their remarkable exeeu-
ton. ...... .
Just to illustrate:
The Wolverines, pitted against the
powerful Michigan Aggics, had car
ried the ball into Aggie territory,
And then the Aggie. line stiffened and
threw back the plunges Of the heavy
Wolverine backs. So Sparks called
upon Johnny Maulbetsch for try for
goal from placement.
Sparks lay on the ground waiting
for the pass, so that he could hold the
ball for the Maulbetsch boot. But
the center threw the ball too high.
Even as it left his hands, Sparks saw
that he couldn't make the catch while
lying on the ground or while half
raised by his knees.
What Sparks Did.
And then seemingly with single
movement, Sparks jumped to- his
feet, grabbed the ball as it was about
to clear his head, whirled to face the
goal posts and drop kicked the ball
over the Aggic bar for count Of
three points which then and there
cinched the game for the Wolverines.
1T was the greatest individual play
| ever saw in my whole career as
coach or player" was Hurry Up"
Yost's comment after the game. And
every person in that crowd who saw
Sparks plan and execute that play in
something less than two seconds
chanted "Amcnl
But it isn't only in braininess that
Sparks stands out. He is one of the
greatest all-round gridironers that
has flashed into view in many years.
In that Aggie game, the entire
Wolverine team gained total of 200
yards by rushing--and Sparks alone
accumulated l07 yards Of it. He
crumpled the Aggie line almost every
time he crashed into 1t and circled
ends with case, and was eel-like in
running back punts.
Punts Like Pat O'Dea.
Sparks ranks right now---in his
first year as Michigan regular
as the greatest quarterback Michigan
eyer. hasahsd-~hcfe Is nothing nc
cannot do--and do IN way that
thrills. Even in punting he is wiz
ard and his method is reminiscent OF
Pat o'Dea. the great Wisconsin
booter.
Sparks. like O'Dea, has mastered
that difficult trick OF punting after
throwing the ball, with force at the
uprising boot. Almost all other punt
ers in the game play safe by dropping
the ball on the boot. They realize
that to throw it hard at the shoe will
give greater height and distance to
the kick, but they know full well that
the throwing is dangerous as the
ball and the foot are likely to meet
at an angle, thus "slicing" the kick
But Sparks can do it--and therein
lies one Of the main causes for Mich
igan's success this season. His kicks
are long and high and give almost his
entire team plenty of time to get
down the field, cover" the man who
is set for the catch and then dump
him at once. During that Aggie game
not one Of the Wolverines foemen
made more than two yards on any Of
Sparks punts--a record that may
stand for years.
Memories of Eckersall.
One Of the peculiar features OF that
drop kick Sparks made against the
Aggies was that not until then--no
one, not even Yost, knew that he
had skill in that line. The kid never
had been called upon before to dis
play his wares in that drop-kicking,
and was too modest to tell Yost that
he could do a bit OF it in pinches.
When Sparks made that extraor-
binary play, the Aggies thought it
was q new trick Of ,Yost's. And so
they watched for similar ones after
that. Sparks knew they were watch
ing and recognized the opportunity
for crossing" the Aggies. Several
times after that he signaled for a
kick formation. The Aggies set
themselves for duplication Of the
unplanned play. And always Sparks
did something else to the utter be-
wilderment Of the Aggics.
And now the west is asking;
HAS Walter Eckcrsall been REIN
carnated in Clifford Sparksi"