The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-01-10
GAMES
HISTORY REACHES
BACK TO ROMANS
Warriors of Old Booted the Leather With Their Bare
Toes, and Records of England Show That Sport Was
Banned By Royal Edict Shakespeare Knew the
Came

LAS when a sort of lusty shepherds
try
Makes them salute so rudely breast
to breast,
That their encounter seems too rough
for JEST
In those days the number of players
was no more limited than the space
IN which the game was played. In the
days of King John of England, the
Blind Beggar of Bethnal Green"
which was acted in 1859 shows some
of the present day words in football
language.
One of the figures says in a mono
1ogue: 81 am Tom Strout of Hurting;
I'll play a COLE al camp-ball, or wras-
ell fall at the hip or the hip turn"
The market places frequently served
as "goles." There was a good deal of
lively rough house and the loose rain
vas given 20 thirst and passion. "1'he
Spectator of I'LL gives realistic de-
scription of a country fair, in which
"a football match was one of the fea-
lures OF the day.
MOI De1OT0 Tie emu OIL the o1SnlGSHlI
century did football lose its popular
ity, and, in the first half of the nine
teenth century it was played only lit
tie by the public at large. Football is
purposely left out of the numerous
books written on sports during that
time, since it was not considered to
be the game Of a gentleman.
The game came back with renewed
strength about 1850 and was taken up
by schools and colleres Many changes
have marked the progress of the sport
especially since the beginning of the
present century.
Public opinion began to clamor
against the roughness of the game
| back in 1892. Nor was the method OF
play the only matter open to criticism
Many believed that the high position
football held in college life was injur-
| ious to the general welfare of the stu
dents.
! AT that time it was thought thai
there was no question that the sport
was growing too big and had assumed
a position all out of proportion to its
| real value as an element in college
! life.
| 1t was said that the average football
player on a college team receives more
public notice and undergraduate at
tention than was good for him; thai
for weeks before the final game he
was the most conspicuous man on the
campus, and that the college body
turned out every afternoon to see hin
practice and talked nothing but foot
ball to him until he got the idea tina
there was nothing else of Importance
in his college life.
1t was reported that in one of the
larger universities the undergraduates
were cautioned not to whistle or sins
on the campus at night for fear the!
might disturb the rest of that univer
sity's football team.
In 1904, in spite Of these facts, tn
attendance at the Yale-Harvard gam,
was $4,000 and that of the Army-Nav.
game was 10000. II was proposed b.
some of the well wishers of the spor
not to sell seats for the games. Thi
n owe, it was thought, would help t.
eliminate the publicity which tn
game had received. But since it wa
by means of this revenue that not onl,
} the football teams, but also the tract
and baseball teams were supported
the plain failed.
The criticism of the method of pla
was that it had become the tendenc
to mass plays and to eliminate tn
light, fast players.
These criticisms of the game Wer
not made by those who were hostil
tt the sport, but by people who ha
live interest in the game and believ
: ed that it was in need of reform
They believed at that time that foot
ball was always and would ever be
typical American game, on account @
l the strenuousness necessary for tn
highest attainment of the sport.
1t was thought that it would not
an easy matter to move the rules com
t mittee for the reason that the mos
influential members of that commit
r tee were coaches of the big footba
y teams, who had been developing thei
= own style of play under the rules c
] that tune. Still they believed that tn
p game must always be strong an
rough and played by young men an
j boys of good physical condition.
t The game has witnessed man
p changes since 1904, due, perhaps t
y the belief of the football men an
coaches that if the Objectionable fea
g lures of that time were not removed
f the heads and officials of the univel
n stiles and colleges would be forced
:, take the matter in hand and brin
e about a reform.
f The game has now become highl
: specialized, one college trying tr ou
= do the other. Before the entrance {
7, this nation into the war, every CO
f lese throughout the country was woT
e Gering when the expense list for til
6 football team would stop growing
is; now one of the after-war problem
: which many believe will be solved
: a manner that will benefit the healt
:, and physical condition of the youth {
the nation.