The sun., 1919-01-19
Her
HaxalPS IS Yard Kick Is
Longest Boot on Record
T. A. c. Baker, Uncle of Late HOBBY Baker, Held Ball
When Princeton Star Made IS Yard Goal From
Placement Against Yale on Polo Grounds in 49,

When the late HOBBY Baker flashed
upon the college sporting world he
! brought with him the force of tradition
and the encouragement OF his father,
Ally Baker. and his uncle. T. (Tommy)
a. G. Baker. both celebrated players Of
their time Tommy Baker showed the
grit and persistence that his nephew
displayed In later days and was partly
responsible for the kicking OF the long
est field goal In intcrcolle giate history.
The holder OF this record Ia ]. Triplett
Iiaxall of Baltimore, who played on the
Princeton teams OF 1Ss1-1SS3. one OF the
best guards Old Nassau ever had
Tommy Baker vas a halfback whose
record was brilliant. lie and Haxal
decided they would practice kicking
goals from placement until they had
mastered the art 80 well they would have
chance to spring a surprise on Yale in
the contest .. 1882
II was arranged that II either caught
Che ball within reasonable distance of
he goal the other would kick II from
placement, the catcher OF tie bail, OF
course, holding the ball for the kicker
| The result was that HaNall Kicked a
goal from placement at a distance OF
sixty-hNe yards. the bail starting about
fifteen yards TO the side Of the centre.
Except to old Princeton players this
record was sleeping in Oblivion until a
few years ago when Parke Davis filched
! ii out of the Princeton and Yale archives
and mentioned It in his history OF Amer
I lean football. A few years later the
football world was told that Mark Payne
| OF Dakota Wesleyan had eclipsed all
records by drop kicking a goal at dis
lance OF sixty-three ydrds--tust two
yards less than the record achieved by
Haxall thirty-three years previously.
! Doubling Thomases.
This old record was tremendously
produced by faithful chroniclers OF foot
| ball Traditions and was secuted in some
quarters. The doubling Thomases
searched old newspaper files and found
discrepancies the distance OF the tick
ranging all the way from thirty-h>v to
, more than siXty-flve" yards. Inime-
| diately there was a small stampede to
crush the last vestige o life out of that
old record. There was n SIX inch cloak
| OF snow on the tleld when the game was
played. How could such n goal have
been kicked under such conditions? But
evidence was produced that the snow had
been removed from the field before play
began.
Then II was claimed that high wind
was blowing. Again evidence was called
for and finally the writer of this article
appealed 70 Haxall himself for evidence.
Here was IIaxllls response in part:
! Don't forget that this---the record
Is now n third of a century old and in
the course OF nature witnesses are not
AZ numerous now as then. and besides
don't you think after thrty-three years
It is time for some one to question it,
as in time all things are questioned.
have been asked to he interviewed for
publication, but think l am the last
one. being an interested party. to al
vance my claims. and prefer to have my
friends say whatever il necessary
However, for the sake of old Princeton
records in which We old grads are ever
interested. and Or which we are always
ready to contend. no matter how out OF
date we are, I shall be glad TO give you
my recollection oft.
Tommy Baker and ! pract!sed place
decking for some time preceding thu
Yale game OF 1852 between the back o.
: Reunion Hall and the old gymna sum
probably 100 yards apart, getting grad
ually farther back from Reunion 50 a.
TO lcngthen II" kicks and using for th'
goal the space between some fellows
windows in Reunion. which certainly
could not have facilitated their studying
, to any great extent.
whether In the course o' the pro
: ceod,rE We had any glass to pay for
do not now remember. Tommy Bake
was one OF the very gritty Kind, anC
held the ball 70 the detriment OF hi
fingers more than oUCe. 7 arr sure, w;tN
the rear point OF tho ball Amos: on M
: ground and re outer cra 81 the bal
pointed at and well above the cross baI
o, TIE goal