The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-11-30
-lbaIl Season Closes With One
Of the Most Successful Years It
v Has Enjoyed in Annals Of Sport
llties for Year Have Been Lower Than for a
ing Time, Due In Part to the Use of the Open
me- Followers of Game Are More Numerous
IN Ever Before.

has been a very small casualty amons
players during the season. ohiy ~
men were fatally injured In games
which is half OF the number In lsls.
and seven less than the year before
that. This is accounted for in some
was by the fact that the open game
has been played more. Rushing the
ball through the line liz nearly al
WAYS Injurious to some players. but
with the use OF the forward pass and
other means that do not require the
severe humping of one body against
another. the death list has peen low
cred.
Harvard has probably been the
most consistent winner OF the year
They cleaned up .ail around them.
Horween and Casey have been the
stars of the institution. and have
played mastcrful ball. Both are good
candidates for the all-American. Yale
did not show up this year as before.
They were defeated by both Princeton
and Harvard, though the scores were
close. Princeton had the dope badly
upset on her when the West Virginia
eleven cleaned up on them ~ TO 0.
This was probably the greatest sur
prise OF the season.
Pennsylvania Carbcll, Syracuse and
Penn State have put out good teams
this year, and the old saying that
when the Cornell team went to Phfla-
delphia they went to slaughter was
again proved 40 he true PENIS team
was ore of the host they have put
on the gridiron. Pitsburg and West
Virginia had a good year also.
In the western hig ten conference
Illinois took the championship from
Ohio State. bur up To that time
neither team had been defeated but
once. Ohio States team is always
one which the other teams in the
conference look out for, especially
sincc Ohio" Harley came onto the
scene He has been on the all
American since he started on the
Varsity team, and Is likely candi-
date this year
In The West
Reports are rather meagre az 10
the. progress Of the sport in the west-
but what word has come through Is
to the effect that it is becoming one
of the most popular sports in that
section The University of Caltfor-
MIA. with It's sister Institutions on the
Paciac coast have had most sue
cesssful year. ana are more than ever
In favor Of the sport.
In the South ehe same Thing IL
true. Georgia Tech. Tulane, North
Carolina aud other schools report an
interest in the game heretofore ur-
found II In safe TO say that wltaih
a few years football will me able to
count with baseball in the number
Of followers it has. 1t is more
strenuous sport than the national
L. "a sYIiar features.
and VIII he running the good old
game ragged II they don't watch out
The University of Virginia showed
un very poorly this year. They were
hald 20 a scoretess tie ny Richmond
college early in The season. were
walked over ty tie Central College
Or Kentucky and met with defeat in
nearly every contest they went into,
What VIZ believe would be a good
thing Tor tho university would be the
ahallshntnt of the first-year rule.
wherein man III his first year at
echool is now. allowed 10 play on the
VARSITY team. Far be II from US
to knock the rule. 1t Is one OF the
best rules that has ever been made
FOR cefiecas ana universities, but the
institution must have a large enroll
ment for this 10 work successfully.
The university in 1918 had an enroll
ment OF 7T2 students. and 1t is not
going to increase Its student body
much in a single year. With prob
ably 800 of those attending in the
freshman class II is impossible to
pick good team from the 4T2 re-
naipAng. We. repeat this Is an ex-
celient rule. but must be used with
discrimination. and will work sue
cessfuiiy only in schools where the
student body is over 1850 or more.
Centre College Booms
The aforementioned Centre College
came onto the horizon In a blast of
fury. downing everything IN its
course. They had one OF the most
perfect machines that has ever been
seen on the gridiron, and prominent
authority on football declares that
the eleven they put out this year
could beat the invineible Harvard
There arr two or three men there
who are very likely candidates for the
mythical all-American.
With the closing of the season yes
terdav when the navy defeated the
army eto o at the Polo grounds.
New York. the last rites on the death
of the season are being said, though
there may be a few post season
games scattered over the country.
The game yesterday In New York
evens UP the standing column of the
two teams. both of them having won
ten games, and tied one. The navy
ran up the largest score for the year
against opponents and set what we
believe to be the high record for the
year IN Il single game. that against
Colby, when tho Middies won l2I to
o. With few exceptions this is one
of the largest on record. one we re-
call to mind at present being the de-
feat of Case IFS To 0. by Ohio
State.
Thus VIC drop the curtain over the
season that has been renete with
thrills, has shown evenly matched