Evening star., 1920-11-28
Middle West
Gains Rapidly
in Foot Ball.
Game Is Progressing in
Every Essential; Has
Most Proficient Indi=
vidual Coaches.
RI WALTER CAMP.

crossing rapidly in skill and inter-
est. During the season recently closed
the capacity of the stands determined
the size of the crowds. Moreover.
there were more and better teams;
more individual stars and the sport has
taken hold throughout the interscholas-
tic and collegiate ranks.
One Of the outsta nding features was
the bitterly contested games. Teams
worked their way to the top only by
the barest margins. In some cases
the lone point represented by the con-
version of touchdown into a goal
brought victory.
The middle west has the most ac-
far as one-man coaches are concerned.
There is Zuppke at Illinois, Wilce at
Ohio State, Richards at Wisconsin.
Stagg at Chicago, Yost at Michigan.
howard Jones at Iowa. McDevitt at
Northwestern. Williams at Minnesota
conference. there is Rockne at Notre
Dame and Duffy at Detroit.
Notre Dame had remarkable sea-
son and last year Detroit began to be
factor. This year she showed fine
team and played a number of very
Tor next year. Detroit will be grand
foot ball center.
Facing Two Problems.
There are two tendencies in the
middle west which are problems for
those who handle foot ball. One is
the itlnerant or travelling athlete. who
would like to go where his ability
would be of selfish value. and the
other is the likelihood of professional
teams taking recruits from the ranks
Of college men. The travelling ath-
lete' has been a menace in the east
and south, but the danger Of pro-.
fesslonalism is greater in the middle
it is an impossibility to stop the
transfer of an athlete from one COL.
lege to another-but there must be
a legitimate reason for the transfer
and 1t must be based on something
more than athletic ability. In the
continue to be played SO long as the
public wants it,
In this connection it is we'll to re-
IT ember that a mans foot ball age ex-
tends for several years after his grad
at uat,on. A man may play foot. ball
twenty-five or twenty-six than at
eighteen or nineteen. Contrary also
to. general belief. almost all the
good players enjoy it and would like
to play for some years after gradua-
ton. The call Of the gridiron is
strong in their blood and they love
the feel Of the leather oval and the
sensation of going to grips with other
men.
Hence it is likely to be extreme
~ dimcuit to stop professional and
Empty base ball stands and vacant
diamonds make splendid gridirons
The professional team has developed
more largely in the west than any
where else. beginning with the Can
q @ L,,<
ing up through to Chicago and many
other places The teams are good
ones. made up largely Of star college
players. and people are becoming
Interested. When tn" writer was in
Chicago on one afternoon there were
some sixteen of these semi-profes-
sional games going on, besides the
large main attraction in the form Of
regular professional teams.
Adept with Forward Pass.
But to return to the college play
in the middle west. The teams are
developing a finesse and finish which
other section Of the country. In
deed. the forward pass of the middle
west in some respects is supreme.
The use Of the kick is not as scien-
tific as in the big eastern teams, The
resort is greater. Unbalanced lines
are the rule, and special formations
common. Freak formations are. how
ever, less usual than few years ago
The forward pass is used in connec-
tion with the running game rather
than individually. and there is de-
veloping an excellent amount of de-
ception in the attack.
The game has received much more
favorable recognition from the uni
versity authorities and the develop
,nent of playing surfaces and stands
is increasing. Much larger stands,
and even stadiums. are coming. and
will be accepted by university au-
thorities. provided that the old dis
tntegrating effect of travelling ath-
letes and eligibility puzzles do. not
come in to cloud the issue.
Copyright, 1921 IL.