The Washington times., 1922-01-01

Inc new game needs these faster
men much more than did the old and
the early work must be planned so
that none of them shall be hurt or
slowed up by any oeedless accident
One of the commonest methods of
hardening men in the old times-and
it has strbbornly chung to a place
even in modern practise-was the
grand old plan OF falling on the ball.
| think that every squad in the coun.
try spent more Of its first few days in
this particular exercise than in any.
thing else.
One reason for it probably lay in
the beautiful ease with which any vol
unteCr coach, with leathern lungs and
unin, entjve brain, could put the can.
didate through 1t bawling Justify at
him as his tender skinned body slid
over the raspin turf.
Perhaps it was fine too, f5r those
who didn't have to do 1t. 1t amused
thc bleachers to see the antics Of be-
ginners and there was some pleasure
in II for the adept who could cover the
ball like a hen with a lonesome chick,
but can see no other excuse for it,
then or now.
At it's best, 1t was useless practice
at a feat which was seldom good foot
ball and is now so directly opposed to
sound tactics that it is almost comic.
At it's worst, it was among the most
dangerous forms of early season train
ing. Very few men came through 1t
without losing large areas of skin and
acquiring choice collections Of blue
bruises where those bruises hurt most.
For that matter, it's damage was not
confined to early season.
A Useless Exhibition.
remember wildly the tense min
utes before one Princeton game,
when the set custom called for each
team to indulge in an exhibition OF
its prowess at this art Of falling on
the ball while the stands Numbered
with applause. 1t was an exhibition
of beautiful acrobatics, too, and CAL
culated to strike terror to the enemy,
hut on this occasion one of the best
men on the Princeton team, making
. particularly vicious stab at a rolling
ball, got up with a broken collar bone
and proceeded to watch his team from
the side lines while it took sound
licking perhaps for want of him.
I may as we'll confess that 1t took
me a good many years to see the
light. and this came near costing me
the services of a very necessary player
for the whole 1919 season. He dis
located his shoulder, and 1t wasn't q
paper weight shoulder either, by try
ing to fall on the ball under my per.
sonal direction. This settled the mat.
ter for me, but II l had needed any
final persuasion, i have frequently
gotten Il when / have watched play
ers OF the same side struggling
among themselves to fall on a ball
with no opponent anywhere near 1t
and q clear field to the goal before
them.
Possibly am so emphatic in my
statement of the advantages OF pick
ing up a loose ball, instead of trying
TO fall on II, because Princeton in the
PAST has been peculiarly fortunate In
this respect.
AS remember, Herman Suter ran
ninety-five yards against Harvard In
1895 with. ball on which he had con-
spicuously refrained from falling; Ar
,hur Poe scored the winning touch
down against Yale in 1898 over the
same route and under the same cir
cumstances; John DE Witt repeated
the performance also against Yale In
1903; Ed Booth did IL again In 1907,
end Sam White did IL against both
Yale and Harvard in 1911, while Joe
s;hcerer made the winning touchdown
against Yale in 1919 In the same man
nor.
And I recall falling on the ball my.
al. ~ the Yale-Plinceton game of
1899. which luckily did not cost IN the