The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1922-12-09
GREAT PRINCETON
ELEVEN PROBABLY
C0UNTRYS BEST
Futility of Trying to Pick
All-American Pointed
Out by Edgren
BY ROBERT EpGREN


ban team. The country Ia SO wide ana
sectional champions are SO scattered
that there IL no way iu which a post
season game can be played TO tild
o national champion.
But on seasons performance
Princeton stands out as unqucstiuncd
champion OF the east, and probably
as strong a football combination as
any in all the land. The Tigers went
Though "A season without losing q
game, and wound up by beating Chi
cugo, Harvard and Yale.
There may not he lot Of All
American players on the Tiger team,
but Roper this season, deliberately
turned away from the usual effort
20 develop individual stars. lie based
his team building from the start on
the idea that individual stars were a
handicap and that the team that
wins is the team that has no ahuor-
mally strong spots, and no weak
spots at all.
a curious thing that Roper worked
out from former experiences. was
that super player in any one posi-
tion produced weakness instead of
strength. often the star IL inclined
to be too much interested In max
ing a showing" for himself, aud in
clined TO sacrifice team play 20 indi-
vldual effort. Also when one cN-
| tremely brilliant player is monopo-
liZing tho plays the rest OF the team
il inclined To look on, and let him do
It. Some OF Princeton's teams in the
past suffered from this condition.
Roper Developed Substitutes.
The Princeton team found itself
as an invincible. unOreakable unit
late in the Chicago game And when
gtthzfiftIfa niaNPTE throw
in they Immediately became per
/ feet part Of the machine. Roper's
system developed not only a perfect
team of eleven men, but u team
/ with replacement material that could
/ he used at any stage OF the game
without in the least impairing the
strength OF tho combination. The
Substitutes were as good as the man
who lined up for the first kickoff
And another thing that Coach
/ Roper did was TO develop team
! ~ which every man was so near the
I top-notCh OF efficiency in his posi-
tian that it would be hard to name
an "All-American" anywhere who
could have baen put in to sub FOR
him with good results.
Roper doesn't care how many or
how few OF his men are named a-
"All-American" players by the foot
thing, with Roper His team made
good.
Injustioe OF "All-Amcrican."
There Is a lot OF bunk every year
in this picking OF All American
players. No follower Of football can
possibly see all the teams in action
And even seeing each team in action
once or twice during the season
doesn't give a true line on the abil'
fity OF individuals.
It Is impossible to name the best
In any position. Worse than that
guessing at IL gives undue praise ~
some players tails to give Others
who aren't named the credit they
may be entitled to. I admit that, fur
a good many years, ] had the nerve
to name an "All-AmeriCan' outfit
after seeing lot Of games and talk
ing it over with a few of the beet
known officials and coaches. II MAY
have been easier to come somewhert
near the truth, when there were
fewer star players, and when foot
ball had not been developed TO the
point II has reached today whe.
even the most remote colleges bring
out great players and teams stroul
enough 10 have swept the land under
old conditions,
I've seen many great teams thi'
season, and many players whose
splendid WORK gave the crowds
thrill
| / might say that ! dida't see anl
greater line -pluugiug back thai
Johnny Thomas of Chicago, or ;
keener bail-following end than Gnl
| OF Princeton. or "A steadicr kirke
| than Arch Nisbct Of California, or :
| quicker witted quarter than Htil
| / German Of Princeton or a huikic
! all round rigskin handler than iNa'
OF Cornell, II more slippery haI
back than Parkin ~ Iowa, or
greater tower Of strength thdI
Roberts of Centre. and might pic
few men from ". x J.. Laiay
ette, Yale. Harvard, Michigan an
other colleges. but this doesn't hol
In selecting genuine 'AI-Amerl
can" bunch.
Down IN Arizona. or up I'm Maine
were other men just about as goo,
and perhaps better Their friend
can regard them as "All-American
players, SO far MS I'm concerned
They may be right,
Going back TO BIZ Roper, who's
system brought the eastern cham
4piuAship TO Princeton, probahi
you're golng 90 hear more Of h'm &
the future. which reminds me &
a funny incident a newspaper syn
idlcate qucrled Boston paper Hhul
taking "A series Of articles by Rope
. The Boston paper wired back. WI
is Roper
They know who Bin is now. Eve
q at Harvard.
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