, 1923-09-23
Omitted Press sports Editor.)
BY HENRY l.. FARRELL.

L.
NEW YORK. Sept. 20. - United
PressSFootbail this fall will offer
no moro interesting feature than a
be found in the efforts of Percy
Houghton TO develop a winning
team Mt Columbia university.
Houghton is generally regarded as
tho best football coach in the coun.
try. He established a system at
Harvard that has heen one OF the
most productive Systems in any line
of athletics In the whole country.
The ideas TINT he outlined and put
into effect at Harvard have been
retained by succeeding coaches with
such great results that Harvard
ranks as the outstanding football
institution OF the nation.
It has been argued year after
year that the best OF coaching will
not get the results without the ma
terial and that where the material
is available nj master mind Is need
ed to get the play out OF IL. It may
be pointed out that Houghton had
tho material at Harvard. and It may
be pointed right back that Yale has
had the finest material IN the east
for three years and failed 10 get any
place In particular with it
Less brilliant Harvard teams have
beaten morn powerful and classier
Yale teams three years In n row and
unless Yale gets going. the same
thing will happen this year.
The argument that coaching Is
the greatest factor in football does
not hold IN the a s OF Johnny Heis-
nan and tho University of Pennsyl.
vania- Heisman became nationally
famous when he was producing
spectacular teams at Georgia Tech.
He didn't have tho material at his
command that is given to the big
eastern coaches. but he oelivered.
Pennsylvania had been Just going
along with ordinary teams and Heis-
man was brought TO Philadelphia in
the hope that he might develop one
OF his tornado teams for Penn. He
had fine materials there. but he
failed badly and was relieved.
Bob Foiwell. who was replaced at
Penn by Heisman. went to the Naval
Academy where he became success.
full Immediately. He had a good foot
bail brain. knew the game and had
the faculty Of teaching It. He found
the material ut Annapolis and he
also found himself in n position to
demand discipline and act with q
free hand. Athletic coaches al An
napo'is and West Point have tho au.
thorscy az officers and their word is
law. They have no fraternity influ-
once to overcome and IL they have
any ability they should deliver be-
cause the youngsters they have to
work with represent the finest rtyle
Of manhood in the nation.
Notre Dame always did have rood
football teams. but the Hoosiers
never reached tho heights of grid
iron greatness and never became tho
national figures that they have un.
Ger the direction Of Knute Rockne.
Rockne is n genius beyond doubt. n
great all-around instructor and a
most remarkable organizer. His sue.
cess at Nptre Dame has been as
much the result OF hla organization
Of intre-mural athletic activities. as
Il was due to his keen football brain.
Notre Dame breaks out every fall
with a couple Of sensational PLAYERS
and they r not recruited. Rockne
picks them out OF the under classes
at the university where class teams
are coached by his star players.
Centre College hardly would have
come out of the hills of Kentucky to
be known all over the United States
II the little college had not been for.
tunate in finding such a great coach
rs "Uncle Charley Moran. His was
n case Of making stars and not
bringing them out. He had less to
draw on than a city high school
coach and he had tremendous diff.
culties to overcome. He had to be
the cohGn Inc trainer tao rather
and even the "seamstress" for the
team, but he harvested on his la
Dor because the players were willing
to work Is hard as he worked and
he knew enough football to give
them something to work with.
GIL Dobie. who is now coaching at