San Antonio light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1911-1993, 1923-02-14
Harvard's Interesting All
time Book of Athletics
Shows How Near Modern
Game Of Football Came
to Losing Out.

Cambridge. Mass. Feb. 1i.-The
part that Harvard played in prevent
ing soccer from becoming the football
game of American COllcgians; the
time when baseball was game in
which the catcher. blooG, and half
blinded, looked like badly-mauled
boxer: days when rowing was a dis
reputable college activity, and the de-
velOpment of track athletics as an out
growth of rowing. are described in
The Book of Harvard Athletics"
which was issued today.
The book. compiled by graduates of
the university who were specialists
in their undergraduate days and since.
contains statistical stories of Har-
wards participation in the past 40
years in these sports. in hockey, and
in lawn tennis. With it are group
photographs of every Harvard team.
with only five exceptions. The changes
in equipment and costume are strik-
ing.
The stand which Harvard made
against the type of football being
played in 1873 by Columbia. Prince
ton. Rutgers and Yale is described
by Morton Prince Of this city. a MEM
Der of the class of 1915. Harvard.
playing n game under Boston rules"
resembling tho football of today, de-
Clined an invitation 10 attend a meet
ing Of the intercollegiate football as
ISOLATION rendered by Yale. because
the other colleges insisted on n game
of virtually all footwork.
Might BE Soccer Now.
"If Harvard had not refuse to join
the association it is highly improbab BILE
that the modern game played. the
American Rugby. would ever have
evolved" Mr.. Prince wrote. "Instead.
Ill the universities, colleges and schools
today would be playing association
rules. practically soccer"
The ancient rivalry between Har-
ward and Yale finally induced COM
promise that led to acceptance of the
/ Rugby rules. he added.
The first Harvard-Yale game. ar-
Nording TO review written by Martin
J.. Cate. -. had total receipts Of
! sos. Subsequent history Of the grid
iron game is written by former Con
Z
| New York James l.. Knox. 'gS. pres
Cnt football strateGist. and Robert r.
Fisher. captain in 1911, and present
| head coach.
President Emeritus Charles w
Eliot contributes in his account Ot
Rowing in the Fifties." the state,
mcnt that lit would never have oc
Cured 10 me TO seek access to the
Harvard crew because it was not {
reputable thing TO belong TO that crew
! The boats in those days were used
both suring and fall. as means al
bringing home members of the crew
who did not propose TO return sober
from an evening in Boston"
Boating was the first organized
sport at Harvard he said. The Har
ward crew Of 1858. of which DR. Eliot
became n member. wore crimson hand
kerchirfs and established crimson rs
the college color.
Baseball Far Different.
Baseball as played today is en-
tircly different from the parent game
of nearly II years ago" declares vii
liam T. Reid, 1901. former coach
who writes that the single feature nj
that game which has survived in its
original form is the distance of &c
feet between the bases"
New names for the various uosi
tons have crept in" he said. Bar,
hands have been slipped into gloves
the catcher Of the CallOused hand anC
Scared face and fingers has been sup
planted by the modern knight Will
mask. protector, shin guard and mitt
and the pitcher with his limited un
derhand delivery and overload Of worl
has been freed and cOdded."
How the catcher's mask made il
first appearance in a Harvard gam,
in 1887. having been invented b.
ThGyCr, the Harvard captain. from
the mask used in fencing. also wa
described.
EIcry H. Clark. '9G. in reviewin'
track athletics. states that the tracl
team ut Harvard was oddly cnOugI
an offspring Of the crew. the result
of james Gordon Bennett having Givel
cup fer an intercollegiate two-mil
run At Saratoga in July. 1873.