The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-11-07
By PARKE H. DAVIS, National Historian of the GridirOn)

in Hoboken. Here Princeton won Bright names gleam at us from thu "line-ups" of those old days. On thu Harvard team was Robert Winsor, ont of Boston's foremost bankers; George R. Sheldon, New York financier Loucius N. Littauer, celebrated in the politics of New York, and the late Robert Bacon, banker and ambassador to France. On the Princeton fifteen was Blair Lee, recently senator of Mary land. The young collegian from liar yard who acted as judge in that first contest was William D. Russell, who later became governor of Massachu setts.
 In 1878 the game was played on Boston Common and in 1879 again or St. George Cricket grounds, Princeton winning both battles. During these years began the cleavage which was des tined to make the English Rugby game into a distinctively American sport The number of the players was reduced from 15 to II and these after many ex' periments were disposed as we see them today into seven forwards or rushers quarterbaca, two halfbacks and full back.
 
 In 1880 the Harvard Princeton game was moved to the old Polo grounds ir New York where it was played for two years, thence back to Cambridge and thereafter alternately in Princeton and Cambridge. In 1880 Princeton again won. In 1881 the game ended in a draw and in 1882 in controversy as to which team had won, due to the failure of the rules to state the com parative value of a goal from the field in distinction from goal from try following a touchdown, Harvard having scored the former and Princeton the latter. To this dispute the sport owes the present numerical system of SCOT ing for in 1883 the original values were assigned the scoring plays, one point for a safety, two points for touch down, four points for a goal from { try following a touchdown, and five points for a goal from the field. In these years Princeton maintained lts supremacy, winning in 1883 and 1T 1884. In 1885 no game was played al Harvards faculty in that year prohibit ed the sport at Cambridge.
 Game Improves
 During these years in the early 'S0s enormous strides had been made in tht possession of the ball for stated nun Der of downs with definite number of yards to gain, had been devised, pre- arranged tactics and strategy immedi ately followed, and with the latter thu institution of signals. Even interfer ence, originally called guarding" made its appearance. In the beginning thii was limited to running by the side oI the player with the ball, never before him, but gradually the rule against off side interference came to be ignored ant eventually the off-side interference formed as we know it today. Promi nent players who participated on thu Harvard and Princeton teams in th' early sos were J. M. T. Finney, now president of Johns Hopkins; Rodmar Wannamaker, the great merchant; JohI s. Harlan, attorney general for Porta Rico and members of the interstate commerce commission; William M. IT. vine, head master of Mercersburg, al of Princeton. In Harvard's lineup were Frank A. Houston of Boston, l.. W Kendall, W. H. Manning, R. M. Alp pleton, H. E. Peabody, John Simpkins | and Dr. w. A. Brooks.
 Harvard Again Plays
 In 1886 football was reinstituted al Harvard. In the four remaining games in that decade Princeton won in 1886 Harvard in 1887 and Princeton in 1883 and 1889. Among the famous men wh, were members of the teams of thos' 1 days were Roland W. Boyden, Josepl rfh,,n N,,xaakr D. Trafford, James P. Lee and Dudley s. D. of Harvard, and Dr. Hugh Hodge Knowlton l.. Ames, Dr. David Bovaird Dr. Robert D. Speer, Bishop J. R Church and Edgar Allan Poe of Prince ton, the latter recently an attorney gen eral of Maryland.
 Unfortunately for football the morals of intercollegiate sports during thes teeming years did not develop apac, with the structure of the game and it tactics. Graduate players were callet back to play one, two and even thre years after graduation, and "summe baseball" during this period also wal raging. Moral evolution in worldly mat ters comes in waves and football wal no exception. A quarrel started be tween Harvard and Princeton in 1SSs which ended in the rupture of thei football relations and these teams di, not meet for six years. In 1895 ant 1896 Harvard and Yale also becam estranged over issues of eligibility o players and rules of play and did no meet. During these two years Prince ton played and beat Harvard. One o the winning touchdowns by Princeton in 1896 was made by a player knowI then as "Shy" Thompson but now tn distinguished Hon. Huston Thompson late attorney general of Colorado, lat assistant attorney general of the Unitet States ,and present chairman of tn federal trade commission. Other play CTS on the teams of those two year were Arthur H, Brewer, Edgar N Wrightlngton and Arthur M, Beale O Harvard, and Howard 0. Brokaw, Rob ert R. Galley, Langdon Lea and Neil son Poe of Princeton.
 Long Lapse Between Games
 From 1896 to 1910, inclusive, Hal yard and Princeton did not meet. Dur Ing these long and barren years sev eral diplomatists, undergraduate an graduate, vainly endeavored to rebuilt { the breach and restore the games.
 In 1910 football underwent com plete reform necessitating seven session of the football rules committee. Tn late Percy D. Haughton of Harvar l and the writer of these lines, the lat