Evening star., 1926-12-17

T least one excellent result o.
~ the disruption of the Big
IL Three may be the re-establish
u ment Of the prestige of Yale
Princeton and Harvard foot
ball throughout the country.
In all sections these three universi
ties are highly influential. They draw
students from the North. East, South
and West, and graduates Of the in
stitutions are numbered among the
most important citizens in wealth and
position.
And the splendid tradition of this
ancient trio Is respected and cher
ished. not only by the far-flung alum
nj, but by all who love the background
OF foot ball.
At the same time, the Big Three
was a close corporation. whose ulti
mate aim was success in the Novem.
ber series. Elevens were coached and
trained solely with these eliminating
games in view. Teams Of other col.
leges encountered in so-calied prelin.
inary contests were taken in the nor.
NAL stride of development. This was
very well in days when knowledge Of
foot ball was pretty completely in pos.
session of Princeton, Yale and Har.
ward.
Monopoly Has Waned.,
But as the game developed and the
Big Three monopoly in superior play
ing ability waned. the time came
when the trio began to experience de-
feat. They accepted their beatings
in a praiseworthv spirit, made TO al
ibis and left their friends to point to
the obvious fact that they were not
being prepared for October games.
The fact remained, none the less,
that the prestige OF Big Three foot
ball throughout the country suffered
cumulatively as season after season
some outside rival, large or small, ad-
ministered defeat.
Now there are those who maintain
that the average Yale, Harvard or
Princeton eleven, when it maintains
3ts peak, say in mid-November, is
equipped to meet any eleven in the
country on even terms-or that at
least one or two of the trio, year in
and year out, is thus equipped. The
writer is inclined to share this opin.
ion.
From a technical standpoint, there
Is no better or more careful coaching
in the various positions than the Big
Three have been receiving. and since
year in and year out, they receive
the pick of the players developed by
the great preparatory schools Of the
country. schools wherein the grade
OF foot ball is on a par with the minor
college game, the material ought to
be, in fact is, as good as any material
anywhere.
Reason for Decline.
But, however worthy Big Three
elevens Of November have been on
the average, a study Of their record
against other teams reveals adequate
reason why the past Of Yale, Har.
ward and Princeton foot bali is more
highly egardedsthroughuut the coun-
try than it's present status.
The following compilation will show
the reason for this:
In 1915 Yale was soundly trounced
by Brown, and Harvard was defeated
by Tufts and Brown; 1917 and 1918
were war years and no foot ball.
In 1919 Yale was defeated by Bos-
ton College, and Princeton by Colgate
and West Virginia. 80
In 1890 Yale lost to Boston College.
In 1921 Princeton lost to the Navy
and to Chicago. Harvard lost to
Centre College.
In 1922 Yale lost to Iowa, and Har.
ward lost to Brown. :.
In 1923 Princeton lost to Notre
Dame, and Harvard to Brown and
Dartmouth.
In 1924 Princeton lost TO Notre
Dame, and Harvard to Brown and
Dartmouth.
In 1925 Yale lost to Pennsylvania,
Princeton to Colgate and Harvard to
Holy Cross and Dartmouth.
In 1925 Yale lost to the Army,
Brown and Maryland; Harvard to
Geneva, Holy Cross and Brown and
Princeton to the Navy.
Won Lone Big Battle.
TO sharpen these records down to
APPOINT !, that will be felt, the Big
Three in, the past 10 years have won
btlt one game when pitted against an
outside opponent Of equal rating in
RESPECT to size and national prom.
iTaefce not only as an educational in.
stitution, but as to foot ball prestige.
This solitary victory was won by
Princeton over Chicago in 1922.
Otherwise on the few occasions when
any one of the trio has ventured to
take on an opponent Of standard ex-
ealIence, or one that was enjoying q
single season of brilIiance-as Dart
mouth in 1925-that result has been
disastrous.
There are many alumni of the Big
Three who Will be glad that the organ
ization has perished il 1t leads Yale,
Harvard and Princeton to arrange
the country and to employ all their
resources toward winning those con-
tests.
One almost immediate result Of the
break between Princeton and Harvard
was the agreement Of the Tigers and
Ohio State TO play o. game In 1927, a
contest which is more than likely to
result In an arrangement for games
in following years, and Harvard's two
year contract with Pennsylvania.
Open to Criticism.
There is such q thing as being too
narrow, and the writer suspects that
Yale, Princeton and Harvard have
been open to this criticism. II the
disruption OF the Big Three results
in the attachment of rivalry with
other important elevens-a steady
rivalry that will go on season after
season, with teams adequately pre-
pared for play-then 1t will be good
thing for foot ball.
Big Ten Is Undecided.
Just how strong the movement Is tc
tnaugurate a round robin schedule ir
the Big Ten may not be told. All tho
chances. however, are that 1t Is pretty
weak.
A few members of the Western con
ference were in favor of 1t when the
writer was I'm the Middle West, but