Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-12-29
NV 25 Years on the CridirOn
BY WILLIAM A. ROPER,
HEAD COACH PRINCETON UNIVERSITY


entered Princeton I'm the Fall of
1895 None of the colleges had first
year rules then and any freshman was
eligible to play on the varsity team.
So the squad, the first day college
opened. had large number of en-
tfuSiastic freshmen on 1t, one of
whom was myself.
One of the traditional Princeton
customs was the cannon rush between
the members of the sophomore and
freshmen classes. Before the rush
started, junior and senior members
of the foot ball squad carefully in
spected the freshmen ranks and
yanked out any foot ball men whom
they thought had shown any ability
on the field. While this inspection
was going on was torn between con-
nicting emotions. / wanted to get in
the rush and yet / hoped my showing
on the foot ball field justified my be-
Ing considered valuable enough to be
saved from the slaughter. i finally
was taken out of the ranks just be-
fore the rush started and was told
could get back in it as 5000 as the
frst impact was over. This appraisal
of my foot ball ability did not seem
to me particularly fiattering.
Survival Of Toughest.
never will forget those first two
weeks of practice. The development
and selection of the team was largely
survival of the toughest in that the
Idea of the hardening process of the
early season consisted mainly Of en-
eouraging severe bodily tests which
were supposed to eliminate the weaker
candidates and strengthen the more
rugged. They accomplished the first
half nf this nin0 fhnra1IrbiU q nd
a week or two of practice used to be
enough to drive most of the lighter
men to the side lines, with a fair
percentage of the heavy ones too.
One of the commonest methods of
hardening men during my playing
days, and 1t has stubbornly chung to
q place in even modern practice, was
the grand old plan of falling on the
ball. ! think we spent more time dur
Ing the first few days in this particu-
lar exercise than in anything else. At
It's best, it always seemed to me par
ticularly useless practice, and one of
the most dangerous forms of early
season training.
Even in spite of the stress laid upon
falling on the ball, Princeton has been
very fortunate in winning many a
game because some member OF the
team refrained from falling on a loore
ball and picked 1t up instead. Back in
1896, Herman Suter ran 95 yards
against Harvard after picking up
loose ball. in 1898 Arthur Poe scored
the winning touchdown against Yale
by doing the same thing, and again
John Dewitt picked up a loose ball
and won the Yale game in 1908.
Other Instances Cited.
In the Yale game at New Haven in
1907, Ed Booth made Princeton's only
touchdown by recovering a loose ball
In midfieId. Sam White won both the
Harvard and Yale games in 1911 by
refraining from falling on loose hall
and picking 1t up instead. Joe
gcheerer made the winning touch
down against Yale In 1919, and How
ard Gray recovered a tumble against
Chicago in 1922 and ran over so yards
for a touchdown. So it seems to. me
have good authority for saying 1t is a
mistake for any coach to waste his
time teaching his players to fall on
the ball.
And ! recall falling on a ball my
self In the Yale-Princeton game of
1899, which luckily did not cost US
the game, because we were able to
gain % yards afterward and Arthur
Poe was equal to the emergency with
his field goal in the last minute of
play. This particular instance is es-
pecially vivid, because l could have
p4cked up that ball more easily than
j fell on 1t and could certainly have
made several yards and perhaps a
touchdown. l distinctly remember
that as lay on the bali it seemed like
H fun minute before anybody dropped
on me. Probably 1t was all Of two or
three. seconds in actual fact.
Searching through an experience of
more than % years of pretty close
contact with the game and fairly
wide study OF its records, cannot re-
call more than a few scattering i'm
stances in which any real advantage
resulted from falling on a loose ball
except when this occurred behind the
opponents goal line. where. of course,
there was no need of any further
gain
Roper Averse to Practice.
Tam trying not to be dogmatic, bait
with me hereafter 1t Is a fixed ard
settled rule to>cut out falling on the
ball in practice and In games. and In