Evening star., 1928-10-21
s'Grahann

can now explain to my readers that
peculiar crcaking sound. which they
must have heard coming through the
microphons when we broadcast the
Na,y-Notre Dame game, at Chicago.
That was the old 6ie-hards of foot ball.
complaining that this open modern
game is nothing more than basket BALL;
that there is no more chance for such a
beautiful smashing attack as, for in
stance, the old guards back play, of
Pennsylvania One red-faced OLD gen.
tleman with two or three chiu5 was out
ragged over the passing Of the side-line
buck-I think that was it--where a
fake pass shifted the scrir,mays sharply
10 the right, with the right halfback
crossing with the ball and shooting
through the clearance along the bound
ary llne. These "reminiscences, as l
caught them in the crowd went clear
back to the old flying wedge, and the
turtle back
While my main job was to play a
sensitive mike on the big doines in gen.
eral, these overtones of crowd feelings
interested me a lot. particularly in
their bearing on popular acceptance OF
the modern game. Chatting with few
customers. before the start of the game.
found that Just as surely as a man
was craving bit over the ears or eX-
psnding in girth, he was either mourn
full or belligerent about the now game
Tilc bulk of the crowd somewhat more
youthful. on the average. than the base
ball crowds We saw at the world series.
apparently did not know that there
ever was any other kind Of foot ball
To me, the modern game is a much
more fascinating spectacle. with its long,
unerring passes and its lightning shifts
Of mass. However. my memory goes
back Just far enough to recall the
marvellous strategy and smashing en-
'ccution Of those compact line plays.
and I don't blame the old timers for
viping away tear.
For the past few years foot ball has
been harder to dope" than 1t was In
the old days. and this season starts
with more up-sets of form than have
ever been recorded before. The South
ern Methodists held the Army to a
14-13 score: Yost and his Michigan
battering ram are smashed by Ohio
Wesleyan; Wisconsin heats Notre Dame
and Boston College beats the Navy
Buzzing around bit in the stands at
Soldiers Field. before We switched on
the microphone. I discovered the gen.
eral opinion that Such reVersals Of form
are a bv-product of the modern game;
that the open attack, with the increas-
ing use of the forward pass. increases
the element Of chance and shifts
cmuhasis, somewhat, to brilliant individ-
ual play rather than the cold. blue
print strategy Of such old masters
amcnc the coaches and players as
Gordon Brown and Frank Hickey Of
Yale: Cavsnaugh eni Folsom OF Dart
mouth, Percy Haughton Of Harvard, and
Ira Covan Of Princeton.
This means, Of course. that beef does
not figure so prominently in the out
come. and it also means that good foot
ball material may be recruited from
track and basket ball squads. The
West was largely responsible for the
more open game. The West was ahead
of the East in pioneering basket ball
and developed horde of athletes excel
lently equipped for the modern forma-
ticns, but not quite suitable for the old
mass attack. AS the West get en- the
base ball map II made itself heard in
| the battle for new rules and as result
its foot ball progress is further en-
hanced by the breaking down of the
old sectional monopoly. Each year sees
more Western representation on all
American selections. Foot ball analysts
escribe this in great degree to the
open game.
Getting back to Soldiers Field and
this clash between Notre Dame and the
Navy. one could not help wishing that
the -Four Horsemen" of Notre Dame
Crowley, Lavc,en. Miller and Stuhl-
dreder-could be teamed up just once