The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1929-12-19
/ ALKING
IT OVER
BY JOE WILLIAMS
NEW YORK. Dec. be-.

NEW IOfSh, Lee. 10.
TT Is announced by Mr.. Walter
i Okeson, who is indiscriminately
called the Judge Lands of football
or do 1 mean the VIII Hays?-that
he plans to summon a gathering OF
the gentlemen who of1ciate at COL
lege games and put them through
a sort Of classroom quiz on what
they do or do not know about the
rules. In a general sense, the plan
corresponds to the civil service exam
nations by which the copper on the
beat advances by slow and torturous
degrees to the position Of desk ser
eeant in the precinct where his
brother-in-law eXerts a command
ing influence at the polls on election
day.
Only In this instance MIR. Okeson insists
that the examinations will be thorough
and that the papers will be ErSded with
q cold. answering honesty and that the
gentlemen who betray an insufficient
knowledge Of the Judiciary ot the game
will be held incapable Of handling major
assignments.
Mr.. Okeson says he wants to find
out who the expert officials in foot
ball are and who the inexpert ones
are and that he knows of no better
way to establish this distinction
than to bring all of them together
in a large study hall and start firing
loaded questions at them at close
range.
AR. OKESON hopes that the
WI outcome Of his mass que5-
tionnaire will be the accumulation
Of information which will guide him
more definitely in the assigning of
officials Of proved competency to the
more important games next fall and
that as result there will be less
squawking on all sides. In addition
to having possibilities which might
be developed along similar lines in
other sports Mr.. OkeSon's scheme
has another attraction in that 1t
may determine for public knowledge
whether there actually is anybody
In the world who knows all the foot
ball rules and why.
u n
MY friend, FIR. One Eye Connolly, assures
me that the Einstein theory Is reason
ably complicated device but I am sure
in comparison with the football code 1t
is \ comparatively simple and cOmprehen-
dve proposition. ! have been going TO
football games for great number of
years. and the only way l can tell the
difference between misdemeanor and q
felony in action Is nv the number Of
strides the referee takes after playing the
symphony in on his piccOiO. And then
about ALI ] can be fairly certain of Is
that the penalty was either for oH-side or
holding.
THERE are only twenty eight
J. rules in football, but they are
divided into 1913 sections. which in
clude numerous rotations and def1ni
tons. There are seventy EIGHT
crimes a player can commit in a
game and there are times when the
twenty-five players on the field seem
to be trying to commit all of them
at once.
n
OF an the sports football Is easily the
most technically complicated. This is no
doubt due In some measure TO the in
terrinsbIe tinkertng and tampering with
the fundamentals of the game There Is
always some one-and unfortunately some
one in authority-who feels that something
ought to be done to change the technique
Of the game. As a consequence the game
y seldom the same from one season to
another. 1t has never got a chance thor
nuFhIy IN Tell