Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-31

foot ball rules committee will
NV select Its playing field and
hold its annual huddle. To
be accurate, the gridiron So
Ions never pick a field for their confer
ence. They prefer golf course with its
adjacent clubhouse. -
It does not appear likely that many
rules will be changed, even If the
coaches who sit with the committee de-
sire it. There is feeling that foot ball
is now an old enough game to become
standardized. This business Of having a
new set Of rules each season Is becom-
ing bit ridiculous.
Any change which reduced injuries
naturally would be welcomed, but the
game seems to have been made about as
safe for the contestants as is possible in
any strenuous sport. Occasionally a
man Is badly hurt, but the great ma
jority Of foot ball injuries today are Of
minor nature.
Many Of these injuries cannot be laid
to the rules. They are rather the result
of coach or trainer permitting a boy
to play when the safe and conservative
thing to do is to keep him on the bench
until he has completely recovered from
some bruise or strain. Often the boy
either is afraid to say that he still feels
out Of shape for fear Of being thought
without courage, or he is so eager to
win and hold his place on the team that
he conceals his real condition.
Price Is Too Great.
And to the coach whose job depends
upon winning, or to one who has tenn
great temptation to take chance on a
star player or one who may make the
difference between defeat and victory.
have heard coaches say: II hated TO
send him out there on bad ankle, but
I had to use him. hadn't anybody
else"
In that case it would be considerably
better to unwrap the coonSkin coat from
some ablebodied undergraduate In the
stand, thus giving q sound man chance
to die for his alma mater.
The average college boy has put less
than third of his life behind him. To
travel the other two-thirds on a bad
ankle or weak knee is too much to pay
for one foot ball game. But this reform
is outside the rule book.
The coaches, doubtless, win wish
fumbled ball declared dead at the point
of recovery. This, they think, will make
victory more secure for the better team.
But many believe that the very thing
which has made foot ball so popular in
the past few years Is that a weaker team
has a chance to win.
In the old days Of close formations
and puSh-and-pull, a small eleven mad
practically no chance with the team OF
q large university. Big colleges used TO
90 through successive seasons without
being scored against. The only question
in any except the big games was the
size of the score. The opening up OF the
game gave the little fellows a chance.
The small colleges became something
aside from punching bag. Foot bah
drama grew tremendously more thrilling
because Of the addition Of the element
of suspense. Humanity loves the long
shot and now there is q chance Tor the
outsider to come through.
why Change Game?
Make foot ball too mathematical and
certain. take from it the element OF
chance, and you are taking step back
ward. Nor will it ever. while human
emotions exist. be popular move to
muzzle the underdog. Moreover, 1t
does not seem likely to improve any
game to remove all penalty from
manual errors. To learn to handle and
hold the ball always has been and al
ways should be fundamental OF loot
ball.
It is easy to realize that these coaches
who drill their eleyens to the point
where they function as highly skillful
machines are impatient Of the personal
equation, which means the slipping OF
a cog. But, while the lesson of team
work Is important, any sport is useless
which does not also develop individual
initiative and excellence.
So 1t will be well for any rules COM
mittee to set its face against too much
legislation; to refuse to Mechanic foot
ball to the robot stage, and to prevent
its being wired and refined SO that 1t
will come to resemble one Of those ships
run by radio from the shore.
Foot ball Is good game right now.
(Copyright, 1929. by North American News
paper Ailiance.)