Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-12-28
FOOT BALL CLIMBS
AS SPORT FOR ALL
1890 Sets Record for Com
petition, interest and
Number of Players.

passed all others IN widespread
competition and in public in
terest. The number of students,
college, preparatory school and high
school, far exceeded the total for any
other year. In the colleges the en-
couragement of junior varsity 1S0-
pound and scrub teams added many
participants. While the total number
of spectators in many of the large in
stitutions, especially in the Middle
West, dropped from the peak figures OF
1929, there was no dropping eff in the
interest or the attendance of the ira
ditional contests.
The season witnessed decided swing
toward the forward pass as a major
offensive weapon in the game. Teams
tended to lay over-StreSs on the attack
or defense and In many instances there
was not the balance between the two
which is most desired in well balanced
foot ball team.
Schedules Are Longer.
There was the usual public clamor
and tumult over intersectional contests
and there was tendency toward longer
and harder schedules. The game, as
during the last few seasons, was in
flated beyond its normal Importance
and academic influences are striving to
bring 1t back to sane basis.
The typically American desire for
champions and championships was
again rampant and TIE country has
been flooded with all-star players and
all-Star teams. The outstanding team,
as In 1929, was Notre Dame. 1t played
the most difficult schedule and came
through undefeated The South Bend
foot bali forces of 1870 stood high
among the best that the game has de-
veloped. Coordination of effort and
spirited aggressiveness were prominent
assets Of this successful team.
Game Better Understood.
Followers Of the game each year are
coming In closer touch with the sport
and the recodifcation of the foot ball
rules has made many of its finer COM
plications more understandable. The
game becomes faster in execution each
season and the last year found more
intelligent foot ball played than usual.
AS college sport it takes Its place at
the top of all games, not only for its
advantages in physical development of
the players, but as q sport of strategy
and virile sportsmsnship.
While Notre Dame was generally re-
garded as the countrys best team,
there also were many high-powered
teams which Notre Dame did not play.
The matter Of determining the coun-
try's best team Is, Of course, matter
Of opinion. The best team on the Pa
ciflc Coast was Washington State.
Michigan and Northwestern shared
the honors among the Big Ten, while
Alabama and Tulane were the best in
the Southern Conference. Utah was
ranked first in the Rocky Mountain
Conference, Kansas in the Big Six and
the University of Texas in the South
west.
Army Meets Navy.
West Point and Annapolis played for
the first time in three years. The game
being arranged by Washington authori-
ties for charity. Army, with OF of the
best Of the Eastern teams won the
game. The contest, however, brought
the service academies no closer to ce-
menting their broken athletic relations.
The situation among Eastern college
teams was unusual, inasmuch as there
was no outstanding team, but several
teams Of marked efficiency. Colgate,
Fordham, Army and Dartmouth all had
good foot ball teams. Colgate lost only
one game on its schedule, to Michigan
State, a team not In its own section.
Army's only defeat was was a 7-to-6
contest against Notre Dame, the best of
the achievements against the strong
South Bend organization.
Fordham lost none of it's games to
Eastern rivals, its only defeat In two
seasons coming in the game with st.
Mary's of California. Dartmouth lost to
no Eastern rival, bowling only to STAN
fort at Palo Alto.
Ancient Rivalry Maintained.
The traditional games of the East
were, as always, high moments of the
Eastern season. The Yale Princeton
game, for instance. proved to be one of
the years best contests, in spite of the
fact that Princeton, up to That game.
has experienced, its most unsatisfactory
season In years. Yale was decided fa-
vorite, but the Ellis were fortunate to win
against the scrappy inspired Tiger team,
10 to z. A week later a Harvard team
which had suffered defeat after defeat
rose to its highest peak to defeat Yale.
Williams carried of the honors in the
Little Three competition between Am
herst, Wesleyan and williams, a series
which furnishes round of true inter-
collegiate athletic controversy which
comes close to the ideal.
New York University's team Just
missed the mark in its important con-
tests. Columbia foot ball made new
start with major victory over Cornell.
The traditional game between Lehigh
and Lafayette was won by Lafayette
Thtre was an abundance Of intersec-
tional games during the season, con-
tests which aroused public interest to a
high pitch. Notre Danes victories In
clude many of the if1tersectional nature.
The South Bend team defeated South
ern Methodist, Navy, Carnegie Tech,
Pittsburgh, diana, Pennsylvania,
Drake, Northwestern, Army and South
erfi California