Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-11-10
MAN like Catfish Smith of
Georgia, or Barry Wood Of Har-


" Georgia, or Barry Wood Of Har-
~ ward, who can stand out there
and get his team the extra point
after touchdown is becoming increas-
lngly valuable. If you will all take
your seats and pay attention We shall
proceed to demonstrate what we mean.
Here is partial list of games, over
several Saturdays, which were won by
single point:
Union Amherst Massachusetts, State
amherst, Harvard-Army, Long Island
City College of New York, Ursinus-
Dickinson, Florida Auburn. Ursinus-
FRANKLIN Marshall, Hamilton Alfred,
1dano-Gonzaga, Indiana-Ohio Iowa
State-Oklahoma, Lebanon Valley-Muhl-
enoerg, Lebanon ValIey-Mount st. Mary,
Maryland Virginia, Oberlin Wooster,
Washington State Oregon State, Seton
Hall-CanisiuS, Washington Utah, and
washington and Jefferson Western
Maryland
You will readily see that ability OF
inability to boot the ball over the bar
maze dl1erence, one way or the other
10 such teams as Amherst, Ursinus and
Lebanon Valley in two games. That
makes quite a difference in a seasons
record. But let us consider more re-
cent matters. Here are some of the
contests OF last Saturday, where one
POINT made all the difference. In COL
legiate circles We can name:
Georgia-NeW York University. Allie
glany-St. Bonaventure, Clark Knoxville,
Observation-Disclosures, Iowa Stats Kansas
State. McAlester-St. Johns, wisconsin,
IIilnols, Delta Teachers Lambuth Texas
Cnristian-Rlce, Virginia Military Insti-
tute-Clemson. AllentoWn-Lehigh Fresh
men, new hampshire FreShmen-An1-
Ger and st. Martins, Washington
Freshmen.
NOR is this all. Failure in the kick
~ ing of goals has been accounta BILE
for such tie games as those between
Yale and Army Yale and Dartmouth,
William and Mary and Virginia Poly,
Ursinus and Gettysburg, Virginia Mill
tary Institute and Citadel, MARYLAND
and Kentucky, Holy Cross and Fordhsm
and many more. At guess we should
say that easily so college foot ball
games have been decided by ability or
inability to kick a goal.
Now when you figure that the team
trying for a goal after touchdown il
entitled to put the ball in play at any
point on or outside the 2yard line, that
the kicker can stand directly on a line
with the middle of the bar, and such a
distance back as he prefers, it seems
queer that ss...e lick is missed so often.
Coaches contend that foot ball is so
complicated today that there is not
enough time to drill a kicker properly
II you are using him for anything else.
But to me 1t seems largely a matter of
temperament. There have been men
who never before attempted a goal and
yet have won games in their first active
effort In kicking the ball over the bar.
DOE of Princeton and Mallory Of Yale
L were men of this type. Princeton
men used to claim that Poe made
his kick against Yale by hitting the
ball with his shin. He didn't care how
he get the leather over the bar He
merely knew that it had to be done, and
it probably never occurred to him that
he might fail
Such men as Moffat were able to kick
goals on the run-and with either foot.
ODea, Gipp, De Witt, Crowell Thorpe
and lot OF those kickers of other days
would admit that there was an element
Ct chance in booting goal any time
you we're over so yards away and a
cross wind was blowing. Pat .O'Dea's
62-yard drop-kick against Northwestern
was made on a frozen field.
1t may be, OF course, that the shape
OF tbs ball has something to do with it,