The Waterbury Democrat., 1932-09-21
STEVENS ADVISES STRICT RULINGS
 FOR 1882 GAMES
Yale Head Coach and Rule Body Member Talked to Connecticut Officials on Changes

Football is still the same vigor- ous, he-man's sport that made it one of the most popular of Amer ican sports, pr M. A. Nal" Stew ems, head coach at Yale, assured the members and guests of the Football Officials association of Connecticut at a meeting held at the Hotel Taft on Monday. The meeting was called in an effort to bring about uniform interpreta- ton of the changes made in the football rules last fall.
 From the spectators standpoint there will be no perceptible change in the game, the Yale coach pre- dicted, for the fact that while the rules revision committee, of which he was 8 member, made the changes to reduce injuries, every effort was made to avoid slowing up or tanning down the game.
 Practically every coach and football official of prominence in Connecticut was included in the gathering of 150 that heard Coach Stevens analyze and explain the major changes made by the na- tional body. Waterbury was rep resented by Dr M. A. O'Hara, pres ident of the officials association, Dr B. A. O'Hara, Jim Murphy, AL bert Keeley, Billy Schofield, coach at Crosby, Jimmy Lee, mentor at Wilby, Peter Foley, Naugatuck grid coach, Tracy Carey, Torring- ton coach and William Burke os Torrington.
 "Call 'Em" Says Nal
 Particularly stress was laid upon the importance of officials rigidly enforcing the rules with respect to the use of the hands, crawling, the kickoff and dead-ball. Stevens declared that with uniform en- forcement will come a material re- duction if not entire elimination of the fatalities and casualties that have threatened the future of the sport.
 The much mooted change in the rule governing the use of the hands still seems open to various interpretations but Coach Stevens told his audience that it was the intention of the rules committee to prevent one player punishing an- other and that while the rule for bids striking with the hand to jar, jolt or punish an opponent, the Yale man said 1t rested entirely with officials as to whether the &C., tion was taken with an intent to "take out" or injure the player. In response to a question Coach Stew ems demonstrated the method his linesmen have been instructed to use this season, that of straight arming their opponents at the ap- proximate junction of the neck and shoulder.
 Concerning the changes ordered in the equipment used by players Dr Stevens said that in recent years the football headgear, the knee-cap and thigh pad had be- come offensive weapons instead of protective devices and that many of the casualties of last season were traced directly to heavy and dangerous helmets and thick, me- tal-lined knee-caps. Under the new rules @ soft padding of not less than % inch in thickness must be used and Stevens suggested that every effort be made by coaches to see that their men are properly equipped. The replacement of costly headgear may not be pos- sible this year, the coach explained, because of curtailed budgets but he counseled officials to exercise good judgment in determining whether or not a helmet was dangerous.
 Spinner" Plays Hurt
 The dead-ball rule wherein the ball becomes dead when any part of the carriers body except his hands or feet touches the ground, resulted from the number of fatal- ities traced to crawling and piling- on. This change was subject to considerable discussion during and after the Yale mans address, and it was generally believed that many spinner plays would be affected by the rule. The player holding the ball for place kick is specifically excepted by this rule.
 Walter B. Spencer, principal at Commercial high school, and pres- ident of the International Scholas- tic conference, and Prof Malcolm Farmer, new chairman of the board of control of athletics at Yale, both addressed the meeting. MT Spencer spoke upon the new scholastic rules recently promul- gated by the National Federation of High School associations, which he said he hoped would soon be adopted. Professor Farmer spoke upon the game in general under the new rules and called upon coaches for intelligent instruction