The Waterbury Democrat., 1940-11-19
PHOTO FINISH
NOW PART OF
MODERN GRID
Friesell Admits Error and
Cornell Comedies VIC
tory to Dartmouth
BY JOE WILLIAMS

New York, Nov. 19-The photo
finish has now come to football. 1t
used to be that you couldn't follow
the game without a program; now
you can't follow it without q CAM
era. Pretty soon the editors of the
Harvard Crimson will be bleating
that their more successful rivals
are substituting Hollywood's best
kodakerS.
Already this year two games have
been decided in the cutting room
and in one instance, the recent
Dartmouth Cornell game, the score
was formally reversed, all hands
admitting the facts as revealed by
the spinning celluloid on the screen.
There wasn't much else Referee
Red Friesell could do but admit he
had pulled skull. You can't ar
que very well with Photographic ev-
idence and In this case it showed
the referee had given Cornell an
extra down and that this extra
down had gummed the works.
Nor was there much else that the
Cornell athletic officials could do
but refuse to accept the undeserved
victory. without the extra down
their team would have been
suuarely and rather soundly beaten.
Good sportsmen don't want to win
through the mistakes. no matter
how unwilling, Of the officials. 1t
is a surprise practically to noboy
that the Cornell officials showed
themselves to be good sportsmen.
That this bizarre incident broke
long unbeaten string of a great
football team is mere incident.
All great teams must loose sooner
or later. And on this particular
day Cornell was not great team.
Whether they took their assignment
too casually is an open question.
1t may be that for this one game
Dartmouth was extraordinarily keen
and high.
The point is. great team de-
serves to win only when 1t plays up
| to its greatness And no team,
great or otherwise, wants to win
through tie help of outside agen-
cies The Cornell men have lost
nothing material in ignoring the
IS ,Jrc on the board. and they have
gained something spiritual. We have
a notion, too, they will be greater
than ever against Pennsylvania
Saturday. This sort Of thing has
way Of paying indefinable but
vital dividends.
o. 8. Won Illegally
We regret to say that by contrast
Ohio State did not react as credit
ably In a somewhat similar situa-
/ ton. This was in the Purdue game.
An illegally substituted player,
Charley Mag, kicked the points
| that won the game for the Column
bus varsity in the last q seconds
Of play.
That Mag had been substituted
Illegally, having previously appeared
| in the quarter, was not revealed
until the motion pictures of the
game were flashed on the silver
sheet. The Ohio State coach had
become confused in sending in SUBJ
stitutions. 1t was an honest mis-
take, Just as Referee Friesell's was.
but it decided a football game. Since
the winning or losing of football
game scarcely amounts to life or
death (even in Columbus) the more
graceful and generous attitude
would have been for Ohio State TO
refuse the points. In that event the
game would have ended In 14-l4
| tie.
We have always had nothing but
awe and admiration for the men
who offlciate football games. Theirs
Is far from q simple task, the rules,
the game and the complicated ma
! ture of the play being what it is.
We can understand how referee
would get mixed up even in the rel
atively simple matter Of downs.
Tenseness doesn't always make for
clear thinking.
Even SO, there should be some
way to reduce If not eliminate the
| possibility of error IN the more
simple decisions. AS we wrote yes
terday we think Friesell would have
averted the unpleaSantness II he
stopped to listen to the protest OF
the Dartmouth captain. There are
times when even the most Compel
ent officials can be wrong, and, as
it has turned out, this was one Of
them.
1t is our understanding that the
head linesman is specifically i'm
posed with the responsibility Of
keeping track of downs and yard
age. In baseball when one Of the
officials isn't sure, or his decision
is in protest, he frequently confers
with one of his associates, or all Of
them.
We suppose this is more or less
the custom in football, too. If it
isn't 1t should be. Friesell's mis-
take, Of course, was in assuming
there was no possibility Of error on
his part. Thus, taking complete and
immediate charge of the situation,
heruled out all opportunity for con-
| ference and discussion.
Incidentally, we are happy that
Dartmouth didn't go nasty-nice and
refuse to accept the revised returns
of the photo finish. This would
have been piling the ivy on a little
bit too thick. The realistic attitude
was much better, saner and health
Ter. After all, they did win the
game. didn't they?
Dartmouth would have looked
pretty silly II they had done any
thing else. This business Of put
ting on q martyr smile, looking
bravely into the heavenly blue, and
being just too, too heroic about II
all, can be carried to absurd lengths
To come right out and say so, It's
a bogus form Of sportsmanship.