Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-08-26
Doctor Calls
Football
Dangerous
90 Pet. Chance Of Hurt
in High School Season

in High School Season
BY DIR. LOGAN CLENDENING
IF YOU have a boy entering
high school this fall and you
let him play football. the
chances are 100 per cent he will
get bruised up somewhat during
the season.
The chances are one 10 four
that he will receive an injury
sufficiently serious to lay him
up.
The chances are one 10 five
that he will receive a permanent
injury that will last through life
ranging from some front teeth
out, a flattened nose, a fracture
around a joint that will leave a
stiff joint for life, or a cartilage
dislocated from a knee, or a
fractured pelvis.
The chances are about one in
1000 that he will be killed.
The chances are about one in
10000 that he will have 10 have
lex amputated.
The chances are very remote,
but | know of two cases. that
be will be blinded for life.
IN COLLEGE these chances
Il are about halved. The college
player has more mature bones,
better protective equipment and
is a little more wary. That Is
why / think football should be
prohibited for high school STU
dents until at least the senior
year.
These statements are made on
the basis of a nationwide clip
ping service that / began TO
subscribe 10 last September. /
by no means claim they are
complete.
If you think ! exaggerate, let
me quote the report OF the
Western Pennsylvania Safety
Council for the year 1871: One
out of every three football
players is injured each year.
Based on a five-year survey,
100000 such injuries cost Amer
lean parents 81 100000 annually.
Between $4,000 and $4,000 boys
are temporarily crippled each
year and 1,225.00o school days
are lost through injuries"
have records OF % deaths
last year from football injuries
one in college. IA in high
school and eight on sandiots.
THE coaches don't like these
i figures. One of them wrote
very sarcastic article about me
last year. The next day one OF
the players on his team was
killed by injury during the game.
When interviewed, the coach
said that such things constituted
only a small percentage con-
Sidering how many players OF
football there were in the coun-
try. That should have been
great comfort 10 the dead boys
parents
But the coaches ought 20 be
careful themselves. There is
considerable occupational hazard
10 being football coach
Two last year died of heart
failure during the game, these
were those fellows who had built
up such a fine physique through
a lifetime of athletics. We all
hear football is so good for the
health
| have a record OF II coaches
who suffered injuries as serious
as broken bones, or worse, while
teaching their pupils how TO
protect themselves.
Three games in l941 were
called of becautse one or the
other team had injured so many
players in action that they could
not muster II whole men who
could stand on their feet.
QUESTIONS, ANSWERS
J. N. Will a blood test such
as is given draftees when in
Quoted into the army show with
out doubt whether a man is
afflicted With h ophilia
(bleeder's disease?
Answer: If the coagulation
time Of the blood is tested. il
will show positively whether
hemophilia is present or not. l
do not know how many induc-
ton boards give this test. Usu-
ally by the time man arrives
al draft age he knows whether
he is a hemophiliac or not by
his history of hemorrhage,
VI. R.: Does the gallbladder
empty quicker on fun or
empty stomach? DO YOU think
person having this ailment
could drink too much grapefruit
juice
Answer: The gsllbladder con-
tains bile and bile is necessary
for intestinal digestion The
gallbladder does not empty bile
into the intestine until there is
food present. Fat is the food
that causes the strongest reflex
emptying of the gallbladder.
AS soon as the stomach begins
TO move food on into the in
testine the gallbladder begins
10 empty. Therefore the answer
% ,yc,,y- cttacfi0v, lie that tho call